Waymo has temporarily suspended its ride-hailing service in San Francisco after its autonomous vehicles caused major traffic jams during a citywide power outage. The blackout, which affected around 125,000 homes and businesses, left traffic lights across the city non-functional, leading to confusion among the driverless cars.
The suspension took effect at 8 p.m. on Saturday, according to a Waymo spokesperson. The company stated, 'We have temporarily suspended our ride-hailing services in the San Francisco Bay Area due to the widespread power outage. Our teams are working diligently and in close coordination with city officials to monitor infrastructure stability, and we are hopeful to bring our services back online soon.'
Without working traffic lights, many Waymo vehicles halted at intersections, causing significant traffic disruptions. Social media users shared videos and photos of the stalled cars, with some showing multiple Waymos piled up at a single intersection. One user joked, 'Power outage took out the waymos RIP,' while another noted that the cars 'recovered reasonably quickly' in some cases.
The power outage originated from a substation issue at 8th Street and Mission Street on Saturday morning, as reported by SFGate. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. confirmed that by 11:30 p.m. Saturday, about 95,000 customers had their power restored, with crews continuing to work through the night to restore service to the remaining 35,000. No injuries were reported.
It remains unclear how long Waymo's suspension will last. The company has promised further updates and thanked customers for their patience.
