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Waymo Announces Fleet Updates After San Francisco Blackout Stalled Robotaxis

The company says a surge in remote confirmation checks at dark signals overwhelmed its support system during the outage.

Overview

  • Waymo resumed Bay Area service and is rolling out software to give cars regional outage context so they act more decisively at dark intersections.
  • The company is revising emergency-response protocols and expanding first responder training, including coordination with Mayor Daniel Lurie’s team.
  • Waymo reported traversing more than 7,000 dark signals but said a backlog in human confirmations left vehicles stopped and contributed to congestion.
  • San Francisco officials requested cars be removed during the event, supervisors called for hearings, and the CPUC and DMV said they are reviewing the incidents.
  • The outage, sparked by a PG&E substation fire that left about 130,000 customers without power, prompted Waymo to pull cars over and return them to depots in waves.