Waymo has paused its ride-hailing service in San Francisco following a citywide blackout. The outage left about a third of the city without power, affecting around 125,000 homes and businesses. Suzanne Philion, a spokesperson for Waymo, emphasized that they were focused on rider safety and allowing emergency services to respond effectively.
During the blackout, many traffic lights were out, which caused confusion for the autonomous vehicles. Numerous videos on social media showed Waymo cars stuck at intersections, with human drivers weaving around them. Some users noted that the driverless cars were creating significant traffic jams. One video highlighted a swarm of Waymos caught in a gridlock, drawing over 20 million views on social media.
As cities integrate more technology, challenges like these have become common. Experts stress that while autonomous vehicles can make travel safer, they also need to be equipped to handle unexpected situations. Recent studies show that over 70% of people are concerned about self-driving cars navigating in emergencies. This incident raises questions about how quickly these technologies can adapt to outages or other disruptions.
Social media reactions were mixed, with some users sharing humor and criticism about the vehicles’ inability to cope. As cities evolve, the balance between innovation and reliability is vital.
For more information about municipal services and power outages, you can visit PG&E’s official outage map.
