The Google-owned robotaxi company began offering rides in SF on Sunday, following San Francisco’s history-making blackout.
Waymo has had … shall we say, an eye-opening past 24 hours. The Google-owned company’s driverless cars were seen — filmed, photographed — congesting roadways or outright bricking yesterday amid SF’s historic blackout, resulting in it disbanding service throughout the City. (The only other time Waymo’s suspended service in San Francisco was earlier this month, when Anti-ICE protests erupted after it was announced national guard units were en route to the SF Bay Area in support of federal deportation measures.)
This is insane, Waymo vehicles all over SF are bricked due to a power outage. https://t.co/2AnKB80Qj7 pic.twitter.com/HnHPjq7FcB
— Nic Cruz Patane (@niccruzpatane) December 21, 2025
Saturday afternoon saw Waymo services come back online, albeit after a bashing of public scrutiny.
“We are resuming ride-hailing service in the San Francisco Bay Area,” company spokesperson Suzanne Philion wrote at 3:51 p.m., per a post from Mission Local. “Yesterday’s power outage was a widespread event that caused gridlock across San Francisco, with non-functioning traffic signals and transit disruptions. While the failure of the utility infrastructure was significant, we are committed to ensuring our technology adjusts to traffic flow during such events.”
The “commitment” comes after Waymo received ample, detailed criticisms from City government officials — not surprisingly, Mayor Lurie has yet to share critic — and the general public in regards to how its vehicles handled the sprawling blackout; these concerns were largely pointed at public safety; Waymo vehicles were recorded outright stopping in their respective lanes yesterday showed how infrastructure problems can hobble the company’s vehicles — potentially interfering with first responder and other emergency services.
Phillion notes that the company is “already learning and improving from this event” — “the sheer scale of the outage led to instances where vehicles remained stationary longer than usual to confirm the state of the affected intersections” — but has yet to share any specifics. It’s unclear if Waymo has refunded or credited riders who were affected by the wayward-acting robotaxis.
As of publishing, more than 10,000 San Francisco households remain without power. PG&E has promised full power restoration by tomorrow afternoon.
Feature Image: Courtesy of X via [at]peteryugray
