Jul 19, 2026
ManyPress
Technology

Waymo temporarily paused its robotaxi operations in San Francisco for approximately one hour due to a power outage affecting thousands of local customers.

ManyPress

ManyPress

ManyPress Editorial

2 min readSource:TechCrunch
Waymo Resumes San Francisco Robotaxi Service After Power Outage

Key facts

  • The service pause lasted approximately one hour.
  • The power outage affected roughly 7,000 PG&E customers in San Francisco.
  • Waymo cited the need to assess the outage's scale and coordinate with local officials as reasons for the pause.
  • Mayor Daniel Lurie is calling for tougher state regulations on autonomous vehicles during major incidents.
  • Waymo previously experienced service disruptions during a December blackout and a July Fourth fireworks display.

Waymo has resumed its robotaxi service in San Francisco following a one-hour pause. The company implemented temporary adjustments while monitoring a power outage that impacted approximately 7,000 PG&E customers in the city.

Operational Adjustments During Outage

During the disruption, Waymo informed customers that service was temporarily paused and that freeway routes were unavailable. A company spokesperson stated that the pause allowed the firm to assess the scale of the outage and coordinate with local officials.

Regulatory Response

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has requested stricter state regulations regarding the operation of autonomous vehicles during major incidents. This follows previous instances where power outages affected Waymo operations, including a December blackout and a July Fourth fireworks event that caused traffic congestion.

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This article was independently rewritten by ManyPress editorial AI from reporting originally published by TechCrunch.

Technology