tech
Power outage paralyzes Waymo robotaxis when traffic lights go out
A third of San Francisco lost power over the weekend, causing traffic chaos.
TL;DR
- A fire at a San Francisco substation caused a major power outage affecting over 130,000 homes.
- The outage led to non-functioning traffic lights, paralyzing Waymo's fleet of robotaxis.
- Waymo temporarily suspended its ride-hailing service due to the gridlock caused by stationary autonomous vehicles.
- Power has been mostly restored, and Waymo has resumed service, vowing to learn from the incident.
- Waymo is committed to coordinating with city officials and ensuring its technology can handle traffic disruptions.