Waymo cars stall, causing traffic jams, during San Francisco blackout

Waymo cars stall, causing traffic jams, during San Francisco blackout Anna Iovine Bluesky . Read Full Bio Waymo suspended service of its driverless robotaxis in San Francisco during a blackout that hit many of the city's residents on Saturday night. Around a third of San Francisco residents were without power for hours due to a fire at a Pacific Gas and Electric substation, The San Francisco Standard reported. During the blackout, people noticed that Waymo vehicles appeared to be blocking intersections and causing traffic congestion. Waymo announced that evening that it had suspended service in the city due to the power outages, Mission Local reported. San Franciscians shared photos and videos on X: Terms of Use and Privacy Policy . You May Also Like This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. The company didn't share with Mashable what percentage of the self-driving fleet was impacted, or why the driverless vehicles stopped working during the blackout. Waymo's spokesperson, Suzanne Philion, told Mashable in an emailed statement that, "We have temporarily suspended our ride-hailing services in the San Francisco Bay Area due to the widespread power outage. Our teams are working diligently and in close coordination with city officials, and we are hopeful to bring our services back online soon." While power began to be restored around 9:10 p.m. last night, some outages remain early Sunday morning according to PG&E's map . This is the latest in a recent series of Waymo incidents. Just this month, a viral video showed a driverless Waymo seemingly driving straight into traffic, a Los Angeles woman discovered a stranger in the trunk of her Waymo , and Waymo issued a software recall following reports of the cars illegally passing school buses in Austin. Back in November, Waymo was hit with a wave of criticism in San Francisco after an autonomous car struck a beloved neighborhood cat . Topics Self-Driving Cars Cars Anna Iovine is the associate editor of features at Mashable. Previously, as the sex and relationships reporter, she covered topics ranging from dating apps to pelvic pain. Before Mashable, Anna was a social editor at VICE and freelanced for publications such as Slate and the Columbia Journalism Review. Follow her on Bluesky .

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