Waymo outage raises questions over robotaxi readiness

A widespread power outage affecting about one-third of San Francisco on December 20 caused Waymo robotaxis to stall at intersections, disrupting traffic and sparking concerns about the readiness of autonomous vehicles in emergencies.

Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving unit, operates a fleet of over 2,500 vehicles across multiple US cities, including the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Metro Phoenix, Austin, and Atlanta.

During the outage, caused by a fire at a PG&E substation, Waymo cars activated hazard lights and halted operations before resuming service a day later.

The incident raised questions about how robotaxis handle crisis scenarios like blackouts, earthquakes, or floods, as videos showed vehicles stuck at non-functioning traffic signals.

Experts and academics urged regulators to impose stricter rules, especially around remote human intervention, or “teleoperation,” when autonomous systems face failures.

California regulators said they are investigating the event and working on new safety standards for emergency response and remote driving requirements.

Waymo is updating its fleet to improve response during power outages.

🔗 Source: Reuters

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Backup power at traffic signals tests autonomous vehicle (AV) readiness

A December 20 fire at a PG&E substation cut power to about 125,000 PG&E homes and businesses, roughly a third of San Francisco 1. Traffic lights across the city went dark 1.
With signals out, Waymo cars stopped in intersections, which clogged streets as human drivers worked around them 1.
The outage revealed a weak spot in infrastructure. Autonomous vehicles still lean on live signals for routing and right of way. To judge scale, city transportation departments and AV operators need baseline data on how often intersections lose power in Waymo service areas and what share of signals have uninterruptible power supplies (battery backups that keep devices running during outages) or other backups.
The risk grows during earthquakes, fires, or grid failures, when fleets could stall at scale, just when people need rides most 1.

Teleoperation platforms can meet new AV compliance demand

California regulators opened a comprehensive rulemaking in August 2025 to set policies for AV passenger services, with goals for safety, innovation, and accessibility 2.
For third-party technology providers, this opens a near-term chance to build compliance-ready teleoperation (remote human intervention) services and remote driving infrastructure. They can also offer staffing and audit tools for AV companies and wider robotics fleets.
Vendors should track the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) docket timeline and the rulemaking steps 2. The proceeding may set rules for remote human help during system failures.