Waymo halts service in San Francisco as cars stall at intersections

Monday, December 22, 2025 -Waymo temporarily suspended its autonomous ride-hailing service in San Francisco after a major citywide power outage disrupted traffic signals across large parts of the city. 

The outage left numerous intersections without functioning lights, causing multiple Waymo robotaxis to stall in place as their systems assessed unsafe driving conditions. With streets gridlocked and emergency access at risk, the company halted service to protect riders and reduce further congestion.

Videos circulating online showed autonomous vehicles stopped at intersections with hazard lights activated, blocking lanes while human drivers navigated around them. 

Although Waymo vehicles are programmed to treat dark traffic signals as four-way stops, the scale and simultaneity of the outage created complex scenarios that led many cars to remain stationary longer than expected. City officials stepped in by deploying police officers and traffic personnel to manually control intersections during the disruption.

Service was restored once power returned to most neighborhoods, and Waymo confirmed operations had resumed across the city. The company stated it is reviewing the incident to improve system responses during large-scale infrastructure failures. 

The episode has renewed debate over the readiness of autonomous vehicles in dense urban environments, highlighting how heavily self-driving technology still depends on stable city infrastructure as expansion continues.