Waymo vows to improve emergency response protocols after San Francisco power outage


Waymo driverless taxi drives in lower Manhattan in New York City, U.S., November 26, 2025. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

WASHINGTON, Dec ‌23 (Reuters) - Alphabet unit Waymo ‌said on Tuesday it ‌will expand first responder engagement, improve its emergency response protocols and roll ‍out updates to ‍allow its ‌vehicles to navigate intersections more decisively, ‍following ​incidents of stalled Waymo robotaxis after ⁠a San Francisco power outage.

Waymo paused ‌service Saturday evening following a ⁠fire at ‍a PG&E substation that knocked out power to ‍roughly one-third of the ‌city, affecting about 130,000 residents and forcing some businesses to close temporarily.

A California regulator said on Monday it was looking into incidents in which ‌Waymo's robotaxis stalled in parts of San Francisco because of ​the outage.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

Next In Tech News

Online daters are getting serious about vetting their matches
Apple to allow third-party app stores in Brazil to settle iOS case with regulator
US judge blocks Texas app store age law meant to protect children
Trump's AI hiring campaign draws interest from 25,000 hopefuls
Samsung Electronics unit Harman to acquire ZF Group's ADAS business for $1.8 billion
AI data centers are forcing dirty ‘peaker’ power plants back into service
Paramount's new offer for Warner Bros is not sufficient, major investor says
After power outage, San Francisco wonders: Can robot taxis handle a big earthquake?
Amazon's Zoox to recall 332 US vehicles over software error
Uber and Lyft plan to bring robotaxis to London in partnerships with China's Baidu

Others Also Read