Self-driving car service Waymo has resumed operations in San Francisco following a temporary suspension caused by a city-wide power outage. The autonomous vehicles contributed to significant traffic disruptions on Saturday when a fire at a PG&E substation plunged large parts of the city into darkness.

The outage, which affected over 130,000 residents and led to the temporary closure of numerous businesses, disabled traffic lights across San Francisco. This widespread failure of essential infrastructure appears to have disoriented Waymo’s driverless cars, causing many to halt unexpectedly in intersections.

Social media footage captured the extent of the problem, showing Waymo vehicles stalled at junctions and creating substantial traffic jams. Drivers reported long queues forming behind the stationary autonomous cars, exacerbating the gridlock already present due to the non-functional traffic signals.

Waymo stated that most of its vehicles completed their active trips safely before the system-wide halt was initiated. The company confirmed that vehicles either returned to depots or pulled over to safe locations. This response aimed to mitigate further complications during the widespread infrastructure failure.

A spokesperson for Waymo acknowledged the significant impact of the power outage on city traffic flow. The company emphasized its commitment to ensuring its technology can adapt to such unforeseen events, including the failure of traffic control systems. They are actively integrating lessons learned from the incident.

Waymo is dedicated to enhancing its autonomous technology’s ability to navigate and respond effectively during traffic disruptions. The company stressed its ongoing collaboration with San Francisco city officials and its commitment to public safety and trust. This incident highlights the challenges of autonomous systems operating in unpredictable urban environments.

The company’s proactive approach to resuming service and its pledge to improve system resilience underscore its focus on maintaining operational continuity. Waymo aims to prevent similar incidents by refining its algorithms for real-world, unexpected scenarios. Their goal is to ensure reliability even when traditional infrastructure fails.

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Keywords: Waymo, San Francisco, driverless cars, power outage, traffic jams, autonomous vehicles, PG&E substation, city infrastructure