Due to a flash flood warning issued by the National Weather Service (NWS) in the United States, Waymo, the autonomous driving company under Alphabet, announced on Christmas Day, December 25, that they would once again suspend their robotaxi service in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The flash flood warning in effect for the entire San Francisco area is expected to last until Friday night, December 26th. Waymo notified users through its autonomous driving ride-hailing app, stating, “Due to the flash flood warning issued by the National Weather Service, the service is temporarily suspended.”
Waymo later confirmed this information to KTVU television station. The company stated, “Given the severity of the flash flood warning earlier today, we have temporarily suspended service in the Bay Area. We are closely coordinating with city officials and emergency management departments and will resume service as soon as it is deemed safe.” According to the latest updates, Waymo has partially resumed operations at present.
Just days before this Christmas storm, Waymo had recently faced a PR crisis. On December 20th, a widespread power outage by Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) left tens of thousands of people in San Francisco without power. During this time, several Waymo self-driving vehicles on the road were left confused at intersections without working traffic signals, some even coming to unexpected stops in the traffic flow, causing congestion.
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie revealed that he personally contacted the CEO of Waymo during the power outage requesting the company to withdraw all vehicles from the streets. The shutdown on Christmas Day once again raised questions about the ability of autonomous vehicles to handle emergency situations.
Former Director of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), Jeffrey Tumlin, in an interview with CNBC, expressed that regulatory bodies and autonomous driving companies should learn from the chaos of the past week.
Tumlin suggested that decisions on “how many self-driving cars should be allowed on city streets at different times, locations, and weather conditions” should be made accordingly.
He proposed that regulatory agencies establish a phased system where companies must pass specific tests – for example, ensuring vehicles can safely leave an uncontrolled intersection when faced with no traffic signals.
Despite the recent controversies, Waymo’s expansion efforts have not slowed down. This year, the company has expanded its services to five markets including Austin, San Francisco, Phoenix, Atlanta, and Los Angeles. According to CNBC reports, Waymo plans to significantly expand its service footprint within and outside the United States by 2026.