San Francisco mayor urges state to tighten robotaxi regulations after recent Waymo disruptions

By CBS Bay Area

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie is calling on California transportation officials to strengthen regulations governing self-driving vehicles, arguing that two recent incidents exposed gaps in how robotaxis operate during major emergencies and large public events.

In a letter sent Thursday to the California transportation secretary, Lurie said the state should adopt new safety requirements for autonomous vehicle companies after disruptions during San Francisco’s Fourth of July fireworks celebration and a widespread power outage last December.

Christopher White, executive director, San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, said the city’s July 4 celebration demonstrated how quickly autonomous vehicles can contribute to gridlock when traffic conditions become unpredictable.

More than 100,000 people packed San Francisco’s waterfront for the annual fireworks show. Despite advance planning and a geofence intended to manage traffic, White said robotaxis struggled to navigate the crowds.

“It took a lot of people a very long time to get where they were going,” said White. “There was a lot of road obstruction.”

According to city officials and transportation advocates, several autonomous vehicles stalled in travel lanes. Muni shuttle buses became trapped in the same congestion, and some vehicles reportedly ran out of battery power. Tow trucks dispatched to remove disabled vehicles were also unable to reach them because of the traffic, with some removals taking three to four hours.

“We’ve seen this now twice in San Francisco,” said Marc Vukcevich, director of state policy for Streets For All.

Vukcevich also pointed to the city’s major power outage in December, when nearly 130,000 San Franciscans lost electricity. Traffic signals went dark across roughly one-third of the city, and autonomous vehicles stopped in intersections, blocking major streets.

“It’s a challenge that causes real street safety concerns,” he said. “Anytime the public right away suddenly is is is clogged or not moving anymore. I think there’s substantial concerns that happen with that.”

In his letter, Lurie warned that emergency responders, including firefighters, police officers and ambulances, could have encountered the same wall of stalled vehicles during a major emergency, calling the situation a public safety hazard.

The mayor is asking the state to require autonomous vehicle companies to prevent disabled vehicles from blocking travel lanes, adapt routes and service in real time during emergencies, share live operational data with city officials and demonstrate through testing that their vehicles can safely handle large public events.

Although Lurie has previously voiced support for autonomous vehicle technology, he wrote that companies like Waymo should be held to the same operational standards as other critical systems the city relies upon.

“It’s great to hear Mayor Lurie asking for greater regulation from the state around Waymo’s. It’s something that we have been calling for for a long time,” said White.

Per KPIX’s request, the California Department of Transportation said it is preparing a statement in response to Lurie’s letter.

Vukcevich said stronger oversight is essential as autonomous vehicles become more common.

“Any new, emerging and potentially radically transformative technology should be regulated and operated as it grows,” said Vukcevich.

KPIX reached out to Waymo for comment but had not received an official comment as of this publishing date. Following December’s power outage, the company said it was updating its autonomous vehicles to better recognize outages, follow emergency traffic rules and expand training with firefighters and police on interacting with its vehicles.