San Francisco Mayor Requests Statewide Standards for Autonomous Vehicles After Waymo Robotaxis Stranded During July 4 Traffic

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie sent a letter to the California Department of Transportation requesting statewide standards for autonomous vehicles nearly two weeks after Waymo robotaxis became immobile during heavy July 4 traffic. The July 4 incident occurred during a Golden Gate Bridge fireworks show that drew 100,000 spectators.

Dozens of Waymo vehicles ran out of power, blocked key streets, trapped municipal shuttles, and created a citywide traffic jam that affected thousands of people.

A similar December power outage had previously stranded dozens of Waymo vehicles and paralyzed traffic. Lurie stated that California’s current regulatory framework does not adequately address how autonomous vehicles operate during major incidents. He asked the department to require manufacturers to demonstrate four core operational capabilities before operating in the state.

The proposed standards would require companies to immediately remove or relocate robotaxis from active travel lanes, adapt routes and service areas in real time, share real-time operations data with local agencies, and demonstrate through testing that they can handle large influxes of people and traffic.

Any company operating a robotaxi service in California must obtain permits from both the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Public Utilities Commission. Six companies, including Nuro, Waymo, and Zoox, hold driverless testing permits.

Waymo operates an estimated 1,000 robotaxis in the Bay Area, runs service in 11 cities, and completes more than 500,000 paid rides every week. On July 4, Waymo voluntarily restricted service near the waterfront and assigned a representative to the city’s emergency center. Those steps did not prevent vehicles from entering heavy traffic outside the restricted area.