San Francisco mayor asks state to tighten self-driving car rules

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has asked California’s Department of Transportation to tighten statewide rules for autonomous vehicles, nearly two weeks after Waymo robotaxis became immobile in heavy July 4 traffic, ran out of power, and blocked key streets — trapping municipal shuttles and turning a local backup into a citywide gridlock that affected thousands of people.

In a letter to the state agency, viewed by TechCrunch, Lurie pointed to two incidents: a widespread power outage in December and the Golden Gate Bridge fireworks show on July 4, which drew 100,000 spectators. Both events left dozens of Waymo vehicles stranded and paralyzed traffic. Lurie argued that these episodes showed California’s current regulatory framework doesn’t adequately address how autonomous vehicles behave during major incidents, whether planned or not — meaning the state’s real test now is not just whether autonomous vehicles can operate safely in normal conditions, but whether they hold up during extraordinary ones.

Lurie is asking the state to require autonomous-vehicle companies to demonstrate four core operational capabilities: immediately clearing robotaxis from active travel lanes, adjusting routes and service areas in real time, sharing real-time operations data with local agencies — including the locations of stalled vehicles and recovery efforts — and proving through testing that they can handle large surges of people and traffic.

Any company operating a robotaxi service in California must clear two separate permitting processes, one from the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles and another from the Public Utilities Commission — a stricter bar than in states like Texas or Arizona. Six companies, including Nuro, Waymo, and Zoox, currently hold permits to test driverless vehicles without a human safety operator in the state.

Waymo is by far the largest, with an estimated 1,000 robotaxis in the Bay Area and more than 500,000 paid rides completed weekly across the 11 cities where it operates, making it the focal point of the new push. Lurie noted that Waymo had voluntarily restricted its service near the San Francisco waterfront on July 4 and staffed the city’s emergency center — steps he said are no longer enough given the size of the company’s fleet. Amazon-owned Zoox and a premium robotaxi service planned by Uber are also testing or preparing to launch in the area; Tesla runs a chauffeured service using human drivers and driver-assistance software, but holds no driverless permit.

TechCrunch has reached out to Waymo for comment. Lurie said the four proposed requirements “will not undermine autonomous vehicles; they will strengthen them.”

Why it matters

The push signals that California, already the strictest state for robotaxi regulation, may tighten the bar further just as Waymo’s fleet scales toward mass-market ride volumes — a precedent other states weighing looser rules for companies like Tesla will be watching closely.