San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has formally requested that state transportation regulators implement mandatory performance standards for autonomous vehicle operators, citing repeated service disruptions during major citywide emergencies. In a Wednesday letter to California regulators, Lurie emphasized that as self-driving fleets grow, they must demonstrate reliability beyond routine conditions, particularly during extraordinary events like large-scale public gatherings or infrastructure failures. The mayor’s proposal follows two high-profile incidents involving Waymo’s robotaxis. During the July 4 holiday celebrations, heavily congested waterfront streets left multiple autonomous vehicles immobilized, blocking traffic lanes and exacerbating gridlock that trapped municipal shuttles and thousands of event attendees. A separate incident occurred during a citywide power outage in December 2025, which similarly stranded autonomous vehicles and disrupted public transit operations. Lurie argued that these failures underscore the need for AV operators to assume broader systemic responsibilities rather than merely transporting passengers. Under the proposed framework, robotaxi companies would be required to prove emergency operational readiness through rigorous testing before deployment. Mandatory measures would include the ability to rapidly clear disabled vehicles from active lanes, dynamically reroute services during crises, share real-time operational data with municipal authorities, and maintain functionality during sudden traffic surges. This approach marks a decisive shift from industry-led voluntary guidelines to enforceable performance benchmarks, a transition gaining traction among federal and state agencies. Federal oversight mirrors this growing regulatory stance. On July 8, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a directive to major autonomous vehicle manufacturers, highlighting a recurring pattern of driverless vehicles impeding first responders and emergency operations. The agency stressed that emergency scenarios are routine operational challenges rather than isolated edge cases, asserting that public trust on public roads must be actively maintained. In response to the mayor’s recommendations, a Waymo spokesperson acknowledged the city’s input and highlighted the company’s historical support for major San Francisco events, including recent FIFA World Cup matches. The company reaffirmed its commitment to collaborating with municipal agencies to improve safety and accessibility based on operational data gathered from millions of rides. California currently requires autonomous vehicle operators to secure permits from both the Department of Motor Vehicles and the California Public Utilities Commission before launching commercial services. Six companies, including Waymo, Zoox, Nuro, Motional, Apollo Auto, and WeRide, have already obtained approvals to conduct fully driverless tests on public roads. If adopted, Lurie’s proposed standards would apply directly to this growing fleet, potentially reshaping compliance requirements for the state’s autonomous mobility sector.