Supervisors seek answers after July 4 transportation gridlock; public commenters blame Waymo vehicles

Following severe transportation gridlock during July 4 celebrations, board members said on July 7 they will seek more information from city agencies about what went wrong and how to avoid similar failures. Supervisor Mahmoud and others introduced a letter of inquiry to the mayor’s office, SFMTA, the Department of Emergency Management and the fire department, asking for data on ridership, congestion metrics, timelines, autonomous-vehicle impacts and emergency response.

Public commenters said the congestion caused significant hardship. Honest Charlie Bodkin, president of the District 5 Democratic Club, told the board his family’s bus was blocked for hours by multiple Waymo vehicles that stalled and, in his view, could not connect to the internet. “We weren’t just stuck in heavy traffic. Our bus and several buses behind us were physically blocked by multiple Waymos that were stalled because they couldn’t connect to the Internet,” Bodkin said, and he asked why officials had not restricted autonomous-vehicle operations in areas known to host large events.

Supervisor Mahmoud said the inquiry is aimed at understanding what worked and what did not, including how agencies coordinated with each other and with private transportation providers and the Presidio. He specifically flagged autonomous vehicles as deserving examination after reports of stalled vehicles and urged agencies to provide incident timelines and data rather than anecdotes.

The request will seek operational information on transit service levels, staffing, incident timelines, and any impacts from autonomous vehicles so the board and city can consider adjustments before future large events.