Why did San Francisco's historic fireworks end in massive gridlock?

The Fourth of July was expected to be an unforgettable night for the 100,000 people who made their way to San Francisco to watch a historic Golden Gate Bridge fireworks show. What they might not have anticipated was major gridlock after the event.

Leading up to the event, thousands of people were constantly making their way to San Francisco's shoreline in anticipation of the city's fireworks display. Some drove or arrived by public transit, while others were seen by a USA TODAY reporter using robotaxi services.

However, by the end of the night, the streets surrounding the Presidio and Marina neighborhoods became gridlocked as thousands of commuters attempted to leave the area, resulting in hours-long waits.

One aspect that contributed to the gridlock was a number of Waymo's self-driving robotaxis idling on the road as traffic officials tried to remedy the halt in traffic.

Waymo acknowledged that the traffic congestion on the Fourth of July led to a disruption of "normal operations" among its vehicles and that the company worked with city officials to clear traffic, according to a statement from Waymo.

That didn't stop the public from criticizing the weekend congestion. San Francisco resident Honest Charley Bodkin shared his concerns with the San Francisco Board of Supervisors during Tuesday's meeting.

Bodkin explained how his trip back home with his nephews took close to three hours as the buses they were riding were "physically blocked by multiple Waymos that were stalled."

"It is a complete misnomer to call these 'autonomous vehicles,' when they depend on the internet to function," Bodkin said during public comment. "Because that dependency is known, the mayor's office, the department of emergency management, the (San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency) should have restricted Waymo's operation in that area during the event."

Bilal Mahmood, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, echoed these concerns, announcing on July 6 that he would be submitting a letter to city departments to understand what went wrong over the weekend.

"Reports of Waymo vehicles contributing to gridlock, insufficient transit options, and families and children stranded for hours," his letter reads. "San Franciscans desere (sic) answers."

However, stalled Waymos weren't the only factor that played into the weekend transit disaster.

Leading up to the celebration, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency advised the public to use alternative transportation to the Golden Gate Bridge-adjacent beach Crissy Field, with Muni services scheduled to arrive every five minutes, and provided shuttle buses to the viewing area.

However, by about 8:30 p.m., the SFMTA had changed its tone, instead asking people to consider walking, biking or using a different form of transportation to the fireworks show as its Muni services began seeing significant delays.

"The record volume of attendees along the waterfront will cause significant delays when the fireworks end. Consider walking or biking, taxis & rideshare. Or, take the time & enjoy the bars/restaurants in & around the waterfront neighborhoods until traffic congestion improves," SFMTA posted on social media at about 9:30 p.m. on July 4.

This message appeared to fail to reach many families already seated along the coastline for the fireworks show, as a USA TODAY reporter witnessed folks trying to find an alternative route home after the event.

On July 7, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency apologized to the community, acknowledging that it had not accounted for the additional 41,000 people who opted to use the city's public transit system.

"Our transportation system honestly simply could not handle the volume of people that arrived in San Francisco Saturday," said Viktoriya Wise, the streets director for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, at a press conference.

Waymo also makes headlines in San Mateo

Fourth of July isn't the only time Waymo has made headlines in the Bay Area in the last week. The company alerted the San Mateo Police Department to two Northern California teenagers who were allegedly using a toy gun to shoot water beads out of one of their vehicles - and the pair were later detained.

The incident occurred at about 2 p.m. on July 6 after a Waymo representative contacted the San Mateo Police Department to say that it had suspended a ride due to one of its autonomous vehicles capturing suspicious behavior from the riders, according to police.

"The representative was able to provide us with real-time information they were seeing in the vehicle to advise they saw the 'firearm' being passed between them, lowered and raised, saw what they described as a 'recoil,' and went on to further describe the occupants as possibly intoxicated," according to Jeanine Luna, the San Mateo Police Department spokesperson, in an email to USA TODAY.

The two 15-year-olds were allegedly drinking alcohol inside the vehicle and hanging out of the windows of the vehicle, shooting Orbeez water beads out of a toy gun.

"While there was some ingenuity to this scheme, toy guns, water guns, and BB guns all pose real dangers, especially to an untrained eye," a San Mateo Police Department post about the arrest reads on social media.

"The simple handling of them can cause fear in passerby's (sic) or to those who don't get a good look. Shooting projectiles at speed can cause real damage."

After informing the police of the suspicious behavior, the Waymo representative pulled the vehicle over and explained to the teens, "it was experiencing car trouble," according to Luna. The vehicle's doors were unlocked, and the teens were free to leave at that point and not forced to remain at the scene, she added.

Once San Mateo Police arrived, the two teens were detained before being released to their parents.

As of July 9, the San Mateo Police Department had not received any reports of anyone being hit, injured, or property damaged in connection with the teen antics, according to Luna.

"We are awaiting the video from inside the vehicle to determine what in fact happened. Based on those actions, we will submit possible charges to the District Attorney, but for now the juveniles were released to their parents and were not arrested," said Luna.

While many on social media praised Waymo and the San Mateo Police for how they handled this situation, some online commentators questioned why the teens were allowed to take a robotaxi.

"How come Waymo let the teens in the car in the first place? I thought they had to be 18," one commentator wrote on the San Mateo Police's post.

USA TODAY reached out to Waymo regarding its policy on teens taking one of its self-driving taxis but did not hear back by the time of publication.

Notably, the company offers a program that allows younger riders ages 14 to 17 to take their own robotaxi with parental permission. However, according to the company's website, this program is only offered in Phoenix, Arizona.

It's unclear if this service is being piloted or offered in the San Mateo region.

In order to use the teen program in Phoenix, parents are required to create a linked account with their teens, before the children can ride in a Waymo without a parent being present.

When teens ride a Waymo via this program, the company offers "specially trained Rider Support agents" who can be contacted immediately at the tap of a button, according to the website. Additionally, the company notes that parents are able to monitor their teen's trip, but it doesn't specify if an agent is visually monitoring the ride via its support system.

USA TODAY reporter Thao Nguyen contributed to this story.

Noe Padilla is a Northern California Reporter for USA Today. Contact him at npadilla@usatodayco.com, follow him on X @1NoePadilla or on Bluesky @noepadilla.bsky.social. Sign up for the TODAY Californian newsletter or follow us on Facebook at TODAY Californian.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why did San Francisco's historic fireworks end in massive gridlock?

Reporting by Noe Padilla, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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This story was originally published July 10, 2026 at 1:30 PM.