A Waymo autonomous vehicle is vandalized in aftermath of ICE Out of the Bay protest at ICE headquarters on Sansome Street in San Francisco on Sunday. The company plans to limit service in parts of the city Monday ahead of expected anti-ICE protests. Scott Strazzante/S.F. Chronicle
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Waymo plans to limit service in parts of San Francisco on Monday ahead of expected protests by immigrant rights activists, after several vehicles were torched in Los Angeles over the weekend.
The autonomous vehicle company was “limiting trips in certain areas” and suspending service “in the areas where protesters may be gathering, out of an abundance of caution,” a spokesperson said in an email. Waymo declined to specify where service was suspended and how long the suspension was expected to stay in place.
The service limits came after five self-driving taxis were vandalized in Los Angeles over the weekend during protests against federal immigration policies. Videos circulated on social media of protesters spray-painting Waymo vehicles with anti-ICE messages, slashing tires and setting fire to the cars’ interiors.
Waymo does not believe the vehicles were intentionally targeted, the spokesperson said. Most of its fleet is electric Jaguar I-PACE cars, according to the company’s website.
In San Francisco, immigrant rights activists were expected to gather Monday afternoon outside City Hall and at the 24th and Mission BART plaza to protest recent federal immigration arrests and the Trump administration’s most recent travel ban. Waymo is “in touch with law enforcement” ahead of the planned protests, the spokesperson said.
The expected protests followed a tense standoff Sunday evening between police and demonstrators near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office on Sansome Street. Six juveniles and 148 adults were arrested and two officers were injured following the protest, police officials said.
Other transit providers also planned service changes. San Francisco’s Muni said it would reroute multiple bus lines starting around 5 p.m. ahead of the expected protest in the Mission District, the transportation agency said on social media. The 14, 14R, 22, 27, 33, 48, 49, 55 and 67 lines were set to be rerouted.