Waymo to launch first phase of driverless taxi testing in Toronto with service expected in 2028

Autonomous ride-hailing operator Waymo is officially coming to Canada with the driverless taxi service expected to launch in Toronto in 2028, the company says. 

Torontonians may start to see vehicles around the city “in the coming days” as the company begins its first phase of testing, Waymo said in a news release Friday. 

The California-based company said operations in Toronto will be introduced through a “rigorous, phased, safety-first approach,” which will start by mapping local street networks and testing with trained specialists behind the wheel.

Co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said the company looks forward to partnering with businesses and communities in the city with a shared commitment “to safer streets and more accessible mobility.” 

Waymo, owned by Google parent company Alphabet, already has a fleet of all-electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles in 10 major U.S. metropolitan markets. The service operates much like Uber or Lyft, minus the driver.

WATCH | Report found Waymo ‘robotaxis’ caused fewer, less serious accidents:

Waymo robotaxis now way safer than human drivers: report

Google’s Waymo robotaxis now cause far fewer, and less serious, accidents than human drivers in four major U.S. cities, according to a new report that also calls for better monitoring of self-driving vehicle fleets.

The company said its service has been approved to participate in the province’s automated vehicle pilot program, which was launched 10 years ago. 

Ontario’s program initially required a driver in the seat but that requirement changed in 2019 to allow for driverless vehicles, under certain conditions. Those conditions include that the company behind the driverless vehicle must be able to monitor and control it if required, and be able to bring the vehicle to a safe stop if necessary.

Mayor Olivia Chow said her biggest concern is about the safety of Torontonians and ensuring that autonomous vehicles are held to the highest standards. She said legislation permitting the cars is from the province and does not involve the city.

Waymo’s white crossover SUVs are not the first vehicles to traverse Toronto streets under the provincial pilot program, after California-based Gatik began a rollout of 50 autonomous box trucks for Loblaw last year.

Last summer, Magna International tested its self-driving delivery trucks in some Toronto neighbourhoods.

But the cars were “incapable of making right turns at red lights,” would have “frequent, abrupt stops,” and would even reboot in the middle of traffic, according to a letter by city staff to the province.

Research has found autonomous vehicles safer: expert

While the deployment is new, the technology has been used in other parts of Ontario and is even being developed by local companies, said Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association.

He said research has found self-driving vehicles operate safely more consistently than vehicles driven by people. 

“These are the types of calculations that the computer can make in real time that humans can only dream of,” he told CBC Radio’s Metro Morning Friday.

Volpe said he’s looking forward to seeing how auto jobs, particularly related to the technology in self-driving cars, will continue to advance in the province and country.

“General Motors has 1,000 engineers [working on] autonomous driving in Oshawa that we never talk about. I’d like to see another 5,000 of those [jobs] here in the Toronto region,” he said.

For its Canadian launch, Waymo is partnering with Toronto-based company Element Fleet Management, which will provide maintenance, customer service and other support functions.

Toronto residents curious, but cautious of Waymo

Some Torontonians are skeptical, though others were curious about the announcement Friday.

When asked if he’d get into a driverless taxi, Toronto resident Kyle MacDonnell said, “absolutely not.” 

He said society was going “to the point of no return” and he would rather “keep it as real as possible” for however long he could. 

Resident David Feldman said he’d try it out depending on the price, adding most ride-hailing users rarely interact with their drivers.

“You sort of don’t even notice that there’s somebody driving, so it could be interesting,” he said.

The potential impact to existing taxi and ride-share drivers is something Mayor Chow’s office said it was concerned about after a meeting with Waymo earlier this year, saying then any move toward autonomous vehicles must not put people out of work or undermine workers’ livelihoods.

But resident Waleed Anwar said he thinks “it’s a matter of time” before they become the norm, and Toronto should start adopting the vehicles as soon as possible.

“The earlier we get on it, the earlier we get used to it, the better we can adapt to the change that’s happening,” he said.