Waymo picks Toronto as first Canadian robotaxi market — SkimNews
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- Waymo named Toronto its first Canadian city, with cars beginning to drive streets this week and a target of first paid riders in 2028, making it the company's fourth non-US market after London, Tokyo, and Singapore.
- Ontario's automated vehicle testing regulation O. Reg. 306/15 is revoked October 13, 2027 — months before Waymo's 2028 rider target — and the province has not announced a replacement, with Transport Canada saying self-driving vehicles on public roads are limited to "temporary pilot projects."
- Waymo is partnering with Toronto-headquartered Element Fleet Management for end-to-end fleet operations, alongside existing Canadian backers Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (long-term investor) and Magna International (manufacturing partner).
- Waymo cited its US safety record to support the expansion: more than 400 million fully autonomous kilometres (roughly 250 million miles) driven, vehicles involved in 95% fewer crashes causing serious injury or worse than human drivers, and 841 injuries prevented across 500,000-plus paid weekly rides in over a dozen US metros.
- Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow's office told the Toronto Star in April it would not support Waymo if the service cost jobs, prompting Waymo to emphasize "hundreds of roles" in fleet maintenance, validation driving, customer service, and operations.
- Waymo went driverless in Las Vegas this summer, with Denver, San Diego, and Tampa to follow — Denver is its first real snow city, making Toronto's slush, road salt, and freezing-rain winters the test of the company's "all-weather" system.
- Tesla's Robotaxi service runs in seven US cities but doesn't disclose how many cars operate without a safety monitor and the fleet was barely running for much of the year, with no Canadian launch date set.
Why it matters: Waymo's 2028 Toronto launch hinges on Ontario drafting a commercial autonomous-vehicle framework before its testing pilot expires October 13, 2027 — and Mayor Olivia Chow has conditioned her support on local job creation, not just fleet deployment. Without new rules, Canada's largest city watches London and Tokyo roll out robotaxis first despite Waymo's two-year-plus validation runway.
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