Waymo begins Toronto testing under Ontario pilot, targeting 2028 robotaxi service

Waymo has secured an Ontario permit to begin manual driving and testing in Toronto, setting in motion a phased entry that the company says could lead to fully autonomous passenger trips in 2028. The rollout is Waymo’s first operation in Canada, but it does not yet offer commercial rides.

The permit, issued by Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation, puts Waymo in the province’s Automated Vehicle Pilot Program. The company plans to start manual driving in the coming days, using the initial phase to build high-definition maps and validate the Waymo Driver against Toronto’s local conditions.

Waymo says it will initially deploy a limited number of all-electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles and expand gradually. Testing is expected in neighbourhoods across the city, from St. Lawrence Market, Harbourfront and Parkdale to Don Mills, Leaside, Yonge and Eglinton, Weston, Mimico and Etobicoke.

The next stages are to include autonomous public-road testing with trained specialists in the vehicles. Waymo has said safety operators are expected eventually to leave the driver’s seat before any public robotaxi trips begin. It is working with authorities to obtain the further permits required for a commercial service, which would be available through the Waymo app if the 2028 target is met.

Ontario established its automated-vehicle pilot in 2016 under Regulation 306/15 to enable on-road testing before such vehicles are widely available to the public. Participants must comply with Highway Traffic Act rules and use appropriately licensed drivers. The framework can allow driverless Level 4 or Level 5 testing, subject to additional conditions and approval.

Toronto’s winter will be a central test for the company. Waymo says it has driven tens of thousands of hours in snowy weather, has tested in regions including upstate New York and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and operates in Denver while testing in Minneapolis and Detroit. Its Canadian website says the sixth-generation Waymo Driver has sensor-cleaning mechanisms for snowy and icy conditions and is being validated for harsher weather.

But Steven Waslander of the University of Toronto told CBC News that winter is Toronto’s main differentiator from many North American markets where Waymo operates, and said the challenge had not yet been demonstrated commercially. Krzysztof Czarnecki of the University of Waterloo said snow and ice can obscure cameras and sensors, while precipitation can reduce object detection, making poor-weather testing and fine-tuning essential.

Waymo is partnering with Toronto-based Element Fleet Management for local operations. Element will handle people, facilities, infrastructure and vehicle operations, including vehicle readiness and maintenance, charging infrastructure, energy management and connected intelligence. The arrangement extends a multi-year partnership that began with Element supporting Waymo in San Diego in June.

The companies expect Toronto operations to create hundreds of roles over time in maintenance, validation driving, customer service and other functions. Waymo is also collaborating with accessibility and mobility groups including BALANCE for Blind Adults, CNIB, Community Living Toronto, Connected Canadians and Epilepsy Ontario.

The Toronto plan comes during a wider expansion that has taken Waymo from three commercial markets two years ago to robotaxi services in 15 US cities, while testing also continues in London and Tokyo. Waymo says its vehicles have travelled more than 400 million fully autonomous kilometres and that, in its operating cities, its system has been involved in 95% fewer crashes involving serious injury or worse than human drivers.

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said her principal concerns were the safety of residents and whether autonomous vehicles meet the highest standards. She noted that the legislation allowing autonomous vehicles is provincial, rather than municipal.