Waymo is coming to Toronto, but driverless rides are years away
Alphabet's robotaxi unit got the green light to test in Ontario, with a public service in Toronto not expected before 2028.
What happened: Waymo has been approved to join Ontario's automated vehicle pilot program, its first step into Canada. The company isn't launching rides yet. It will first send manually driven cars through Toronto to build detailed street maps, then test autonomous vehicles with a human safety operator behind the wheel. Only later will that operator be removed, and only after that will ordinary people be invited to ride. Separate reporting says a public robotaxi service in Toronto isn't expected to arrive before 2028.
Why it matters: Toronto is the coldest, snowiest city Waymo has attempted so far, a real test of whether its cameras, radar and lidar hold up in winter weather that has tripped up driver-assist systems before. It's also Waymo's first move outside the US, alongside ongoing tests in London and Tokyo. The company has gone from three US markets two years ago to robotaxi service in 15 cities today, so Toronto is part of a fast-accelerating expansion rather than a one-off experiment.
How it works, plainly: Waymo follows the same sequence in every new city: map manually, test with a safety driver, remove the safety driver, then open to the public. To manage the day-to-day fleet work, it has partnered with Toronto-based Element Fleet Management, which expects the deal to support hundreds of jobs in vehicle maintenance, validation driving, customer service and operations. That's a now-visible, near-term effect even though riders won't see a robotaxi for years.
The bigger bet: Financial analysts frame Toronto as more than a transit story. Alphabet has poured money into AI chips, data centers and power deals, and robotaxis are one of the clearest ways to prove that spending translates into real, paying demand rather than just research. But the company still has to show regulators, riders and competitors like Tesla that driverless cars can be safe, reliable and worth the capital tied up in vehicles, mapping and support staff.