Overview
- Ontario has authorized Waymo to join its Automated Vehicle Pilot Program, enabling HD street mapping and driver‑supervised test runs to start this fall under provincial rules.
- Waymo says it will scale testing and validation through 2027 with the aim of carrying paying passengers in Toronto in 2028, though that public launch date remains the company’s stated target rather than a completed milestone.
- The company has partnered with Toronto‑based Element Fleet Management to handle fleet maintenance, customer service and other local operations while it hires staff and invests in facilities.
- Waymo cites internal safety data showing large reductions in serious‑injury crashes with its Waymo Driver, while outside observers and critics note unresolved challenges for autonomy in dense city traffic and adverse weather.
- The Toronto move builds on existing local AV activity — including Gatik’s autonomous box trucks — and on Waymo’s multi‑city U.S. operations that it says deliver hundreds of thousands of paid trips each week.