Waymo approved for Ontario AV pilot, will map Toronto streets ahead of 2028 robotaxi goal

Waymo gets the green light in Ontario

Alphabet's self-driving unit Waymo has been approved to take part in Ontario's automated vehicle pilot program, setting up the company's first expansion into Canada. According to TechCrunch, Waymo announced the move in a blog post, and its vehicles will begin appearing on Toronto streets within days — driven by humans at first.

The phased playbook, not a launch

Anyone hoping to hail a Waymo in Toronto soon will have to wait. In its announcement, Waymo said it will follow the same sequence it uses in every new city: manual driving to build high-definition maps of local streets, then autonomous testing with trained specialists behind the wheel, then removal of those operators, and finally rides open to the public. The company's stated goal is to welcome its first Toronto riders in 2028.

Toronto also brings a new technical variable. As TechCrunch points out, it is the northernmost — and likely the most wintry — city Waymo has attempted to operate in, so ice and snow will stress-test both the autonomy software and the company's operations. Waymo pitches its all-weather driver as one more option alongside the city's transit network and bike lanes.

A local partner and local jobs

Rather than building all operations itself, Waymo has partnered with Element Fleet Management, a Toronto-headquartered fleet management company that will run comprehensive fleet services for the market. Together the companies expect to create hundreds of jobs over time in fleet maintenance, validation driving, customer service and other operations roles.

Waymo also highlighted longer-standing Canadian connections, including a long-term investor relationship with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and a manufacturing partnership with Magna International. Ahead of the service's arrival, it is engaging accessibility and mobility organisations such as BALANCE for Blind Adults, CNIB, Community Living Toronto, Connected Canadians and Epilepsy Ontario.

An increasingly global footprint

The Canadian entry continues an expansion that has accelerated quickly. TechCrunch notes that two years ago Waymo operated in just three commercial markets and its robotaxis were not yet driving on freeways. After kicking off its push with Austin in March 2025 and later Atlanta, the company now runs commercial robotaxi services in 15 U.S. cities and is testing in London and Tokyo.

Co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana called the expansion "an important milestone" in the company's global journey. Waymo also cites more than 400 million fully autonomous kilometres driven, and says its vehicles have been involved in 95% fewer crashes involving serious injury or worse than human drivers in the cities where it operates — a figure published by the company itself and not independently verified.

A note on conflicting claims

A post on dev.to claims Waymo robotaxis are already carrying riders in downtown Toronto at roughly $1.35 per mile, with service live in the city. That directly contradicts Waymo's own announcement, which describes only manual mapping and supervised testing, with public rides years away. Reports of an active Toronto service should be treated as premature.

Why it matters

Waymo's Canadian debut marks its first entry into Canada and a step beyond its testing programs in London and Tokyo, and it doubles as the industry's highest-profile attempt to run autonomous ride-hailing in a harsh winter climate — a long-standing weak point for the technology. The Element partnership also signals how Waymo now scales into new markets, leaning on local third parties for fleet operations rather than building everything in-house. For Ontario, hosting a major AV operator through its pilot program could shape how Canada regulates autonomous ride-hailing more broadly.