Waymo will run screaming from Toronto
I bet $100 Waymo won’t be working by 2029
Shoot me now.
I can’t even – I cannot – I cannot take seriously today’s announcement that Waymo has been approved to start testing Toronto. Please, God, the bullshit has to end. How is anyone taking this seriously?
Under Ontario’s Automated Vehicle Pilot Program, Waymo could run a potentially useful pilot in winter weather in London, or Kitchener, or even Ottawa. Instead of a spacious, well-organized, logically laid-out and competently managed medium-sized municipality, Waymo chose….TORONTO. Toronto, already clogged with 80,000 vehicles for hire. Toronto, the city currently enduring a mayoralty race in which “traffic congestion and gridlock” have been identified as the most important issues for debate.
It makes you wonder how smart all those engineers at Waymo could possibly be.
But perhaps that doesn’t matter, just as it doesn’t seem to matter how much money Waymo blows. As part of Alphabet’s “Other Bets” division and held by held largely by Blackrock, the Vanguard Group, and Fidelity Management and Research, Waymo loses about $5 billion annually. Just what Toronto needs: private capital pouring more subsidies into its already terminally dysfunctional City plan.
2024: Olivia Chow attempted to cap not cut the number of ride hail cars at 83K to review the reported negative impacts on congestion, accessibility & workers. Brad Bradford openly supported not the drivers, but Uber and Lyft, voting against the proposal. But rip out bike lanes.🤷♀️
— Kristine Hubbard (@KristineHubbard) October 14, 2026
I did contact Waymo’s media department to ask what criteria was used to select Toronto as the first Ontario city, but have not heard back from them at time of posting. No doubt, the communications team is tied up writing glowing press releases about the bike lanes in Toronto (which Waymo has not realized are being ripped out, by Ontario).
Also in the past day, I’ve spoken to numerous ground transportation professionals and Ontario government staff. I read Ontario’s statement and Waymo’s press release line-by-painful-line until I cried, partly from laughter and partly from disbelief.
I cannot believe any of this brouhaha reflects reality in any way at all. But don’t take my word for it; read Waymo’s entire announcement for yourself, and tell me what you think at taxinews@rogers.com
I am so confident this is part of an elaborate gas-lighting effort, I bet City Taxi’s Neil Shorey $100 that Waymo runs screaming from Toronto by January 1st, 2029, without a single, customer-funded (not free promotional) autonomous Taxi ride ever having been delivered.
Ontario’s statement:
“As we deliver on our commitment to build a more competitive, resilient and self-reliant economy, our government is securing the jobs of the future for Ontario workers and attracting investment from around the globe. Waymo’s decision to choose Ontario as its first Canadian partner speaks to our province’s strength as a leading destination for innovation, new technologies and investment. Today’s announcement is consistent with that approach, as the company begins the first step in a phased approach under Ontario’s Automated Vehicle Pilot Program that will prioritize public safety and job creation.
At this stage, vehicles will be driven by human drivers for mapping and data collection. For Waymo to move beyond this initial phase, it must continue to meet Ontario’s stringent safety and operational requirements and meet its commitments to Ontario workers with a credible jobs plan that sets out projected positions, hiring timelines and other opportunities for Ontario workers and businesses.”
Dakota Brasier, Director of Media Relations
Office of the Honourable Prabmeet Sarkaria, Ministry of Transportation
Waymo’s “blog/release/announcement”
“Hello Toronto! Waymo is En Route
October 16, 2026–Waymo is officially heading to Canada! We’re laying the groundwork for our fully autonomous ride-hailing service in Toronto, investing in local facilities and jobs, with the goal of welcoming our first riders in 2028.
In the coming days, you’ll start to see Waymo vehicles on the streets of Toronto as we begin driving manually. We are taking a rigorous, phased, safety-first approach starting with high-definition mapping of local street networks and testing with trained autonomous specialists behind the wheel. This validation period will ensure the Waymo Driver adapts seamlessly to Toronto’s distinct driving conditions.
‘Expanding into Canada marks an important milestone in Waymo’s global journey,” said Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana.“Toronto is one of the world’s great cities — innovative, diverse, and forward-looking. We’re proud to bring the Waymo Driver to Canada’s largest city and to partner with the vibrant business, arts and cultural communities that share our commitment to safer streets and more accessible mobility.’
To serve Toronto, we’re partnering with Element Fleet Management, a Toronto-headquartered company and global leader in intelligent fleet and mobility solutions that will provide end-to-end fleet management services. Together with Element and our partners, we’ll invest in hundreds of roles over time spanning fleet maintenance, validation driving, customer service, and other operations functions that support our service. This deep partnership builds on Waymo’s existing ties to Canada, which includes our long-term investor relationship with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and our manufacturing partner, Magna International.
‘As a Canadian company, we are proud to be expanding our partnership with Waymo to help bring autonomous ride-hailing to Toronto,” said Laura Dottori-Attanasio, Chief Executive Officer, Element Fleet Management. Together with Waymo, Element will help create employment opportunities providing the fleet expertise, operational capabilities, and intelligent mobility solutions needed to support autonomous fleets reliably and at scale.’
As one of North America’s fastest-growing metropolitan regions, Toronto has both evolving mobility demands and a dynamic and growing number of tools. From bike lanes to public transit, Waymo’s all-weather Driver can provide an additional option that complements the city’s transportation ecosystem. The data from over 400 million fully autonomous kilometres driven shows the Waymo Driver was involved in 95% fewer (20x fewer) crashes involving serious injury or worse compared to humans in the cities where we operate.
Safety and accessibility are fundamental to Waymo’s mission to be the world’s most trusted driver, and we’re proud to collaborate with leading accessibility and mobility advocacy organizations, including BALANCE for Blind Adults, CNIB, Community Living Toronto, Connected Canadians, and Epilepsy Ontario, among others.
‘Innovation that removes barriers to independence is at the heart of everything we do. Waymo’s history of partnering with the sight loss community to build accessible solutions is encouraging and their decision to engage with us early reflects the kind of approach that leads to real results,’ said Michelle McQuigge, CEO, BALANCE for Blind Adults.
We can’t wait to help residents and visitors explore everything Toronto has to offer. If you’re ready to experience Waymo in Toronto, please sign up for updates to be among the first to ride when we’re ready: waymo.com/waymo-in-canada.”
Company News
The Waymo Team
