Driverless Taxis Are Coming to Toronto — but Is the City Ready?

A taxi pulls up on a Toronto street. You climb into the back seat, buckle up and head toward your destination.

There's just one thing missing: the driver.

That could become reality by 2028, when Waymo, the self-driving vehicle company owned by Google's parent company Alphabet, hopes to launch its robotaxi service in Toronto.

But there's a catch: Ontario's current autonomous-vehicle regulations are set to expire before the first commercial driverless taxis arrive.

And that's only one of several questions the province must confront.

The Legal Roadblock

Ontario has allowed autonomous-vehicle testing since 2016, expanding the program in 2019 to permit fully driverless testing under specific conditions.

However, the current pilot regulation is scheduled to expire on October 13, 2027 — ahead of Waymo's proposed launch.

The existing framework also does not automatically authorize commercial driverless taxi services carrying paying passengers.

Waymo has provincial approval to begin testing, but commercial operations will require an appropriate regulatory framework and further authorization.

The province has less than two years to prepare for a potentially major shift in urban transportation.

Where You'll See Waymo Vehicles

Waymo plans to map and test roads across Toronto, including Yorkdale, Don Mills, Leaside, Yonge and Eglinton, Weston, St. Lawrence Market, Harbourfront, Roncesvalles, Parkdale, Liberty Village and Mimico.

Initially, trained specialists will drive the all-electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles while mapping streets and evaluating local conditions.

Testing could occur around the clock, but fully driverless passenger service won't begin during this initial phase.

Can Driverless Taxis Handle a Toronto Winter?

Anyone who's driven through a Toronto snowstorm knows the challenge: snow-covered lanes on the DVP, icy intersections along Yonge Street and snowbanks narrowing residential roads.

But can a car with nobody behind the wheel handle those conditions?

What happens when lane markings disappear beneath fresh snow? Can its sensors navigate freezing rain, deep slush or a street where parked cars and snowbanks leave barely enough room to pass?

Waymo says its technology has undergone winter testing in Michigan and Colorado, and its newer systems are designed for difficult weather.

But Toronto brings its own challenges, from sudden lake-effect snow squalls to streets still buried hours after a storm.

The real test isn't whether a driverless taxi can navigate Toronto on a clear summer day. It's whether it can handle a February snowstorm during rush hour.

Who Gets the Traffic Ticket?

Here's a problem that rarely comes up in discussions about driverless cars.

In a June 2026 report, Toronto city staff highlighted a legal gap: many traffic offences assume there's a human behind the wheel.

While vehicle owners can be held responsible for certain parking and stopping violations, many moving offences weren't written with fully autonomous vehicles in mind.

If a robotaxi makes an illegal turn or ignores a police officer, who's accountable?

The passenger? The operator? The manufacturer?

It's a question lawmakers may need to resolve before commercial service begins.

Privacy on Toronto's Streets

Waymo vehicles rely on cameras, radar and lidar sensors to monitor surrounding traffic, pedestrians and obstacles.

But those systems can also capture images of people, homes and licence plates.

Where is that information stored? Who can access it? Could it be transferred outside Canada?

Toronto councillors raised similar concerns during an earlier autonomous delivery-vehicle pilot.

City staff subsequently acknowledged that Toronto has limited authority over data collected by private operators because privacy regulation largely falls under federal and provincial jurisdiction.

Waymo says it will comply with Canadian privacy laws, but questions about data collection and oversight remain.

Safety Beyond the Technology

Waymo reports substantially lower rates of serious crashes than human drivers in comparable U.S. operating environments.

That's promising, but no transportation system is accident-free.

Who is liable if a driverless taxi hits a pedestrian? How will it respond to emergency vehicles or police directions? What happens if it stalls in a busy intersection?

Regulators and emergency services will need clear answers.

What Happens to Driving Jobs?

Driverless taxis could eventually reduce demand for taxi and ride-hailing drivers.

Waymo says its Toronto expansion will also create employment opportunities through its partnership with Toronto-based Element Fleet Management, including hundreds of potential roles in maintenance, testing and fleet operations.

Whether those positions will offset jobs lost to automation remains uncertain.

So does the impact on fares. Will robotaxis be cheaper than Uber or conventional taxis?

City Hall Has Limited Control

Despite the local impact, Toronto doesn't have the final say on whether driverless taxis operate on its streets.

Ontario's Ministry of Transportation controls autonomous-vehicle approvals and operating conditions.

Toronto can raise concerns, but its authority is limited.

During an earlier autonomous delivery-vehicle pilot, City Council sought provincial intervention. City staff later reported receiving no response from the Premier's Office or Ministry of Transportation.

The experience highlights how decisions made at Queen's Park can shape transportation on Toronto streets, even when City Hall objects.

The Road to 2028

Waymo already operates commercial driverless taxi services in the United States, giving its Toronto ambitions considerable credibility.

But its proposed Canadian launch remains a target, not a certainty.

Ontario must update or replace its regulatory framework, while Waymo must demonstrate that its vehicles can handle Toronto's weather, traffic and complex streets.

Questions about enforcement, privacy, safety and employment also deserve public scrutiny.

The question isn't just whether driverless taxis are ready for Toronto. It's whether Toronto is ready for driverless taxis.