Element Fleet Management Corp. will oversee operating support for Waymo’s planned Toronto service, expanding a multiyear arrangement as the autonomous-driving company prepares for its first Canadian market.
Waymo said Oct. 16 that Toronto road work would begin within days. It plans to collect local street-map data using manually operated vehicles, then move to road tests with specialists trained in autonomous driving at the controls. Waymo is targeting 2028 for its first Toronto riders, but has not announced an opening date, fleet size or service area.
Element’s Element Mobility unit will arrange local personnel, sites, infrastructure and vehicle support. Its work will cover vehicle preparation and maintenance, charging, energy management and connected intelligence, Element said. The company said these services are intended to keep vehicles available and reduce time out of service. The announcements do not say how the companies will divide specific operating costs.
San Diego was the starting location for the multiyear Waymo-Element partnership announced in June; the companies’ October update adds Toronto to their plans. Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana called the move “an important milestone” in the company’s global journey.
Nicole Gavel, Waymo’s senior director and head of business development and strategic partnerships, said staffing for the Toronto work is expected to reach into the hundreds over time. She cited jobs maintaining vehicles, conducting validation drives, helping customers and handling other operating tasks. The companies gave no hiring timetable or total headcount.
Ontario says its Automated Vehicle Pilot Program allows testing under defined conditions, including driverless tests in some circumstances. The province’s timetable schedules revocation of the program’s governing regulation for Oct. 13, 2027. Waymo’s first-rider goal is set for the following year, and the company announcements do not specify which rules would apply to a commercial Toronto service after the pilot ends.
