Waymo’s robotaxis are headed to Canada

Alphabet’s self-driving car unit, Waymo, is expanding into Canada after receiving approval to participate in Ontario’s automated vehicle pilot program. The company isn’t launching a robotaxi service just yet, though.

Alphabet 旗下的自动驾驶汽车部门 Waymo 在获得安大略省自动驾驶汽车试点项目的参与批准后，正在向加拿大扩张。不过，该公司目前尚未推出自动驾驶出租车服务。

Waymo tends to follow the same playbook for every new city, gradually proceeding from manual mapping to testing, and eventually operating a commercial service. Waymo said in a blog post on Friday that its self-driving vehicles will be manually driven in Toronto to create high-definition maps of local street networks.

Waymo 在进入每个新城市时往往遵循相同的策略，即从人工测绘逐步过渡到测试，最终开展商业服务。Waymo 周五在博客文章中表示，其自动驾驶车辆将在多伦多进行人工驾驶，以创建当地街道网络的高清地图。

The company will then test its autonomous vehicles on public roads with a human safety operator on board. These operators will eventually be pulled from the driver’s seat, and afterwards the company will invite the public to take rides in its robotaxis.

随后，该公司将在有安全员随车的情况下，在公共道路上测试其自动驾驶车辆。这些安全员最终将撤离驾驶座，此后公司才会邀请公众乘坐其自动驾驶出租车。

Waymo’s move into Canada is part of an aggressive push into new markets that’s picking up speed. Two years ago, the company was operating in only three commercial markets, and its robotaxis were not yet driving on freeways. Its expansion plans kicked off in March 2025 with a deployment in Austin, and later in Atlanta.

Waymo 进入加拿大是其加速进军新市场战略的一部分。两年前，该公司仅在三个商业市场运营，其自动驾驶出租车尚未在高速公路上行驶。其扩张计划于 2025 年 3 月启动，首先部署在奥斯汀，随后是亚特兰大。

Today, the company has robotaxi services in 15 U.S. cities, and is testing them in London and Tokyo as well. The company’s co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said the expansion into Canada marks an important milestone in its global journey.

如今，该公司已在美国 15 个城市提供自动驾驶出租车服务，并正在伦敦和东京进行测试。公司联席首席执行官 Tekedra Mawakana 表示，进军加拿大标志着其全球化征程中的一个重要里程碑。

This is also the northernmost and possibly most wintry city that Waymo has so far tried to operate in, so these conditions will test its AV technology and operational savviness. As part of its accelerated expansion strategy, Waymo has started partnering with third-party companies to manage its fleet in each respective city.

这也是 Waymo 迄今为止尝试运营的最北端、且可能是气候最寒冷的城市，因此这些条件将考验其自动驾驶技术和运营能力。作为加速扩张战略的一部分，Waymo 已开始与第三方公司合作，以管理其在各城市的车队。

Toronto is no different: Waymo said it has partnered with Toronto-based Element Fleet Management, and expects to support hundreds of jobs in spaces such as fleet maintenance, validation driving, customer service, and operations.

多伦多也不例外：Waymo 表示已与总部位于多伦多的 Element Fleet Management 达成合作，预计将支持车队维护、验证驾驶、客户服务和运营等领域的数百个就业岗位。