Waymo’s own blog post is dated 16 October 2026 and signed by the Waymo Team. It has no clock. The company says it is laying the groundwork for fully autonomous ride-hailing in Toronto, investing in local facilities and jobs, with the goal of welcoming its first riders in 2028. In that sentence, 2028 is a goal, not a service that is already open.
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In the coming days, Waymo vehicles are expected on Toronto streets, and the company says that stage begins with manual driving. The sequence is high-definition mapping of local streets, then testing with trained autonomous specialists behind the wheel. The page calls this a validation period, to check that the Waymo Driver adapts to Toronto’s driving conditions. It does not say commercial rides have started, and it does not give a vehicle count.
[1]The fleet partner is Toronto-headquartered Element Fleet Management, which will provide end-to-end fleet management. Waymo says that together with Element and other partners it will invest in hundreds of roles over time, spanning maintenance, validation driving, customer service, and other operations. “Over time” and “hundreds” describe a plan, not a headcount already hired. The page also names existing Canadian ties: the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board as a long-term investor, and Magna International as a manufacturing partner.
[1]The safety figures should not be read as Toronto results. The company says that data from more than 400 million fully autonomous kilometres show the Waymo Driver was involved in 95 percent fewer crashes involving serious injury or worse than humans, which it also states as 20 times fewer, in the cities where it operates. That is the company’s comparison for cities already in service. The page does not give the time window or define the human-driving baseline.
[1]People who want to ride are offered a link to sign up for updates. Co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana calls the Canada expansion a milestone in Waymo’s global journey and says the company will partner with local business, arts, and cultural communities. Those are the company’s statements. This post does not let a reader hail a car in Toronto today.
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