Driverless delivery cars coming to some Toronto neighbourhoods as part of new pilot project

The driverless car coming to Toronto streets this year (City of Toronto photos).

Up to 20 automated delivery cars will soon roll down Toronto streets, marking the latest pilot project introduced in recent months.

Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation has approved a new pilot application from Canadian parts manufacturer Magna International Inc to test driverless vehicles in select parts of Toronto.

City officials say that the vehicles have three wheels and are roughly the size of a large cargo bike, with their height comparable to a sedan.

Residents can expect to see the vehicles in an area bounded by Eglinton Avenue to the north, College Street to the south, Avenue Road to the east and Parkside Drive to the west, with an additional deployment area in Toronto’s junction neighbourhood in the coming months.

“Based on experiences in the United States, it seems clear that pressure will grow over time to deploy vehicles with various types and levels of automation on Toronto streets,” a staff report set to be considered by Toronto’s infrastructure and environment committee next week notes.

“Testing an automated delivery vehicle under the MTO’s AV pilot will provide a benchmark for future engagement of this kind. This modest pilot with low-speed vehicles is an important opportunity to increase our knowledge on the state of the technology.”

Staff say that the vehicles are designed for short-range “last-mile” package drop-offs.

Each of the 20 vehicles will have a max speed of up to 32 km/h and will be overseen by a human in a “chase vehicle” with a supervisor capable of “immediate intervention.” Officials also add that a “remote human operator” will be available to “assume control during complex scenarios.”

This isn’t the first time, the province has toyed with the idea of an autonomous vehicle trials. In 2016, the province launched a similar program inviting companies to register autonomous vehicles for testing.

In 2021, the “Whitby Autonomous Vehicle Electric Shuttle” was introduced, followed by another automated shuttle in Toronto’s West Rouge community. However, in that project officials determined the technology wasn’t ready for mixed-traffic conditions in complex urban environments.

The city is not covering any costs related to the pilot project and has no regulatory authority overt the initiative, staff say.