An American corporation specializing in robotaxi drives wants to bring its service to B.C.
It famously took way longer than people had hoped for rideshare services like Uber and Lyft to be approved in B.C. Hence, the jury is out on what the approval pathway would look like, but the fact is, Waymo is in talks with government leaders to bring the robotaxi service to the province.
Daily Hive Urbanized has heard from Waymo, Transport Canada, ICBC, and the BC Ministry of Transportation and Transit about where discussions are at.
What Waymo is saying about bringing its robotaxi service to B.C.
bluestork/Shutterstock
We heard from Ethan Teicher, the head of comms for Waymo, who said that the corporation has global ambitions and is already making moves in places like Tokyo and London.
“We are engaging with officials across Canada to help explain our technology and advocate for legal frameworks that would allow us to bring our fully autonomous ride-hailing service to Canada in the future,” Teicher said.
Those legal frameworks formed the basis of the delay in having rideshare approved in B.C.
One of the main concerns Teicher addressed in his response to us was that of safety concerns. Waymo has made some headlines Stateside due to some safety incidents it has been involved in, including an incident earlier this year involving a child.
“Our technology has travelled more than 200 million miles fully autonomously. We currently provide over 400,000 rides and drive more than four million miles every week across 10 major U.S. metro areas,” Teicher said.
Teicher said that after analyzing data from 170 miles driven through December 2025, it revealed that Waymo vehicles are involved in 92 per cent fewer crashes that cause serious or fatal injuries compared to human drivers where Waymo operates.
“Our technology immediately detected the individual as soon as they began to emerge from behind the stopped vehicle. The Waymo Driver braked hard, reducing speed from approximately 17 mph to under 6 mph before contact was made,” Waymo said in response to the incident, as reported by CNBC.
What the B.C. Ministry of Transportation and ICBC are saying about the robotaxi service
B.C. legislature in Victoria. (The Bold Bureau/Shutterstock)
The ministry told Daily Hive Urbanized that it is “aware” that Waymo wants to bring its autonomous vehicles to B.C.
“However, at this time, there are federal requirements that the company must achieve, and it has not obtained this federal exemption,” the ministry said.
“In 2024, amendments to British Columbia’s Motor Vehicle Act created the potential for highly automated vehicles to be used in the province in the future, provided they meet federal safety requirements and are authorized for import and sale. These legislative changes also allow for the possibility of future regulations or pilot projects to evaluate the safety of self-driving technologies,” it added.
The ministry also said that it is actively monitoring advances in these kinds of technologies.
“At this time, the ministry is not pursuing an autonomous vehicle pilot project, and Waymo has not approached the ministry to request one.”
An ICBC spokesperson told Daily Hive Urbanized that it has met with Waymo on the topic of driverless technology, but that the final determination will come from the ministry and Transport Canada.
“B.C. laws do not permit driverless vehicles on roads, and this includes parking lots accessed by the public,” ICBC added.
What Transport Canada is saying
Waymo
Transport Canada’s message was brief.
A statement from Transport Canada said, “Transport Canada regularly engages with a diverse range of stakeholders to discuss vehicle safety regulations, new vehicle technologies and their potential use in Canada.”
“At the federal level, Transport Canada administers the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, which governs the Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. These standards set specific vehicle safety requirements for new and imported vehicles (e.g., brake systems, lighting, and tires),” the statement added.
Where do you stand on the Waymo tech? Would you want to see fully self-driving vehicles in the province?
Let us way-know in the comments. (Sorry).
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