Silicon Valley autonomous driving giant Waymo (backed by Google) is pushing the British Columbia government to change its laws and allow self-driving taxis on provincial roads.
While B.C. currently does not allow fully autonomous vehicles, labelling them an emerging technology, Waymo has stepped up its lobbying efforts to bring its ride-hailing service north of the border.
Data from B.C.’s Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists reveals that representatives from StrategyCorp Inc. have held numerous meetings with officials at ICBC, the Ministry of Transportation, and the Finance Minister’s office. Waymo spokesperson Ethan Teicher confirmed to Postmedia the company is engaging with Canadian officials to advocate for legal frameworks that would allow its driverless fleet to operate here in the future.
Waymo argues that its technology improves road safety by removing human error. According to a Postmedia report, the company claims its vehicles have seen 92 per cent fewer crashes involving severe injuries and 85 per cent fewer collisions with cyclists compared to human drivers over similar distances. However, critics point to data from the U.S. National Highway Transportation Safety Authority, which recorded over 1,400 accidents involving Waymo vehicles between 2021 and 2025.
The Ministry of Transportation stated it is aware of Waymo’s interest but noted that the company has not yet met federal requirements for an exemption to current rules. While B.C. updated its Motor Vehicle Act in 2024 to allow for future pilot projects, the ministry confirmed it is not currently pursuing any trials for autonomous vehicles.
Waymo is going to learn it will never defeat the strong taxi lobby in B.C., which managed to keep ride-hailing services like Uber out of the province for 8 years. Province-wide Uber only happened last May.
While Tesla’s approach to autonomous driving is based solely on camera and its end-to-end AI neural networks (Full Self-Driving) that learns over time, Waymo uses 29 cameras, 5 LiDAR sensors and six radar units per vehicle. But even with all these cameras and sensors, a power outage can render Waymos offline. The company recently admitted to using remote workers in the Philippines to provide guidance to cars when they get stuck.
Waymo currently provides fully autonomous rides in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, Atlanta, and Miami, while recently rolling out early access service to riders in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando. These rides take place in pre-mapped geofenced areas.
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Yeah absolutely no thanks
Please bring them here! Only 55+ are using taxis anyway. Every ride in Phoenix we took was with Waymo, smooth driving at speed limit and you can pick your own music. Don’t have to answer questions from distracted uber driver, who drives below speed limit.