Is Waymo bringing driverless ride-hailing service to Ottawa?

Waymo, the company bringing its driverless ride-hailing service to Toronto, is lobbying City Hall officials about potentially expanding its service to Ottawa.

According to the City of Ottawa lobbyist registry, consultants with Toronto-based Strategy Corp. met with senior staff in Ottawa on behalf of Waymo to discuss “bylaws and regulations related to autonomous driving technologies, including as they relate to operational authorizations and ride-hail operations.”

A “preliminary” meeting took place on Aug. 26 between Strategy Corp. vice-president Garry Keller and the city’s deputy chief of staff John Light, preceded by a phone call on Aug. 17 and an email on Aug. 20.

Alex Bernst, a registered lobbyist and Ottawa-based consultant with Strategy Corp., met with Light on Aug. 26, and on the same day met with Deborah Lightman, the city’s manager of planning, development and building services, and with Omar Choudhry, a senior specialist in intelligent transportation systems.

Choudhry is a member of the advisory committee at Carleton University’s Building Trust in Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (TrustCAV) program, which is designed to “train Canada’s leaders in connected and autonomous vehicles,” according to the university.

According to his profile on Carleton’s website, Choudhry has worked extensively on similar technology projects across the United States and Canada for 28 years “developing and deploying advanced technological solutions to solve traffic problems.”

His work “currently focuses on new technologies in the Intelligent Transportation Systems and Connected Automated Vehicle spaces to assist in improving mobility, traveller information and traffic management for residents,” according to his profile.

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, through his campaign team, said the meetings between the lobbyists and senior city staff were “preliminary” and the company has made no request to operate in Ottawa.

“The meetings between Waymo and the City of Ottawa were preliminary in nature and there are no plans for Waymo to operate here,” Sutcliffe said.

“Waymo has still not begun testing its first Canadian service in Toronto. They have made no request to operate in Ottawa, and there is no timeline for them to do so. Any future proposal will have to go through a full regulatory process and the safety of Ottawa residents should be the first consideration.”

Two other Strategy Corp. consultants, Aidan Grove-White and Susan Ong, are listed in the City of Ottawa registry as lobbying on behalf of Waymo.

Following its launch in five major cities in the U.S, Waymo recently announced its plan to bring its driverless “robo-taxi” ride-hailing service to Toronto in 2028.

The company said Waymo vehicles will be manually driven on the streets of Toronto to map local streets and for testing. Before a Waymo vehicle drives autonomously in a new city, they’re led by human drivers, the company said.

The company said it will soon begin conducting extensive trials across select neighbourhoods in Toronto.

The California-based company already operates in U.S. cities like Dallas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Diego and the San Francisco Bay area, and has partnered with Uber in Austin and Atlanta.

“Expanding into Canada marks an important milestone in Waymo’s global journey,” Waymo co-chief executive Tekedra Mawakana said in a press release. “We’re proud to bring the Waymo Driver to Canada’s largest city and to partner with the vibrant business, arts and cultural communities that share our commitment to safer streets and more accessible mobility.”

Waymo has been approved to take part in the automated vehicle pilot program and has received official provincial permit from Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation to begin manual driving and testing, the company said. All testing on public roads in Toronto will be conducted as part of Ontario’s Automated Vehicle Pilot Program.

—With files from The Financial Post