Robotaxis will not fix Toronto’s slow transit, and they could make things worse
Companies such as Waymo use low fares to create artificial demand, pulling riders from weak public transit. Cities should strengthen transit and charge for road space before welcoming robotaxis.
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By Torontoer Staff
Waymo and other robotaxi companies are pressing into Canadian policy circles, but their arrival should not be treated as a shortcut to better urban mobility. By subsidizing fares to attract riders and investors, these firms can siphon passengers from public transit without addressing the deeper problems that make buses and streetcars slow and unreliable.
That distortion matters in Toronto. Streetcars move about 230,000 people a day. If robotaxis take even a modest share of those trips, the result will be more passenger vehicles on city streets, less political will to prioritise public transit and more congestion that slows the transit services left behind.
How low fares misrepresent demand
Robotaxi companies face high costs for hardware, software and remote monitoring. To build ridership and attract capital, they charge fares that do not cover those costs. That creates artificially high demand, which looks like a preference for robotaxis but is in fact a price-driven choice.
When costs are hidden by subsidies, planners and politicians cannot see real ridership preferences. People choose services based on price as well as convenience. Distorting price signals makes it harder to assess whether passengers prefer robotaxis, better transit service or both.
What happens when subsidies end
Companies are competing to be the dominant robotaxi provider, and that means accepting losses for growth. If a market leader emerges, investors will expect returns. Fares will have to rise to cover costs. By then, public transit agencies may have lost riders and budget authority, making it harder to restore service levels.
I really, really wish these streetcars were faster than me, but they’re not. And this is the problem.
Mac Bauer, Toronto resident who races streetcars on foot
Robust public transit requires priority on streets and reliable service levels. Introducing a large fleet of robotaxis under current conditions risks creating a two-tier system: a premium, pay-as-you-go service for those who can afford it, and a weakened public system for everyone else.
Policy steps cities should consider
- Require clear fare transparency and reporting so true operating costs are visible
- Charge for curb and road space used by idle or circulating robotaxis, and use revenues to fund transit
- Protect and expand transit priority lanes to keep buses and streetcars competitive
- Limit large fleet deployments until public transit meets performance benchmarks
- Set rules to curb empty vehicle cruising and off-hours street storage that eat capacity
Street space is a public asset. Municipal agencies should set conditions that ensure new mobility services contribute to the public interest, not erode it. That means treating road capacity like any other constrained resource, assigning value to curb space and tying deployment permissions to measurable benefits for transit users.
What robotaxis can be
Robotaxis can play useful roles in a broader mobility mix. They may serve as premium or niche options for late-night trips, mobility-impaired riders or suburban first- and last-mile connections. Those targeted uses make sense when public transit is strong enough that these services do not siphon riders away.
Declaring robotaxis a cure for slow transit reverses cause and effect. The work Toronto really needs is improving transit speed and reliability, reallocating street space to move more people, and setting rules so private mobility providers pay their full share for public road use.
Cities considering large-scale robotaxi deployments should require proof that such services will not undermine public transit. Otherwise, short-term gains for a few riders will come at the expense of the majority who rely on buses and streetcars.
transportationpublic transitWaymorobotaxisurban policy
