After seeming to have stalled, app-summoned driverless taxis are creeping closer to Toronto amid steady advances in the technology trying to make them safer than human drivers.
Government regulators here, watching “robotaxi” services spread across parts of the U.S., say they feel prepared to set ground rules once an application comes. However, the launch a decade ago of app-using, driver-reliant Uber in Toronto without any government permissions, forcing its way into the taxi market, showed how commerce fuelled by emerging technology can surprise authorities.