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“Important safety measures include maximum speed of 32 kilometres per hour, travelling only on roads with a posted limit of 40 kilometres per hour or less, no use of left turns, and adherence to internationally recognized cybersecurity and privacy standards,” according to a Ìýwith information provided by Magna.

Magna’s pilot will run in all ofÌýDavenport and parts ofÌýParkdale-High Park,ÌýYork South-Weston,ÌýUniversity-Rosedale andÌýToronto-St. Paul’s.

According toÌýMagna, it chose º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøinstead of other Ontario cities because of the high number of roads with speed limits at or below 40 km/h. The driverless vehicles in the pilot cannot travel faster than 32 km/h. The city also has many roads of that speed with commercial businesses to make deliveries.

EachÌýthree-wheeled driverless car —Ìýabout the size of a large cargo bike and the height of a typical sedan —Ìýwill also have “constant human oversight” from a car with a driver and passenger tailing behind as well as a “remote human operator” located in º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøwho can take full control of the driverless car “during complex scenarios,” according to the report.

When making a delivery, the driverless car will park in an open curbside space, with the supervisors’ car also parked nearby. Customers will have to walk to the car to get their deliveries.

The supervisors in what Magna is calling a “chase vehicle” can put an emergency stop to the driverless car andÌýsteer it at a low speed to move it to the side of the road for deliveries and to make room for emergency vehicles.

Magna said in the report that avoiding left turns in the pilot reduces the chance that the cars will be separated from its human supervisors, decreases the chance of collisions and the chance that these cars will contribute to traffic delays.

The report also says that the light weight of the vehicles reduces “potential consequences of a collision” and allows theÌýsafety supervisor toÌýmove it to the side of the road if the automated systemÌýfully shuts down.

The province’s Highway Traffic Act allows for liability insurance of $5 million for each collision, should one happen.

Attempts to put driverless vehicles onto Ontario streets have happened before — including a self-driving transit shuttle program in Toronto’s West RougeÌýthat was cancelled after the manufacturer supplying the vehicles shut down. Another shuttle pilot in Whitby was cancelled after the vehicle crashed into a tree and injured theÌýoperator.

In 2022, Loblaw partnered with trucking and delivery company Gatik to operate a fully driverless delivery service in Brampton, making it the first driverless delivery service in Canada.

While there is no exact start date, the pilot is expected to launch by the end of June.

Each vehicle will have an Ontario licence plate and will be subject to the same road rules as everyone else, “except for the exemptions provided to permitÌýdriverless testing,” the report said.

While regulated by the province, Magna is to report back to the city by the end of 2026 on the pilot’s findings and lessons learned about bringing driverless cars permanently to º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøstreets,Ìýespecially for deliveries.

However, during a workshop with various city divisions for their input, the municipality pointed to some concerns around the safety of other road users.

Their questions included whether the technology can accurately detect and respond to “all humans of all skin tones and sizes,” the report said. Studies have shown some automated systems struggle to detect children and people with darker skin tones.

Other questions city divisions had included the cars’ ability to navigate on downtown roads with heavy traffic, ability to obey traffic laws, and what measures Magna has in place to prevent tampering and ensure proper maintenance.

More to come.