Summary
Leading research on autonomous vehicles (AVs) and the artificial intelligence systems that underpin them — combined with Toronto’s flourishing tech community and a strong legacy of automotive manufacturing — mean that the Toronto Region has many of the ingredients needed for AV leadership. Creating an autonomous future will make the Region a leader in the new economy, stimulate economic growth and inward investment and create high-skilled jobs.
Active steps need to be taken to promote the Region’s AV readiness. For example, homes and workplaces, roads and curbsides and safety regulations and insurance systems have all been designed with traditional automobiles in mind. These assumptions need to change as the way we move around the Region changes.
This report makes the case for why and how the Toronto Region should speed up the deployment of AVs and looks at the existing strengths of the Region. It also examines the steps needed to make this future a reality with 20 recommendations to all levels of government and industry, organized across four pillars: people, regulations, management and infrastructure.
