By the end of this year, Loblaw plans to introduce a fleet of 20 self-driving trucks to deliver groceries across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). This initiative is part of a collaboration with Gatik, a Silicon Valley startup specializing in autonomous vehicle technology. The companies announced that an additional 30 trucks will be added by the end of 2026.

Initially, the medium-duty trucks will operate with human safety drivers on board. However, Gatik aims to transition to fully autonomous operations in the future, although a timeline for this shift has not been disclosed. The fleet will serve over 300 Loblaw stores in the region, marking what Gatik claims is the largest planned rollout of autonomous trucks in North America.

Despite the ambitious plans, some experts express concerns about the readiness of autonomous driving technology. Krzysztof Czarnecki, a professor at the University of Waterloo, highlighted the unpredictability of road conditions. "The challenge is that there’s just millions and millions of different things that can happen on the road," he said. "What do we have in the world to show us that we can go driverless? In some sense, there’s very little."

Conversely, other experts argue that the technology is already advanced and, in some cases, safer than human drivers. Gatik has a history of testing autonomous vehicles, having first partnered with Loblaw in 2020. The company has since expanded its fleet, deploying its first fully driverless delivery vehicle in Toronto in 2022. Rich Steiner, Gatik's vice president of government relations, stated, "Gatik’s trucks have not been involved in any incidents while operating in autonomous mode throughout the entire duration of our operations in Canada."

The rollout is part of Ontario’s Automated Commercial Motor Vehicle (ACMV) Pilot Program, which allows companies to test automated vehicles on provincial roads. Launched in August, the program includes strict safety conditions, such as insurance requirements and mandatory data reporting. Tanya Blazina, a spokesperson for Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation, noted that the pilot was developed through extensive consultations with various stakeholders.

Loblaw has assured that the partnership with Gatik will not impact its workforce. Catherine Thomas, head of public relations at Loblaw, emphasized that the initiative aims to enhance supply chain efficiency. "By expanding our fleet with Gatik’s next-generation technology, we’re able to move products to our stores more frequently and reliably," she said.

Concerns about the safety of self-driving vehicles persist. Czarnecki expressed that while having a trained safety driver on board is acceptable, the situation changes with fully autonomous vehicles. He cited a previous incident involving a self-driving shuttle in Toronto that resulted in critical injuries. He warned that larger vehicles, like Gatik’s trucks, pose greater risks in accidents due to their size and weight.

In contrast, Steven Waslander, director of the Toronto Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, believes self-driving technology is viable. He pointed to the success of Waymo, a self-driving taxi service, which has reported significantly fewer crashes compared to human drivers. "I’m suspecting that it’s actually probably safer than the average human driver to rely on Gatik’s self-driving trucks," Waslander said.

Czarnecki countered that Waymo operates in more favorable weather conditions, unlike the snowy climate of Toronto, which could complicate Gatik’s operations. He also noted the difficulty in comparing the safety of autonomous vehicles to human drivers due to various confounding factors.

Experts like Bilal Farooq from Toronto Metropolitan University believe Gatik has a strong safety record, given its years of testing on fixed routes in Toronto. However, Waslander emphasized the need for transparency regarding safety records for autonomous vehicles. "From a public perspective, I think transparency and visibility into the safety records for the driverless companies would be essential," he said.