Magna International also received approval from the Government of Ontario. They are now poised to test their globe-aiding Last-Mile Delivery Devices (LMDDs) on the busy streets of Toronto. The pilot project is slated to begin in the second quarter of 2025. It will pilot autonomous three-wheeled vehicles purpose-built for urban delivery on public roadways. The LMDDs are roughly the footprint of a large cargo bike. They are as high as an average sedan and weigh less than 250 kg.
The LMDDs offer new safety technologies. They are outfitted with a loud speaker for auditory alerts and a large flashing beacon on top to capture the attention of drivers more effectively. Plus, each apparatus features a 360-degree camera and sensors to help it map out its route and avoid an object. Magna has assured that the data collected from these tests will be strictly to improve the autonomous driving system. Local officials and residents worry the measures carry a range of privacy and safety concerns.
At this time, the LMDDs are not allowed to operate on high-speed roads or the street-level bike lanes. Instead, they will pull over into open curbside spaces to deliver their goods. Customers pick up their orders from automated lockers locked with electronic multi-digit codes. An active communication link is maintained between a remote supervisor and a safety supervisor in a chase vehicle during operations.
The project has brought forth largely positive, yet divided response from city councillors and members of the community. Even as some laud the imagined efficiencies of automated deliveries, many others raise alarming concerns over public safety and privacy impacts. Magna has applied for permits to deploy up to 20 LMDDs over several years. Each additional vehicle will require a separate approval from the MTO.
City councillor Gord Perks expressed vigorous opposition to the project based on its effects on public safety. He continued, “I asked [Magna], ‘What happens when a firetruck comes along?’ And they told me, ‘We think we’ve got that, but the chase vehicle will take care of it.’ Frankly, I don’t think the people I represent should be beta testing something for some big multinational company.
Especially in Toronto’s most populated wards, Councillor Alejandra Bravo reminded us that the pandemic is a different kind of crisis. Even though most residents of Davenport depend on transit, it’s painful to hear this. How are these driverless vehicles, little drones, going to put those into greater service for buses, for streetcars, for TTC riders? she asked. Some have residential neighborhoods with perhaps very small streets, narrow streets, different kinds of configurations that these robots might not be ready for. And where’s the guarantee that there won’t be any harm done to folks who are using our streets?
Privacy concerns have cast a cloud over the project. Bravo brought the surveillance fears of the LMDDs into sharp relief. Tullis added, “The issues of privacy are for sure going to be on people’s minds…They’re being tracked and filmed just for moving about the city.” Asylum perks echoed this concern. He noted that Magna’s proposal to take pictures of people’s faces would pose major identification issues. “I asked [Magna] directly, they will be recording people’s faces, so they’ll be able to potentially identify individuals,” he stated.
Even at Perks, some workers started raising alarms about data security. He raised alarm that some of that data would be transmitted to the United States, where a patchwork of privacy laws would take effect. I’m not sure what kind of privacy protections would come into effect once that data resides on the US mainland. The truth is, I’ve got legitimate cause to be concerned.
Even with these major concerns, many local officials are convinced that this technology will bring transformative benefits. Former Ontario Transportation Minister Julia Caslin boasted, “Ontario’s roads aren’t just the safest in North America—they’re the safest in the world.” This statement cuts sharply into the worries expressed by her fellow commissioners.
Perks sharply condemned the province’s move. He contended the deal would permit Magna to test its experimental technology on public roads without providing any discernible benefit to local residents. The Province of Ontario just approved a $50 million incentive package for Magna International, one of the world’s largest car parts manufacturers. Now they’re working on those products on the streets of Toronto. So you want to take our scarce public resource, the roadways and make yourselves rich — what’s in it for us I asked Magna right on the spot. Their response was, quite frankly, zip.
He further emphasized that residents pay for road usage through taxes and questioned why a corporation should be allowed free access to public infrastructure for profit-driven experiments. If one of my constituents wants to park their car on a public city street, they have to pay for that privilege. At the same time, Torontonians are paying into the roads they use to drive on through their property taxes. We pay for this stuff. Magna’s laughing all the way to the bank and they’re getting a free ride off of us.
Bravo went on to say that local benefits need to be clearly defined before such dangerous experiments move forward. “We can’t bring things from above for no reason that can be really identified as for local benefit,” she stated. She made it clear that she shares our sense that it’s time to stop letting corporatizing experiments put corporations’ profits before the well-being of communities. “These corporate for-profit experiments to privatize everything, I don’t think we need those anymore,” she wrapped up.
Mixed usage streets Concerns about how LMDDs will work on lively, bustling, mixed usage streets remain front-and-center on city officials’ and residents’ minds. Perks articulated apprehension regarding the vehicles’ ability to navigate unpredictable urban environments: “These are not vehicles with software that has been trained to deal with construction crews or someone wearing a crossing guard vest, or little kids who run out on the street. And they’re doing it explicitly so that their AI will become trained on these specific tasks that it has to handle.
Dianne Saxe pointed out other concerns about privacy and vulnerability to hacking in connection with the LMDDs’ operations. But then, now what are they doing with that information? How are they protecting it from being hacked? We don’t know. And they say, ‘Oh, this is nothing to be worried about.’ Well, why is it not something to worry about?” she asked.
