This market will resolve according to the number of distinct cities in which Waymo’s ride-hailing service is publicly available, either through the Waymo One app or a partner platform such as Uber, as of December 31, 2026, at 11:59 PM ET. A city counts if riders can book a Waymo vehicle through either the Waymo One app or the Uber app at that time. Any taxi service available to the general public which operates without a human driver actively controlling the vehicle will count, regardless of membership or other financial restrictions. Limited pilot programs, internal employee testing, or invite-only service will not qualify. If Waymo describes a broader region (e.g., “Los Angeles County” or “San Francisco Bay Area”) as a single service area, it will count as one city/region for this market. The primary resolution source is official information from Waymo (see: https://waymo.com/rides/c), however a consensus of credible reporting may also be used.
Trader consensus remains closely split between the 12-15 and 16-19 city ranges because Waymo’s 2026 expansion combines rapid regulatory progress with deliberately phased public rollouts. The company currently offers commercial rider-only service in roughly 11 U.S. metros while running employee-only driverless operations in four additional cities—Las Vegas, Denver, San Diego, and Tampa—since July 2026, with public access expected later this year. Recent California Public Utilities Commission approval for service across 18 counties, including new Sacramento and expanded San Diego footprints, supplies the clearest near-term catalyst. Yet the pattern of interest-list gating followed by gradual full-public launches, combined with ongoing mapping and local permitting in potential markets such as Detroit and Washington D.C., introduces execution uncertainty. The market-implied odds therefore reflect trader assessment of how many of these queued metros will clear the final public-launch threshold before December 31.