Waymo opened its robotaxi service to the public in Las Vegas on 14 September. The first riders are travelling in fully autonomous Ojai minivans running the sixth-generation Waymo Driver, along the Strip from Boulder Junction to Sahara Avenue. It is the company's fifteenth market and its first city in Nevada.
Key takeaways
- Launched 14 September 2026, following Nevada Transportation Authority approval.
- Vehicle: the Ojai, running the sixth-generation Waymo Driver.
- Initial service area: the Strip from Boulder Junction to Sahara Avenue, plus a band from Spring Valley to Winchester.
- Over 100,000 people registered interest before the service opened.
- Waymo's fleet now exceeds 4,000 robotaxis across 15 markets.
A new vehicle on the hardest street in town
Las Vegas gets the Ojai, a minivan running the sixth generation of the Waymo Driver. The company is starting with dozens of vehicles and says it will steadily widen access to more Clark County residents.
The route choice is not incidental: the Strip means foot traffic at all hours, taxis cutting out of lane without warning and tourists crossing outside crosswalks. Among the destinations served is Allegiant Stadium, where Waymo has been the official ride-hailing partner of the Las Vegas Raiders since August.
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Launch date | 14 September 2026 |
| Vehicle | Ojai (minivan) |
| Driving system | Waymo Driver, sixth generation |
| Initial service area | Strip: Boulder Junction → Sahara Avenue, plus Spring Valley → Winchester band |
| Regulatory approval | Nevada Transportation Authority |
| Market | 15th in Waymo's portfolio, first in Nevada |
Las Vegas and its neighborhoods are evolving rapidly, and expanding smart, clean transit options is essential for our city's future.
Shelley Berkley, Mayor of Las Vegas.
A fifteenth market and a figure to read carefully
Waymo now operates in 15 cities, among them Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin and Miami, and is starting operations in Europe. The combined fleet has passed 4,000 vehicles, and entry into Nevada was cleared by the state regulator.
Scale is starting to work in its favour
What separates Las Vegas from earlier launches is pace. Phoenix took years to build up, Nevada got the service shortly after regulatory approval, on an already-finished sixth-generation vehicle. A queue of 100,000 people before opening suggests demand is no longer the problem — the bottleneck is vehicle count and state approvals.
Why it matters
Every new Waymo market tests whether the system holds up outside its Californian and Arizonan comfort zone. The Strip is harder than suburban Phoenix on that count: dense pedestrian traffic, a night-time activity peak and drivers who do not behave predictably. If the Ojai handles that profile without more incidents, the scaling argument stops being a hypothesis. Several quarters of data will settle it, not the first week.
What's next?
- Waymo says it will steadily widen access across Clark County until the service is open to everyone who wants it.
- The operating area is set to grow — the current boundaries are a starting version, not the target.
