Water Roads
Abstract computer-rendered ribbon of water motion against a pale blue gradient.

Cities

Water Roads has one service in delivery — Barangaroo to Rhodes in Sydney, targeted for commercial launch in Q2 2027 — and four cities behind it. No Water Roads vessel is carrying passengers yet. A Rio de Janeiro route is in negotiation; Lisbon, Tri-City and Lagos sit earlier in an assessment Water Roads runs at its own cost, with no call on public money, one that commits a city to nothing and applies the same route method that produced the Sydney service.

Water Roads asks a city for access: the waterway, the wharves and berths, and the approvals the city already controls. The model page makes the argument in full; the revenue picture behind it is on Investors.

Putting a city forward starts that work; it commits the city to nothing. A community group may put a city forward, or add support to a candidature already under way, on the same terms.

What Water Roads is building

Water Roads builds zero-emission water metro transport: high-frequency electric hydrofoil vessels on waterways a city already has, instead of new roads or rail. The Sydney service is the first working example of that model.

What a service gives a city

A route adds transit capacity on a waterway the city already has — no new road or rail construction, zero direct emissions in operation. Sydney is the worked example: a crossing designed to take 18 minutes where the same trip by road or rail takes 45, giving the passenger 27 minutes back.

Where a government wants a route the farebox will not sustain, subsidy stays confined to that route. It is paid only where the government asks for it, against value independently verified after the fact, and it is not a standing subsidy across the network.

Register a city — or register support for one

There is a scope note for this list on the notes page.

Two cities Water Roads has chosen to feature

Rio de Janeiro and Lagos are here because Water Roads chose to feature them — this is not a ranking. Both also appear, with the same status, in the full register below. Sydney’s service is already in delivery; the Sydney project page has the full route and timing detail.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

In negotiation

Waterway under assessment.

A Rio de Janeiro route is in negotiation. The status word is what this page publishes; no counterparty, corridor or negotiation detail appears here.

Register support for Rio de Janeiro

Status legend

Cities do not move themselves between these statuses; Water Roads decides when to open, continue or approve assessment work. No position on this list is a judgement on a city.

Assessment pending
Water Roads has not yet started assessing this city.
Next: The city does not need to do anything. If Water Roads decides to open an assessment, the status changes to Nominated and this page is updated.
Nominated
Water Roads has picked this city to assess next. The assessment itself has not started.
Next: The city does not need to do anything. When assessment starts and Water Roads is ready to gather what it needs for a proposal, the status changes to Proposal requested.
Proposal requested
Water Roads has started assessing this city's waterways and is gathering the information it needs to shape a proposal.
Next: The city does not need to do anything unless Water Roads is in direct contact about specific information. If the assessment supports going ahead, the status changes to In negotiation or In approvals.
In negotiation
Water Roads and the counterparty are negotiating a route in this city. The status word is published; negotiation detail is not.
Next: The city's own officials are already in direct contact. If negotiation supports going ahead, the status changes to In approvals.
In approvals
Water Roads is seeking the approvals the service needs, and no approval has been granted yet. Sydney is at this stage.
Next: The city's own officials are already in direct contact, working through the approvals needed. If those approvals are granted, the status changes to Approved by Water Roads.
Approved by Water Roads
Water Roads has approved going ahead with a service in this city — its own decision to proceed, not a permit or approval from any government or regulator.
Next: Work on the service goes ahead. A city can also carry Additional proposal requested alongside this status; it is defined below.
Additional proposal requested
A further proposal has been requested beyond the stage a city has already reached in Water Roads' own assessment process. It is not a pipeline stage of its own.
Next: Work continues on that further proposal. The service in delivery remains on track, targeted for commercial launch in Q2 2027.

Cities under assessment

Sydney, then Rio de Janeiro, Lisbon, Tri-City and Lagos — the order Water Roads lists them in, not a ranking. Status meanings are in the legend above.

Cities under active assessment, in the order Water Roads lists them: Sydney, then Rio de Janeiro, Lisbon, Tri-City and Lagos.
CityCountryStatusDistance from Sydney (km)
SydneyAustraliaIn approvalsAdditional proposal requested0
Rio de JaneiroBrazilIn negotiation13,521
LisbonPortugalNominated18,177.3
Tri-CityPolandNominated15,711.5
LagosNigeriaProposal requested15,523.5

Local Sydney contact information: use the contact form.

Rank follows each candidature’s target start date, then its level of assessment; two cities with neither to separate them share a rank.

How each city’s rank was worked out
RankCityLevel of assessmentTarget first-route start
1SydneyIn approvalsQ2 2027
2Rio de JaneiroIn negotiationQ4 2027
3LagosProposal requestedNo target date set
4=LisbonNominatedNo target date set
4=Tri-CityNominatedNo target date set

Register a city, or register support for one

Use this form to put a city forward — any city, on this table or not, C40 member or not — or to support a candidature already under way. A submission starts a conversation, not an assessment: it does not add a city to the table, move it into assessment, or create any standing for it. Water Roads alone decides whether and when to open an assessment, against the criteria on this page — not in the order requests arrive.

Putting a city forward, or supporting one, does not commit that city to anything, and does not stand in for the city’s own registration.

City official — you work for the city or its transport authority. Community-group representative — you're putting this city forward, or supporting a candidature already under way, on behalf of a residents' association, chamber of commerce, or environmental or civic body.

Visitor interest, by city

Water Roads decides when to open assessment work. The five cities below have a candidature open, and no city outside this list has one; the full C40 reference register, all 92 remaining cities, follows below.

The five cities with a candidature open, with their status.
CityCandidature
SydneyAustraliaIn approvalsAdditional proposal requested
Rio de JaneiroBrazilIn negotiation
LisbonPortugalNominated
Tri-CityPolandNominated
LagosNigeriaProposal requested
Show all current C40 reference cities (92)

Every remaining current C40 Cities member, ordered by distance from Sydney. Appearing here means a city is a current C40 member and nothing more — the list assigns no status and reports no assessment.

The remaining current C40 Cities members, ordered by distance from Sydney.
CityCountryStatusDistance from Sydney (km)
MelbourneAustraliaAssessment pending713.4
AucklandNew ZealandAssessment pending2,155.9
JakartaIndonesiaAssessment pending5,496.2
Quezon CityPhilippinesAssessment pending6,272.4
SingaporeSingaporeAssessment pending6,306.3
Kuala LumpurMalaysiaAssessment pending6,615.1
Ho Chi Minh CityVietnamAssessment pending6,845.1
Hong KongChinaAssessment pending7,375.5
ShenzhenChinaAssessment pending7,402.6
FuzhouChinaAssessment pending7,468
GuangzhouChinaAssessment pending7,501.7
BangkokThailandAssessment pending7,536.4
HanoiVietnamAssessment pending7,767.1
YokohamaJapanAssessment pending7,800.6
TokyoJapanAssessment pending7,825.8
HangzhouChinaAssessment pending7,842.3
ShanghaiChinaAssessment pending7,881.4
ZhenjiangChinaAssessment pending8,062
NanjingChinaAssessment pending8,078.1
WuhanChinaAssessment pending8,146.9
SeoulSouth KoreaAssessment pending8,329.3
QingdaoChinaAssessment pending8,409.2
DalianChinaAssessment pending8,648.4
ChengduChinaAssessment pending8,706.5
BeijingChinaAssessment pending8,948.2
DhakaBangladeshAssessment pending9,076.3
ChennaiIndiaAssessment pending9,125.7
BengaluruIndiaAssessment pending9,349.2
MumbaiIndiaAssessment pending10,156.8
AhmedabadIndiaAssessment pending10,437.3
Delhi NCTIndiaAssessment pending10,442.5
Durban (eThekwini)South AfricaAssessment pending10,547.4
Cape TownSouth AfricaAssessment pending11,011.7
EkurhuleniSouth AfricaAssessment pending11,019.9
KarachiPakistanAssessment pending11,020.1
JohannesburgSouth AfricaAssessment pending11,040.5
TshwaneSouth AfricaAssessment pending11,063.6
SantiagoChileAssessment pending11,346.7
Dar es SalaamTanzaniaAssessment pending11,571.1
Buenos AiresArgentinaAssessment pending11,801.1
San FranciscoUnited StatesAssessment pending11,947.7
DubaiUnited Arab EmiratesAssessment pending12,049.5
Los AngelesUnited StatesAssessment pending12,073.5
NairobiKenyaAssessment pending12,151.4
PortlandUnited StatesAssessment pending12,341.1
SeattleUnited StatesAssessment pending12,470.3
VancouverCanadaAssessment pending12,501.3
PhoenixUnited StatesAssessment pending12,547.5
Addis AbabaEthiopiaAssessment pending12,634.4
GuadalajaraMexicoAssessment pending12,653.5
LimaPeruAssessment pending12,799.8
Mexico CityMexicoAssessment pending12,972.8
CuritibaBrazilAssessment pending13,075.7
Sao PauloBrazilAssessment pending13,357.2
QuitoEcuadorAssessment pending13,608
AustinUnited StatesAssessment pending13,630
AmmanJordanAssessment pending14,073.6
Tel Aviv-YafoIsraelAssessment pending14,180.3
New OrleansUnited StatesAssessment pending14,300.1
MedellinColombiaAssessment pending14,314.8
BogotaColombiaAssessment pending14,333.6
SalvadorBrazilAssessment pending14,705.5
ChicagoUnited StatesAssessment pending14,875.9
IstanbulTurkeyAssessment pending14,946.2
MiamiUnited StatesAssessment pending15,026
AthensGreeceAssessment pending15,326.5
TorontoCanadaAssessment pending15,567.6
WarsawPolandAssessment pending15,594.3
StockholmSwedenAssessment pending15,596.2
AccraGhanaAssessment pending15,706.6
Washington DCUnited StatesAssessment pending15,710.4
FortalezaBrazilAssessment pending15,711
PhiladelphiaUnited StatesAssessment pending15,883.8
AbidjanCote d'IvoireAssessment pending15,943.1
OsloNorwayAssessment pending15,949.4
New York CityUnited StatesAssessment pending15,988.8
MontrealCanadaAssessment pending16,029.4
CopenhagenDenmarkAssessment pending16,040.9
BerlinGermanyAssessment pending16,094.5
BostonUnited StatesAssessment pending16,240
RomeItalyAssessment pending16,321.1
HeidelbergGermanyAssessment pending16,505.1
MilanItalyAssessment pending16,556.9
AmsterdamNetherlandsAssessment pending16,642.9
RotterdamNetherlandsAssessment pending16,689.6
FreetownSierra LeoneAssessment pending16,772
ParisFranceAssessment pending16,960.5
LondonUnited KingdomAssessment pending16,993.9
BarcelonaSpainAssessment pending17,180.2
DakarSenegalAssessment pending17,596.8
MadridSpainAssessment pending17,684.7
CasablancaMoroccoAssessment pending18,057.5