Taxis of New York City
cabs in New York City come in two varieties: yellow and green; they are widely recognizable symbols of the city. Taxis painted yellow are able to pick up passengers anywhere in the five boroughs. Taxis painted apple green, which began to appear in August 2013, are allowed to pick up passengers in Upper Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. Both types have the same fare structure. Taxicabs are operated by private individuals or companies and licensed by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission. It also oversees over 40,000 other for-hire vehicles, including "black cars", commuter vans, and ambulettes.
Taxicab vehicles, each of which must have a medallion to operate, are driven an average of per shift., there were 51,398 individuals licensed to drive medallion taxicabs. There were 13,605 taxicab medallion licenses in existence., that number had dropped slightly to 13,587 medallions, or 18 lower than the 2014 total. Taxi patronage has declined since 2011 due to competition from ridesharing companies.
The medallion system was created in 1937 as a government imposed limitation on the supply of taxicabs, requiring that a medallion be purchased for the right to operate a taxi. Thereafter, New York did not sell any medallions until 1996, when it auctioned slightly more than 2,000. The lack of new medallions resulted in such a shortage that by 2014 they were selling for more than $1 million each, with about 14,000 medallions in existence. Since then, the increase in rideshare vehicles, which numbered about 63,000 in 2015 and 100,000 by August 2018, has drastically reduced the market price of medallions.
, there are around 7,990 hybrid taxi vehicles, representing almost 59% of the taxis in service, as of 2023, there are over 12,000 taxis in New York City, the most in any city in North America. The Nissan NV200 won the city's bid to become the "Taxi of Tomorrow" to replace most of the city's taxi fleet, with its introduction scheduled for October 2012. Nevertheless, this decision has faced several lawsuits and criticism, with the NV200 subject to comparisons with more cost-effective and widely adopted models., 6,000 Street Hail Livery permits have been issued, 20% of which must be used with wheelchair-accessible vehicles, with 4,478 Street Hail Livery vehicles already in use by that time.
Industry
All types of taxis are licensed by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, which oversees for-hire vehicles, taxis, commuter vans, and paratransit vehicles. The iconic taxicabs come in two colors. The apple green taxis, which are called street hail livery vehicles or "boro taxis," operate only outside the Manhattan central business district, excluding John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport. These taxis started operating in August 2013, with 18,000 licenses being added in three waves of 6,000; the first group of 6,000 licenses was added in 2014. The yellow "medallion" taxicabs can pick up anywhere in the city, and numbered 13,437 licenses in 2014.The TLC oversees over 100,000 for-hire vehicles, including "black cars"; "livery cars"; commuter "dollar vans"; luxury limousines; and paratransit vehicles. Black cars cannot be hailed on the street, instead they must be dispatched by a parent business. These businesses formerly used luxury cars such as a Lincoln Town Car due to their almost-exclusively business clientele, and drivers ordinarily get less than 10% of their income in cash. There were around 500 base stations for black cars, comprising a total fleet of 25,000 vehicles, as of the 2014 TLC Factbook. Livery cars are similar to black cars, but are used by a greater range of people. There were 80 livery bases and 10,000 livery vehicles in 2014. Commuter vans carry more people, usually between 9 and 20 passengers per trip. Commuter van licenses were held by 50 entities, which collectively owned 500 vehicles, in 2014. Luxury limousine providers and private paratransit companies numbered 200 each in 2014, collectively chartering 7,000 luxury limousine vehicles and 2,000 paratransit vehicles. In 2015, there were 14,000 for-hire vehicles associated with one or more of four ride-sharing companies of the time: Juno, Lyft, Uber, and Via. By 2018, over 80,000 such vehicles were being driven for "ride-share".
The average hourly gross income for a medallion driver in 2015 was $30.41, not including tips, according to the 2016 TLC Factbook. Boro taxi drivers made $20.63, also excluding tips. Evening hours are typically more lucrative. Medallion Taxis collectively make between 300,000 and 400,000 trips a day, while Green Taxis, which hit the road in New York City in 2013, do almost 50,000 daily on average. While the TLC does not regulate specific shifts, the morning shift for a medallion taxi typically begins at 5:30 a.m., and the evening shift often starts at 5:15 p.m.. Trips peak Friday evenings for medallion cabs, and Saturday night for Green Taxis.
There were about 143,674 taxis and for-hire vehicles licensed by the TLC in 2015, according to the 2016 Factbook. These include 13,587 Medallion Taxicabs; 7,676 boro taxis; 38,791 black cars; 21,932 livery cars; 288 commuter vans; and 2,206 paratransit vehicles. Passengers in New York City can arrange rides using smartphone apps in yellow medallion taxicabs, Boro cabs, and for-hire vehicles. Each type of TLC-licensed vehicle has its own set of guidelines in regards to app usage, and the TLC has adopted new rules that codify these standards. Any companies that want to operate point-to-point for-hire service within the five boroughs, whether through an app or a phone call, need a TLC license to operate. They must also work only with TLC-licensed drivers and vehicles.
TLC-licensed drivers self-reported 167 different countries as their place of birth in the 2000 United States census, and of all TLC drivers in 2000, 84% were immigrants, up from the 64% figure reported in 1990 and the 38% reported in 1980. That year, about 18% of drivers identified their place of birth as Bangladesh, the country where the most taxi drivers reported themselves as having been born. Drivers providing app-based services identify most commonly as being born in South Asia and the Caribbean/West Indies. Additionally, 97% of New York City taxi drivers self-reported as male and only 2.5% to 3% self-reported as female. This still held mostly true in 2015, where the greatest number of TLC drivers, about 14%, identified their place of birth as Bangladesh, followed by 12% the Dominican Republic; 9% each from the United States and Pakistan; and 6% from India., about half of traditional for-hire vehicle drivers were from the Dominican Republic, and nearly a quarter of medallion drivers were from Bangladesh. Additionally, the vast majority of TLC drivers were still male, with female TLC drivers making up from 1% of medallion taxi drivers to 4% of app-based for-hire vehicle drivers. The average TLC driver was middle-aged, with app-based drivers having a median age of 39 and all other drivers having a median age of 46–47.
The TLC has a Driver Safety Honor Roll which recognizes the safest Taxi and For-Hire Vehicle drivers in New York City. Drivers on the Honor Roll have had no crashes involving fatalities or injuries, no traffic violations, and no violations of TLC safety-related rules for five years or more.
Hailing
Medallion cabs are concentrated in the borough of Manhattan, but can be hailed anywhere throughout the five boroughs of New York City and may be hailed with a raised hand or by standing at a taxi stand. Boro taxis in "apple green" color can be hailed only in the outer boroughs and in the northern part of Manhattan, specifically above 96th Street on the East Side and above 110th Street on the West Side.Before 2011, a cab's availability was indicated by the lights on the top of the car. When no lights were lit, the cab would be occupied by passengers. When just the center light showing the medallion number was lit, the cab would be empty and available. When the OFF and DUTY inscriptions to either side of the medallion number were lit, with the medallion number off, the cab would be off duty and not accepting passengers. However, when the OFF and DUTY inscriptions were lit and the medallion number was still lit, the cab would be off duty but the driver could choose to pick up passengers heading in the same direction as the driver. In fall 2011, the TLC announced a plan to replace the three-light system with a simple indicator as to whether the taxi is available. In 2012, the TLC simplified the light system further, with a lit roof light indicating that the taxi is available and an unlit light indicating that the taxi is not available, regardless of whether it has passengers or is simply off duty. It also started fining drivers $100 for picking up passengers without the light on, except for if the driver is picking up their last passenger of their shift.
As with livery cabs, there is an additional round amber light mounted on the left side of the trunk, as well as an amber light at the front of the cab, usually hidden from view behind the grille. When activated by the driver, these "trouble lights" blink to summon the police.
A maximum of four passengers may be carried in most cabs, although larger minivans may accommodate five passengers. Previously one child under seven could sit on an adult's lap in the back seat if the maximum has been reached. As of 2024, however, New York State law requires that all children under the age of 4 ride in child safety seats and all children ride in child restraint systems until their 8th birthday. Drivers are required to pick up the first or closest passenger they see, and may not refuse a trip to a destination anywhere within the five boroughs, neighboring Westchester or Nassau, or Newark Liberty International Airport. The TLC undertakes undercover operations to ensure cabbies do not engage in racial profiling or otherwise discriminate against passengers hailing cabs.
There are mobile apps designed to help people find, hail, and share cabs in New York City:
- In March 2010, Sense Networks released CabSense. The iPhone/Android phone app uses location data collected from the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission to predict which corners in New York City are best for finding and hailing a cab at any given hour of any given day of the week.
- Carmel released its Mobile App in 2012, allowing customers to order car service in all of New York City. The app complies with all state rules and has won the Taxi and Limousine Commission's approval.
- The Hailo app, using technology by VeriFone allows users to hail taxicabs and automatic accept payments using their smartphones.
- The GetTaxi or Gett app allows users to call taxis to their location and pay automatically through the app. Gett also offers $10 rides within Central Manhattan.