(a) No Overcharges.
(1) A Driver of a Taxicab or Street Hail Livery must not charge or attempt to charge a fare above the Commission-approved rates, including Commission-approved Flex Fare Rate Schedule. This includes a fare in a Street Hail Livery for a Hail Trip or a fare for any trip initiated or accepted through an E-Hail Application, including a Flex Fare Trip.
(2) A Driver of a For-Hire Vehicle or Street Hail Livery on Pre-Arranged Trips must not charge a Passenger more than the rate, fare quote, or fare estimate provided to the Passenger by the Base pursuant to 35 RCNY § 59B-23 (unless the trip destination is changed by the Passenger after the initial fare quote or fare estimate).
(3) A Driver must not impose or attempt to impose any additional charge for transporting a person with a disability, a service animal accompanying a person with a disability, or a wheelchair or other mobility aid.
(4) A Driver must not require a person with a disability to be accompanied by an attendant. However, if a person with a disability is accompanied by an attendant, the Driver must not impose or attempt to impose any additional charge for transporting the attendant.
(5) A Driver must give the correct change to a Passenger who has paid the fare.
35 RCNY § 80-17(a)(5) | Fine: $50 if plead guilty before a hearing; $100 if found guilty following a hearing. Points: 2 | Appearance REQUIRED |
(6) A Driver must not ask a Passenger for a tip or indicate that a tip is expected or required.
35 RCNY § 80-17(a)(6) | Fine: $50 | Appearance NOT REQUIRED |
(b) Non-Paying Customers. If a Taxicab or Street Hail Livery Passenger refuses to pay the metered fare, the Driver of the Taxicab or Street Hail Livery must place the meter in the off or "Vacant" position, record the amount of fare on the Taximeter onto the Trip Record through the Technology System, or onto the written Trip Record if the Technology System is not working, and proceed directly to the nearest police precinct, present the facts to the police and follow their instructions for resolving the dispute.
(c) Currency. A Taxicab or Street Hail Livery Driver must accept United States currency as fare payment.
35 RCNY § 80-17(c) | Fine: $50 | Appearance NOT REQUIRED |
(d) Making Change.
(1) A Driver of a Taxicab or Street Hail Livery must always be capable of making change for a $20 bill during his or her work shift.
(2) If the Driver of a Taxicab or Street Hail Livery is not able to change a $20 bill, the Driver will, with the Passenger's consent, take the following steps:
(i) Log off from the Technology System.
(ii) Transmit the relevant information to an electronic database for entry on the electronic trip record or make an appropriate written trip record entry.
(iii) Proceed to the nearest location where he or she may reasonably expect to obtain change.
35 RCNY § 80-17(d) | Fine: $25 | Appearance NOT REQUIRED |
(e) Must Accept Credit/Debit Card Payment.
(1) Taxicabs and Street Hail Livery Credit/Debit Card Payment.
(i) All Taxicabs are required to be equipped with a Technology System and Drivers must accept a Passenger's choice to pay by credit/debit card.
(ii) All Street Hail Liveries are required to be equipped with a Technology System and Drivers must accept a Passenger's choice to pay by credit/debit card for Hail Trips.
(iii) A Driver of a Taxicab or Street Hail Livery must not pick up or transport a passenger when the system is incapable of accepting or processing credit or debit card transactions, unless prior to engaging the Taximeter, the Driver advises the Passenger that he/she will not be able to use a credit or debit card for payment.
(iv) A Driver of a Taxicab or Street Hail Livery must not accept credit/debit card payments through any device other than the Vehicle's Technology System or an approved E-Hail App.
(v) If a Taxicab or Street Hail Livery customer's effort to pay by debit/credit card at the end of the trip is prevented not by the Vehicle's Technology System, but because the communication network is unable to process debit/credit card payments at that time, the Driver must offer the customer the option of either paying cash or having the Driver continue to a location where the wireless payment system can communicate with its network.
35 RCNY § 80-17(e)(1)(i)-(v) | Fine: $100 | Appearance NOT REQUIRED |
(vi) No Mark-up for Credit Payment. A Driver of a Taxicab or Street Hail Livery must not charge any additional fee (mark-up) to any Passenger for credit/debit card transactions for any Trip in a Taxicab or for any Hail Trip in a Street Hail Livery.
35 RCNY § 80-17(e)(1)(vi) | Fine: First violation: $200. Second violation: $300. Third violation: $500. In addition to the penalty payable to the Commission, the administrative law judge may order the Driver to pay restitution to the Passenger, equal to the excess amount that was charged to the Passenger. | Appearance REQUIRED |
(2) For-Hire Vehicle Credit/Debit Card Payment.
(i) All For-Hire Vehicle Drivers must accept a Passenger's choice to pay by credit/debit card if credit card payment is available.
35 RCNY § 80-17(e)(2)(i) | Fine: $100 | Appearance NOT REQUIRED |
(f) Trips Beyond the City in a Taxi or Street Hail Livery.
(1) In General. For a trip anywhere in a Taxi or Street Hail Livery beyond the City of New York (other than to Westchester or Nassau counties or Newark Airport), the following rules and charges apply:
(i) The Driver of a Taxicab or Street Hail Livery must negotiate a flat rate trip charge with the Passenger before beginning the trip. (NOTE: A "flat" rate means a dollar amount; "double the meter" is NOT a flat rate.)
(ii) The Driver of a Taxicab or Street Hail Livery must place the Taximeter in a recording position at the beginning of the trip and allow it to continue recording
35 RCNY § 80-17(f)(1) | Fine: $100 | Appearance NOT REQUIRED |
(2) For a trip to Westchester or Nassau County, the following charges and rules apply:
(i) The Driver of a Taxicab or Street Hail Livery must place the Taximeter in a recording position at the start of the trip and must keep the Taximeter in the recording position at all times.
35 RCNY § 80-17(f)(2)(i) | Fine: $100 | Appearance NOT REQUIRED |
(ii) Before starting the trip, the Driver of a Taxicab or Street Hail Livery must inform the Passenger how the trip charges will be calculated, including the payment of tolls both to and from the destination for Taxicabs and 35 RCNY § 82-26(d)(2) for Street Hail Liveries.
A. The rate of fare will be the amount shown on the Taximeter for the portion of the trip within the City, plus twice the amount shown on the Taximeter for the portion of the trip outside the City limits (See 35 RCNY § 58-26(d)(2)).
(iii) The Driver of a Taxicab or Street Hail Livery must tell the Passenger when the Vehicle crosses the City limits so that the Passenger can check the reading on the Taximeter at that time.
35 RCNY § 80-17(f)(2)(ii-iii) | Fine: $25 | Appearance NOT REQUIRED |
(iv) The Passenger of a Taxicab or Street Hail Livery is also responsible for all necessary tolls charged for both going to the destination and for the Driver's return to the City.
(3) For a trip to Newark Airport, in a Taxi or a Street Hail Livery the following charges and rules apply:
(i) The Driver of the Taxicab or Street Hail Livery must place the Taximeter in a recording position at the start of the trip and must keep the Taximeter in the recording position at all times.
35 RCNY § 80-17(f)(3)(i) | Fine: $100 | Appearance NOT REQUIRED |
(ii) Before starting the trip, the Driver of the Taxicab or Street Hail Livery Driver must inform the Passenger how the trip charges will be calculated, including the payment of tolls out of and back into the City.
35 RCNY § 80-17(f)(3)(ii) | Fine: $25 | Appearance NOT REQUIRED |
(iii) The Taxicab or Street Hail Livery Passenger is also responsible for all necessary tolls charged for both going to the destination and for the Driver's return to the City.
(g) MTA Tax. The MTA Tax must be charged on any trip in a Taxicab or on any Hail Trip in a Street Hail Livery that starts in New York City and ends in any of:
(1) New York City.
(2) Dutchess County.
(3) Nassau County.
(4) Orange County.
(5) Putnam County.
(6) Rockland County.
(7) Suffolk County.
(8) Westchester County.
(h) Taxicab Improvement Surcharge. For each trip in a Taxicab, the Driver must remit the Taxicab Improvement Surcharge to the Taxicab Medallion Owner.
35 RCNY § 80-17(h) | Fine: $50 per occurrence | Appearance NOT REQUIRED |
(i) Street Hail Livery Improvement Surcharge. For each Hail Trip in a Street Hail Livery, the Driver must remit the Street Hail Livery Improvement Surcharge to the Street Hail Livery Licensee.
35 RCNY § 80-17(i) | Fine: $50 per occurrence | Appearance NOT REQUIRED |
(j) Taxicab and Street Hail Livery E-Payments.
(1) A Taxicab or Street Hail Livery Driver must allow the Passenger to pay by E-Payment as long as the E-Payment method complies with Commission rules.
35 RCNY § 80-17(j)(1) | Fine: $100 | Appearance NOT REQUIRED |
(2) The payment must not exceed Commission-approved rates, including Commission-approved Flex Fare Rate Schedules, plus any optional tip.
(3) The fare must be calculated as required by these rules and the Taximeter must be used for all trips, including trips paid for by E-Payment, unless it is a Flex Fare Trip. Any fare paid for by E-Payment must be calculated by the Taximeter and not by any other method, unless it is a Flex Fare Trip.
(4) The itemized fare amount charged to the Passenger must be automatically transmitted to the E- Hail Application from the Technology System, or the Taximeter, unless it is a Flex Fare trip, and relevant payment data necessary to obtain a complete trip record must be transmitted from the E-Hail Application to the Technology System. Manual input of the fare by the Driver or any other person into the E-Hail Application is not permitted.
(5) A Driver must not accept credit card payment from a Passenger by any E-Hail Application that does not integrate with the Technology System.
35 RCNY § 80-17(j)(5) | Fine: $200 | Appearance NOT REQUIRED |
(Added City Record 9/22/2016, eff. 10/22/2016; amended City Record 5/17/2018, eff. 6/16/2018; amended City Record 8/19/2019, eff. 9/18/2019; amended City Record 2/2/2023, eff. 3/4/2023; amended City Record 5/10/2023, eff. 6/9/2023; amended City Record 8/22/2024, eff. 9/21/2024)