Scheduled Retirement Date (NYC Taxi Vehicle)

A taxi's scheduled retirement date is the day a yellow cab's car (not the medallion) must come out of service. TLC's definition: "the date on which a Taxicab must be retired from service, as determined in section 67-18 of these rules, unless extended as provided in section 67-19" (35 RCNY 51-03). It is about the vehicle's age, so don't confuse it with retirement savings or with your license renewal date.

How the date is set (Rule 67-18)

Source: rule 67-18. The car's age is "the difference between the calendar year at Hack-up and the model year".

Worked example

TLC's Medallion Owners and Agents page gives this one: "a model year 2015 vehicle hacked-up in 2018 is 3 years old and must be retired in 2022, 4 years after the hack-up in 2018." So 84 months minus 3 years (36 months) leaves 48 months, and the car retires at its first scheduled inspection after that.

Two more limits apply to every car. A car that can't pass inspection must be replaced even before its date. And a non-accessible car that reaches its date must retire then, even if it could still pass (67-18(c)).

Hardship extension

The owner can ask the TLC Chair for a one-time extension of up to six months (67-18(d)) if:

1. retiring on time would cause an economic or personal hardship the Chair sees as an undue burden;
2. the request is in writing, with proof, at least 30 days before the date (the Chair can waive this for good cause);
3. the car keeps meeting safety and emission rules;
4. the owner owns no more than one medallion.

Why it matters less each year

Since every new hack-up must be an accessible model (67-06(a)), new taxis have no set retirement date. Non-accessible cabs still on the road keep theirs. TLC's open data shows how old the current medallion fleet is:

Related: TLC vehicle retirement age (FHV and taxi rules side by side) · re-hack · accessible medallion · yellow taxi fleet by model · key dates in the TLC driver calendar · medallions hub.