Taxi Partition: Rules and Exemptions

A taxi partition is the barrier between the driver's seat and the back seat of a yellow taxi or green cab. It has clear plastic on top and a steel plate below. TLC says its purpose is "to provide protection to the driver while ensuring passenger safety" and to let passengers see the driver's license, rate card and windshield (TLC §67-10). Every yellow and green cab needs one unless it qualifies for the exemption. For-hire cars don't need one.

The requirement, and the exemption trio

Rule §58-35(a) says: "A Taxicab must be equipped with a partition unless exempt from the requirement." The exemption in §58-35(b) needs all three of these:

Green cabs have a similar list. Instead of a cell phone, a green cab can have an FCC-licensed commercial two-way radio with an emergency button that alerts the dispatcher (§82-36(b), Chapter 82).

What a legal partition looks like

From §67-10:

• clear part: scratch-resistant polycarbonate at least 0.375 inches thick;
• lower part: a 0.085-inch bullet-resistant ballistic steel plate (or an approved equivalent) that covers the whole front-seat backrest and runs to the floor. On an L-shaped partition, it also covers the right side of the center console;
• padding on the plate, and no sharp or rough edges;
• no gap over one inch between the partition and the car body, except six inches each side in cars with factory curtain airbags;
• it must let driver and passengers talk, and let passengers pay by cash or card and get a receipt.

A cab with a partition must also send cool air to the back seat (§58-34(b)). The assault-warning sticker goes above the braille plaque on the partition. In a cab without a partition, it goes in a frame on the passenger headrest (§58-32).

Fines

• Yellow taxi: $300 and suspension until corrected. The owner must appear (§58-35(a), Chapter 58).
• Green cab: $350 if you plead guilty with a condition-corrected form, or $450 after a hearing, plus suspension until corrected (§82-36(a)).

These are owner charges. A driver who leases the cab should report damage to the fleet or owner rather than drive with it broken.

Common mix-ups

• Partition vs camera. They are alternatives. A cab with the camera, trouble lights and emergency phone can skip the partition. See IVCS and trouble lights.
• Old livery rules. Chapter 59 once had sections titled "Partitions for Livery Vehicles". The current rule book marks them repealed, so older articles about livery partitions are out of date.

All the cab safety gear together is in the partition, lights and camera guide. App drivers can read dashcams in TLC vehicles. More on the safety hub.