Zero-Emission Vehicle (TLC Definition)

On this page (7)

Which cars count
Rule citation and close cousins
Where drivers see it
Example
Related terms
FAQ
Sources

A zero-emission vehicle (ZEV), in TLC's rules, is a car with no tailpipe at all. TLC's Chapter 51 says: "Zero-Emission Vehicle is a vehicle that produces no direct exhaust or tailpipe emissions and includes, but is not limited to, battery electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles." A hybrid, even a plug-in hybrid, is not a ZEV.

One sentence: if the car burns any fuel, it is not zero-emission for TLC.

Which cars count

Is it a zero-emission vehicle under TLC's definition?

Definition: TLC Rules ch. 51. Example models from TLC Help's VIN-decoded fleet datasets (tlc-ev-top-models, model pages), snapshot 2026-10-12.

Powertrain	Tailpipe?	ZEV?	Example models in the TLC fleet
Battery electric (BEV)	No	Yes	Tesla Model Y, Fisker Ocean, Toyota bZ4X
Hydrogen fuel-cell electric	No (water vapor only)	Yes — named in the definition	None shown in our fleet data
Plug-in hybrid	Yes	No	Toyota RAV4 Prime
Hybrid	Yes	No	Toyota Camry Hybrid, Sienna Hybrid
Gas or diesel	Yes	No	—

Rule citation and close cousins

Zero-Emission Vehicle — Chapter 51 definitions (quoted above).
Hybrid Electric Vehicle — Chapter 51: a mass-produced vehicle "originally equipped by the manufacturer with a combustion engine system and an electric propulsion system that operate in an integrated manner." Not a ZEV.
Clean Air Vehicle — Chapter 51: a vehicle with an EPA air pollution score of 9.0 or higher that emits 6.4 tons or less of CO₂-equivalent a year. A different, older label used in taxi rules; it is not the same as ZEV.
Accessible Vehicle — Chapter 51: a TLC-licensed vehicle "designed to permit access to and enable the transportation of persons who use wheelchairs." Under Green Rides, an accessible vehicle counts the same as a ZEV, whatever its fuel.
Alternative Fuel Medallion — Chapter 51: a taxi medallion restricted to a vehicle powered by compressed natural gas or a hybrid electric vehicle. "Alternative fuel" here does not mean zero-emission.
EV-only FHV licenses — §59A-06(a)(3)–(4) restrict these to "fully battery electric vehicles, powered only by electric batteries and not gasoline." That is narrower than ZEV.

Where drivers see it

Green Rides dispatch targets
Uber and Lyft must send at least 25% of 2026 trips to a ZEV or an accessible vehicle, rising to 100% in 2030 (§59D-13(c)). See Green Rides Initiative.
EV-restricted vehicle licenses
FHV licenses issued in TLC's EV-only windows stay EV-only. TLC's 2025 Annual Report: a license restricted to an electric vehicle "may only renew as an electric vehicle."
Choosing your next car
If you want your trips to count toward Green Rides, only a BEV, a fuel-cell car or a wheelchair accessible vehicle does. TLC's Feb 2026 review says no electric WAV is on the U.S. market yet. Compare costs: EV vs hybrid for Uber in NYC.

TLC fleet by powertrain (share of vehicles)

Active FHVs and authorized medallion taxis, snapshot 2026-10-12, VINs decoded with NHTSA vPIC. Only the battery-electric bar is zero-emission; the dataset has no fuel-cell category.

Hybrid30%71.8%
Battery electric13.1%0.3%
Plug-in hybrid0.5%0%
Mild hybrid0.4%0%
Gas55.8%27.9%
Diesel0.3%0%
Unknown0%0%

FHV vehicles
Medallion taxis

Show data table

Label	FHV vehicles	Medallion taxis
Hybrid	30%	71.8%
Battery electric	13.1%	0.3%
Plug-in hybrid	0.5%	0%
Mild hybrid	0.4%	0%
Gas	55.8%	27.9%
Diesel	0.3%	0%
Unknown	0%	0%

Source: NYC Open Data: FHV - Active (8wbx-tsch) and Medallion Vehicles - Authorized (rhe8-mgbb), VINs decoded with NHTSA vPIC · Data as of Oct 12, 2026. TLC's vehicle lists have no make/model column, so TLC Help decoded the VIN of every licensed vehicle with NHTSA's vPIC decoder (one representative VIN per manufacturer + model-descriptor + model-year pattern) and published only counts. 5 of 115,081 vehicles (0%) could not be decoded to a model and are left out. vPIC sometimes reports trim-family names (e.g. 'RX' not 'RX 350h'); powertrain comes from vPIC's electrification/fuel fields and may misclassify a few model years. Snapshot lists change daily. Counts: FHV Hybrid 31,490, Battery electric 13,688, Plug-in hybrid 478, Mild hybrid 419, Gas 58,485, Diesel 265, Unknown 13; medallion Hybrid 7,354, Battery electric 26, Plug-in hybrid 3, Mild hybrid 0, Gas 2,853, Diesel 0, Unknown 0.

Example

Two drivers each buy a car for Uber. One buys a battery-electric SUV; the other buys a plug-in hybrid SUV and charges it every night. Under TLC's definition only the first is a zero-emission vehicle, so only the first driver's trips count toward Uber's Green Rides share — unless the plug-in hybrid were also a wheelchair accessible vehicle.

Green Rides Initiative · WAV · FHV · Black car · FHV license cap · High-volume for-hire service

Frequently asked questions

What is a zero-emission vehicle under TLC rules?

TLC's Chapter 51: "Zero-Emission Vehicle is a vehicle that produces no direct exhaust or tailpipe emissions and includes, but is not limited to, battery electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles."

Does a hybrid or plug-in hybrid count as zero-emission?

No. Hybrids and plug-in hybrids have a gas engine and a tailpipe, so they don't meet the definition. TLC defines Hybrid Electric Vehicle separately: a car with a combustion engine and an electric propulsion system working together.

Why does the zero-emission label matter for drivers?

Because Uber and Lyft must send a rising share of trips to zero-emission or wheelchair accessible vehicles under the Green Rides rule (59D-13(c)): 25% in 2026 and 100% by 2030. A hybrid counts toward that only if it is also an accessible vehicle.

Is a hydrogen car allowed on an EV-only FHV license?

The EV-only license rules in 59A-06(a)(3)–(4) say 'fully battery electric vehicles, powered only by electric batteries and not gasoline.' That wording is narrower than zero-emission, so ask TLC before putting any non-battery vehicle on an EV-restricted license.

Sources

Last reviewed against the official sources on Oct 12, 2026.

Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll check it against the official source.

TLC Help is not a law firm and is not affiliated with the NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission or OATH. Explanations on this site are general information, not legal advice. Legal representation is provided by independent attorneys and OATH-registered representatives in our network.