E-Hail Apps for NYC Taxis: Curb, Arro and Uber Trips

In short: An e-hail is a yellow or green taxi trip that a passenger books in a TLC-licensed app instead of waving on the street. TLC counted 5 licensed e-hail providers at the end of 2025; its passenger pages name Arro, Curb and Myle. Many of these trips now start as Uber requests forwarded to taxis through Curb and Arro, and most are sold at an upfront Flex Fare price. Using an e-hail app is optional, but once you accept a trip, the refusal and overcharge rules apply in full.

This guide is for yellow taxi and green cab drivers. If you drive for Uber or Lyft in a black car, e-hail rules do not apply to you: TLC says app dispatch of for-hire vehicles needs a base license, not an e-hail license (TLC: E-Hail Providers).

What an e-hail is

TLC's rules define an E-Hail as a hail requested through an e-hail app. The app company chooses whether it is a metered trip or a Flex Fare trip. Every e-hail app must also offer the passenger a wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV) option (TLC Rules, chapter 51). The apps themselves are licensed under chapter 78 of the TLC rules. Our glossary entry for e-hail has the short definition.

Three points matter most for drivers:

• It is still a hail, not a pre-arranged trip. You drive your taxi, you use your TLC Driver License, and the taxi rules in chapter 80 apply.
• It is optional. Rule 80-19(a)(1) says use of any licensed e-hail app by the driver "is optional", and TLC's E-Hail Providers page says "Drivers are not required to accept an E-Hail."
• Accepting creates a duty. Rule 80-20(a)(5): a driver "must not refuse to transport a Passenger after accepting a Hail from that Passenger by means of an E-Hail Application." This is a refusal, with the mandatory refusal penalties in §80-02(e). See TLC service refusal rules.

Which apps are licensed

TLC's 2025 Annual Report lists 5 e-hail provider licenses as of December 31, 2025. TLC's Find an Accessible Ride page says "TLC currently licenses these taxi E-hail apps: Arro, Curb, Myle", and passengers can also call 646-599-9999 to book an accessible taxi through an e-hail company. We have not found an official page that names all five licensees, so check TLC's E-Hail Providers page before you trust an app that says it is TLC-licensed.

E-hail providers may only send trips to TLC-authorized drivers in TLC-authorized yellow or green taxis. TLC tells them to check its daily license lists, so an expired or suspended TLC license can stop app trips too (see will apps cut me off if TLC suspends me?).

Uber requests that become taxi trips

TLC's February 2026 FHV License Review explains a change many Manhattan drivers have noticed. Uber forwards some trip requests to taxis "through partnerships with e-hail apps Curb and Arro." TLC added a request-source field to e-hail data in mid-2025. In the latest month TLC reported, more than 80% of trips forwarded by the app companies to taxis had Manhattan pickups, and over 800,000 Uber trip requests in Manhattan were forwarded to taxis.

The trip data shows the same thing. Since June 2026, TLC's yellow taxi files carry a request_source field. In June 2026 there were 927,679 yellow trips with the code HV0003, the license number TLC lists for Uber, and in August 2026 the code HV0005 (Lyft's license number) appeared for 181,225 trips. TLC has not published what each code means, so treat these as signs, not proof. In our own count of these files, about 85% of HV0003-coded trips picked up in Manhattan, and every trip with any request-source code was a Flex Fare trip. The data page Uber trips sent to yellow taxis has the full numbers and caveats.

Flex Fare: the upfront price

A Flex Fare Trip is an e-hail with "an upfront, non-metered, binding fare in dollars and cents, inclusive of all taxes, fees, and any price multiplier", set before the trip is dispatched (chapter 51). It began as a TLC pilot approved on March 29, 2018 (resolution). Each app must get its Flex Fare rate schedule approved by TLC, must charge the same for a WAV request as for a regular one, and must let passengers tip you in the app (rule 78-15(b)).

Flex Fare is no longer a small share of taxi work. In TLC's trip records, payment code 0 means "Flex Fare trip". It was 17.6% to 30.3% of yellow taxi trips each month from September 2025 to August 2026.

Rules you must follow on e-hail trips

These come from chapter 80 of the TLC rules (PDF). Check the rule book for the current fines.

• One e-hail device in a taxi. Rule 80-22(f): a taxi driver may use no more than one electronic device with an e-hail app, apart from the Technology System. Green cabs have a similar limit in 80-22(g), and the device must be mounted, with only voice or one-touch use while moving. Our cell phone rule guide covers the phone ban itself.
• Go "unavailable". Rule 80-25(c): once you accept an e-hail, be logged on but unavailable for street hails in the Technology System.
• Log the trip. Rule 80-25(a): log in and run the Technology System for every taxi trip, including trips that begin in an e-hail app. The rule has a separate exception wording for Flex Fare trips, so ask your Technology System provider how Flex Fare trips must be logged in your cab.
• No overcharging. Rule 80-17(a)(1) bans fares above Commission-approved rates, "including a Flex Fare Trip". Card payments must not exceed approved rates or Flex Fare schedules, plus any optional tip (80-17(j)(2)). Do not type a fare into the app by hand (80-17(j)(4)). See overcharging rules.
• Do not ask for tips. Rule 80-17(a)(6) applies on app trips too.
• Accessible trips. In a WAV, after accepting a metered e-hail you must not refuse the passenger, and you must help a wheelchair user in and out (80-20(a)(6)). TLC says drivers get a $10 bonus, on top of the fare, for each completed WAV request that comes from the accessible-taxi call center, through the Taxi Improvement Fund (TLC accessibility page).

Is e-hail work worth it?

Only you can judge that, because TLC does not publish what e-hail apps pay drivers per trip. Data can show demand. Busy times for app riders are on busiest hours for Uber and Lyft, and the app share of all rides is on what percent of NYC trips are Uber. If you are still choosing between a yellow cab and app driving, read yellow taxi vs Uber/Lyft and the yellow taxi driver hub. For green cab rules, see the green cab hub.

Before you sign any app's driver terms, read the fee schedule. Chapter 78 says each app must file its driver and passenger fees with TLC and show the amounts inside the app before you use it (rule 78-15(c)–(d)).