Using E-ZPass Records as Evidence at a TLC Hearing

In short

Toll records can matter in a TLC case when the question is what toll was charged, when and where. The main examples are a passenger complaint that you overcharged a toll, an out-of-city trip where return tolls are in dispute, a fight with an owner over toll money or a replenishment deposit, and an app that didn't pay back a toll. Your best records are your E-ZPass statement (from e-zpassny.com or the Tolls NY app) and the trip receipt, which for taxis and green cabs must list tolls. This page is general information. Whether and how to use a record at a hearing is a decision for you and your lawyer.

When toll records matter

1. Overcharge complaints involving tolls

TLC rules say "Passengers must pay for the toll, but are only required to pay the actual amount (often a discounted toll) charged to the EZ-Pass." They also say "A Driver who charges a passenger more than the actual amount of the EZ-Pass toll is guilty of an overcharge as prohibited by §80-17" (58-26(e)(3), (f)(3); for FHVs, 59A-23(a)(3), (b)(3)). Overcharging carries mandatory penalties under Rule 80-02(e). For a first violation that is $350 if you plead guilty before a hearing, or $500 if found guilty after one. So the exact toll on the tag that day can matter. A statement line showing a $7.46 charge at the RFK, where the receipt shows $7.46, tells a different story than a receipt showing $12.03.

2. Trips where the passenger pays more than one toll

Inside New York City, the passenger pays two times the toll on trips from Brooklyn over the Verrazzano to Staten Island, and from Queens or Brooklyn over the Cross Bay or Marine Parkway bridges to the Rockaways (58-26(f)(1)(ii)). On trips beyond the city, the passenger pays "all necessary tolls to and from the destination" (58-26(f)(2)). TLC's fare page says Newark Airport trips include tolls to and from EWR, and that "passengers are charged for the drivers' return tolls" (TLC). If a passenger later says you charged a toll you never paid, your statement may show the return crossing. See who pays tolls on taxi trips.

3. Toll money between you and the owner

If the owner's tag was used, you must forward passengers' toll money to the tag holder at the end of your shift or lease, under 80-15(d)(4). The penalty is $50 plus restitution. The owner may hold a replenishment deposit of up to $10 per 12-hour shift, $100 maximum, refundable within 30 days (58-27(d)(2), 59A-24(d)(2)). Statement lines matched to your shift dates are how either side shows what was really owed. See replenishment accounts.

4. App toll reimbursement

TLC Rule 59D-17(c) says a high-volume for-hire service "must remit to the Driver the entirety of any toll paid by the Driver during a dispatched trip." The fine is $500 plus restitution. Your E-ZPass statement next to the app's trip and pay record is the simplest way to show a toll was paid and not repaid. TLC keeps tolls apart from pay in its own data too. Its trip record dictionary for high-volume services defines driver_pay as total driver pay "not including tolls or tips," and records tolls in a separate field (TLC data dictionary). So check that the toll line on your pay statement is there in addition to your pay, not instead of it.

5. Equipment summonses

A summons under Rule 80-15(d)(1) says the vehicle wasn't equipped with E-ZPass. Account records showing an active tag assigned to that plate on that date may be relevant. See the 80-15(d)(1) page and, for green cab licensees, 82-27(b).

How to get the records

Download records soon. Don't count on the account keeping old statements forever. MTA gives 180 days to dispute an E-ZPass toll in writing (MTA), so don't wait if a charge itself looks wrong.

Example: lining up one disputed trip

Here is a made-up example to show the method. These are not real records. A passenger in a yellow taxi complains that a Manhattan-to-Newark trip had "too many tolls." Your table might look like this:

What the example shows: each toll on the receipt should match a line on the statement, and the amounts should be the E-ZPass amounts actually charged. If they match, the records support the fare. If one doesn't, for example a toll on the receipt with no matching crossing, that is something to discuss with your lawyer before the hearing, not to hide.

Records also protect you as the complaining side

Toll records aren't only for defense. If an owner kept your replenishment money, or an app didn't repay a toll, the same records support your complaint to TLC (311 is the Commission complaint number printed on taxi receipts). Keep them organized by week, with a copy of your lease or the app's pay statements next to them.

What toll records can't show

• Who was driving. A tag or plate read shows the vehicle, not the person.
• Who was in the car. It doesn't show whether a passenger was on board.
• What the passenger was told. Out-of-city trips also have explanation duties under Rule 80-17(f), and E-ZPass data says nothing about them.
• Why a toll was Mid-Tier or mailed. That needs the account's history, not one statement line.

A record that helps on one point may hurt on another. That is why the decision belongs to your lawyer.

Related

• Evidence for a TLC hearing
• Documents for a TLC hearing
• E-ZPass for TLC drivers
• How to open an E-ZPass NY account
• Why did I get a toll bill with E-ZPass?
• Tolls topic hub