Uber & Lyft Driver Minimum Pay in NYC: 2026 Rates

In short: if you drive trips dispatched by a High-Volume For-Hire Service (TLC says that is currently Uber and Lyft), the company must pay you at least a set amount per mile and per minute while a passenger is in your car. From March 1, 2026, inside the city that is $1.283 per mile + $0.681 per minute in a regular vehicle, and $1.601 per mile + $0.681 per minute in a wheelchair-accessible vehicle (WAV) (TLC Driver Pay Rates; Industry Notice #26-03).

This page shows how to check a trip against the minimum, what else the rules require the company to pay you, and what to do if something looks wrong.

The full rate table

Source: TLC Industry Notice #26-03. TLC says these published figures already include the utilization rate, so you can multiply them directly by your trip miles and minutes.

Check a trip yourself

Worked examples

These use made-up trips to show the arithmetic.

• In-city trip, regular car: 5 miles and 20 minutes. 5 × $1.283 = $6.415; 20 × $0.681 = $13.62. Minimum ≈ $20.04.
• The same trip in a WAV: 5 × $1.601 = $8.005; plus $13.62. Minimum ≈ $21.63.
• Trip from Manhattan to a New Jersey address: 6 miles and 15 minutes in the city, then 10 miles and 20 minutes outside. City part: $7.698 + $10.215 = $17.913. Outside part: 10 × $1.757 = $17.57; 20 × $0.725 = $14.50. Minimum ≈ $49.98.

If your pay for a trip is below the minimum, keep the receipt and the pay statement.

Why the rates look high: the utilization rate

The rule starts from base rates and divides them by a utilization rate — the share of your time that is paid trip time. Dividing by it makes each paid mile and minute also cover the time you spend waiting for a request and driving to the pickup.

The current rule (59D-22) sets the base at $0.850 per mile (non-WAV) and $1.061 (WAV), and $0.287 per minute in the city, before inflation adjustments. It applies a utilization rate of 68.5% to the per-mile rate and 53.3% to the per-minute rate (TLC chapter 59). TLC adopted those figures on June 25, 2025, after a new study of driver expenses, including electric vehicles and short-term rentals (TLC Notice of Promulgation). Every March 1, the rates rise with inflation (the CPI-W for the NY-NJ-PA area).

The pay standard itself began in February 2019, after Local Law 150 of 2018 confirmed TLC's power to set a pay floor; a court challenge by Lyft failed, according to TLC's 2025 notice.

What else the company must pay or allow

Source: TLC chapter 59. The company can still restrict you without 72 hours' notice for missing licensing credentials, TLC rule violations, or breaking its own policies, including misconduct and excessive cancellations (59D-22(c)(3)).

These rules put duties on the company, not on you. A summons for underpayment is written to the company. You are a witness and the person owed restitution.

Why a trip can pay less than you expected

Most "low pay" surprises come from what the minimum does and does not measure.

• Only passenger miles and minutes count directly. The rule pays for each mile and minute you transport a passenger. The drive to the pickup and the time waiting for a request are not paid line by line. The utilization rate is how the rule tries to cover that time.
• Short trips stay short. A 2-mile, 8-minute trip has a minimum of about $8. There is no separate per-trip floor in rule 59D-22.
• The drive back is unpaid. On a trip that ends outside NYC, the higher out-of-town rates apply to the miles and minutes outside the city with the passenger. Your empty return trip is not a dispatched trip.
• WAV rates need a WAV dispatch. The higher per-mile rate applies to trips dispatched to an Accessible Vehicle. If you drive a WAV, see WAV training for the license side.
• Tips and tolls are not part of the minimum calculation. They must be added on top, in full.

Your costs, and why TLC studies them

TLC sets the per-mile rate to cover a typical driver's costs to get, license, insure and maintain a vehicle. Its 2025 study looked at the shift to larger SUVs, short-term rentals and electric vehicles (TLC Notice of Promulgation). Your own costs depend on how you get your car — see buying or leasing a TLC vehicle, FHV insurance requirements, TLC plates and base affiliation. For everything about app driving in one place, see the Uber and Lyft drivers hub and the money topic.

Who is covered — and who is not

• Covered: TLC-licensed drivers taking trips dispatched by a High-Volume For-Hire Service. TLC's notice says that is currently Lyft and Uber.
• Not covered by 59D-22: yellow taxi and green cab drivers, and drivers on trips dispatched by other bases (black car, livery, luxury limousine bases that are not high-volume). Different rules apply to their pay and leases.

The congestion charges passengers pay are separate from your pay; see congestion pricing for TLC drivers. To check one trip against the formula, use the minimum pay estimator; to find the miles, minutes and pay on your weekly statement, see reading your Uber or Lyft pay statement. How the rates have moved each March is charted in TLC minimum pay rate history.

How long trips really are

TLC's industry data shows the average app-based trip lasts about 19 minutes from meter-on to meter-off — so the per-minute rate matters as much as the per-mile rate.

If you think you were underpaid

One short trip that is a few cents under the minimum is easy to miss. A pattern is easier to prove. Keep a simple log for a few weeks: date, trip ID, miles and minutes, what you were paid, tip and tolls. Check each line against the rates that applied on that date — remember the rates change every March 1, so a trip from February uses the older figures.

TLC's notice names the Driver Protection Unit as the office that investigates pay issues. Being paid fairly also depends on keeping your license in good standing: a suspension stops your income completely. If you've been given a TLC summons, see what to do about it.