Taxi Trips Outside NYC: Westchester, Nassau, Newark & Beyond

In short: There are three ways to charge a yellow or green taxi trip that leaves New York City, and the destination decides which one you use:

• Westchester or Nassau (Rate #4): the meter inside the city, plus twice the meter outside the city, plus all tolls going and coming back, plus the 50-cent MTA tax.
• Newark Airport (Rate #3): the meter, plus a $20.00 Newark surcharge, plus tolls to and from the airport.
• Anywhere else (Rate #5): a flat dollar price you and the passenger agree on before the trip. "Double the meter" is not allowed here.

A trip that starts and ends inside NYC is a city-rate trip even if the route crosses New Jersey or another county. The rules are TLC Rule 58-26(c) for yellow taxis, Rule 82-26(c) for green cab hail trips, and Rule 80-17(f) for what the driver must do. Checked October 12, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

Which method applies?

Westchester and Nassau: the double meter (Rate #4)

Rule 58-26(c)(2) adds up four parts:

1. The amount on the meter for the part of the trip inside the city limits.
2. Twice the amount on the meter for the part outside the city limits.
3. All necessary tolls to the destination and back.
4. The MTA tax (50 cents) on the total.

The $1.00 improvement surcharge also applies (Rule 58-26(h)). TLC's fare page adds the NYS congestion surcharge and the 75-cent MTA congestion toll when the trip starts in those Manhattan zones.

On screen, the rate reads "Rate #01 – Standard City Rate" inside the city. At the city line it must change to "Rate #04 – Out of City Rate to Nassau or Westchester", with a message telling the passenger about the change.

Rule 80-17(f)(2) gives you three duties for these trips:

• Before you start, tell the passenger how the fare is calculated, including tolls both ways ($25 fine if you don't).
• Tell the passenger when you cross the city limits, so they can check the meter at that point ($25).
• Keep the meter recording from start to finish ($100). See Rule 80-17(f)(2).

Example (fictional)

A Sunday 2 p.m. pickup on the Upper East Side, going to a town in Westchester. At the city line the meter shows $38.30. From the city line to the address, the meter adds $12.60.

If the pickup were above 96th Street, there would be no congestion surcharge.

Newark Airport (Rate #3)

Rule 58-26(c)(3) sets the fare as the meter amount, plus a $20.00 surcharge, plus "all necessary tolls to and from the destination". TLC's fare page says it plainly: "passengers are charged for the drivers' return tolls". The meter should read "Rate #3 - Newark Airport". Before starting, tell the passenger how the charges work, including tolls out of and back into the city, and keep the meter recording (Rule 80-17(f)(3)).

Two points drivers often miss:

• Port Authority tolls are one-way. The Port Authority collects tolls only when you enter New York; nothing is charged going into New Jersey. So on a trip through the Lincoln or Holland Tunnel, the toll you pass to the passenger is the one you pay coming back. Current car rates are on the rate card further down this page.
• No NYS congestion surcharge. The state surcharge only applies to trips that begin and end in New York State (NYS Tax Department). Newark is in New Jersey. TLC's Newark fare entry also lists no MTA tax: the tax counties in Rule 58-26(a)(3) are all in New York.

Newark is a mandatory destination: you may not refuse it without a justifiable ground (Rule 80-20(a)(1)). One ground in Rule 80-20(b)(8) is that you have been driving more than eight hours in any continuous 24-hour period. More about the airport is on our Newark Airport page.

Everywhere else: the negotiated flat fare (Rate #5)

For a trip anywhere outside NYC other than Westchester, Nassau or Newark Airport, Rule 58-26(c)(1) says "the fare will be a Flat Rate". Rule 80-17(f)(1) adds:

• You must negotiate a flat rate before the trip begins. A flat rate "means a dollar amount; 'double the meter' is NOT a flat rate."
• You must put the meter in recording position at the start and let it keep recording ($100 fine for breaking (f)(1)). See Rule 80-17(f)(1).

TLC's fare page says "The Driver may choose whether to take such trips", and the screen should read "Rate #05 – Out of City Negotiated Flat Rate". Add the $1.00 improvement surcharge, the congestion charges if the trip starts in those Manhattan zones, and the 50-cent MTA tax if the trip ends in Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland or Suffolk. Tolls are paid by the passenger both ways (Rule 58-26(f)(2)), so agree whether your price already includes them.

Record the agreement

The rule does not say the agreement must be in writing. But if the passenger later complains, your word is all you have. Simple habits help: say the price out loud with the destination, have the passenger confirm, and, if your company or app allows it, note the agreed price in the trip record or send it by text. Keep your receipt.

The MTA tax counties

The list comes from Rule 58-26(a)(3) and (c)(1) and is the same for green cab hail trips under Rule 82-26.

Trips that leave the city but end in it

Rule 58-26(c)(4): "Any continuous trip where the point of origin and the destination are both within the limits of the City of New York will not be considered a trip beyond the City limits", even if the most direct route leaves the city. The meter must stay recording on the city rate. A Staten Island to Manhattan trip routed through New Jersey is a normal city-rate trip: no double meter, no flat fare. The usual in-city toll rules apply; see tolls on trips outside NYC for how tolls work on mixed routes.

Common overcharge mistakes

• Charging double the meter to Suffolk, New Jersey or Connecticut. Only Westchester and Nassau use the double meter.
• Starting a Rate #5 trip without agreeing a dollar price, or raising the price on arrival.
• Switching the meter off, or forgetting to tell the passenger when you cross into Westchester or Nassau.
• Adding the MTA tax to a Newark trip, or charging the NYS congestion surcharge on it.
• Using an out-of-city rate on an in-city trip that passes through New Jersey.

Any charge above the approved rate is an overcharge under Rule 80-17(a)(1). The mandatory penalty for a first violation is $350 with a guilty plea before a hearing or $500 after one, and charging $10 or more above the approved fare means license revocation (Rule 80-02(e)). The overcharging rules guide has the full penalty ladder. For who keeps each part of these fares, see who keeps what from a taxi fare.

Tolls you will meet

Check a trip before you go

How many trips go out of the city?

Yellow taxis made 175,581 drop-offs at Newark in 2019 and 94,212 in 2025, while app trips to Newark grew from 1,439,418 to 1,755,519 (TLC industry data). In TLC's yellow trip records for September 2025 to August 2026, 141,366 trips ended on the Newark rate code, 105,104 on the Nassau/Westchester code and 425,596 on the negotiated-fare code. The data does not say where negotiated trips went.

For every other fare rule, see how a NYC taxi fare is calculated and the money hub.