The Taxi Lease Gas Surcharge: How It's Set

A taxi owner or fleet may add a gas surcharge to your lease only if it gives you all the gasoline for the whole shift at no extra cost. The amount is not up to the fleet. It comes from a table in TLC Rule 58-21(c)(6), based on a New York City gas-price index. It ranges from $13 to $31 per shift (or $78 to $186 per week) and resets twice a year. If you buy any of your own fuel, or your lease is medallion-only or DOV, a gas surcharge is an overcharge.

This guide explains the table, the reset calendar, and how to check the number on your lease. For all the other fees a fleet may add, see extra charges a taxi fleet can and can't add.

When a fleet may charge it

The gas surcharge is one of the few charges a fleet may add on top of the lease cap. Rule 58-21(c)(5) says an owner "must not charge any tip, tax, surcharge or other fee of any kind" above the cap, except listed items. The gas surcharge is item (i), and it has conditions:

• All fuel, whole shift. Gasoline must be "provided to the lessee for the entire shift at no additional cost to the lessee" (58-21(c)(6)(i)). A tank that is full at pickup but that you must top up yourself does not meet this.
• Only shift and weekly vehicle leases. The option is for leases of a medallion and vehicle under 58-21(c)(1) (standard) or (c)(2) (hybrid or clean diesel). It covers 12-hour shifts and weekly vehicle leases.
• Never on medallion-only leases (58-21(c)(3)(v)) or DOV leases — medallion plus conditional purchase of the vehicle (58-21(c)(4)(vi)). On those leases you run your own car and buy your own fuel.
• Written in the lease. Every lease must itemize "the gasoline surcharge if there is one" and name the rule that allows it (58-21(i)(2)-(3)). TLC's fleet Driver Bill of Rights lists the gas surcharge among the permitted charges and among the items a lease must show.

The table

The amount depends on the index and on the vehicle. Hybrid electric and diesel-fueled taxis use less fuel, so their column is lower. This is the table in Rule 58-21(c)(6)(vii) as published in Chapter 58 (updated February 27, 2026):

Each weekly amount is exactly six times the shift amount, the same six-shift idea used in the weekly cap for daily drivers (58-21(c)(1)(ii)).

The rule started with a fixed $21 per shift ($126 per week) until December 31, 2012 (58-21(c)(6)(ii)). Rule 58-21(c)(5)(i) still names that starting amount "with such surcharge to be adjusted" by the table. So $21 is not automatically today's number. It is the right number only when the index is in the $3.00–$3.49 band for a non-hybrid taxi.

Example (fictional)

Say TLC's posted index for the period is $3.62. A fleet that supplies all fuel to a non-hybrid taxi may charge up to $24 per shift, or $144 for a weekly lease. For a hybrid taxi the limit is $21 per shift, or $126 a week. A night driver on a hybrid could pay at most $132 (Thursday night lease cap) + $21 = $153 for that shift, before any other allowed extras such as the credit card surcharge.

Which column is yours?

The lower column is for "Hybrid Electric and Diesel-Fueled taxicabs." The hybrid lease cap in Rule 58-21(c)(2) covers hybrid electric and diesel taxis hacked up under Sections 67-05 or 67-05.1C that meet NYC Administrative Code §19-533. Your lease should say which lease cap it uses. The gas column should match: a lease that uses the higher hybrid lease cap should also use the lower hybrid gas column.

The table has no column for a battery-electric taxi, and the rule speaks only of "gasoline." If your fleet adds a fuel or charging fee to an electric taxi lease, ask TLC's Driver Protection Unit which rule allows it before you pay.

How and when it resets

The index is the "trailing 6 month average" of the New York City Gasoline Price Index published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration at eia.gov (58-21(c)(6)(iii)). The rule fixes the calendar:

Check the charge on your lease

1. Read the lease. It must show the gas surcharge as its own line, with the rule section (58-21(i)(2)(iii), (i)(3)).
2. Confirm the fuel deal. Is all gas for the whole shift paid by the fleet? If you ever pay at the pump for that shift, the condition in 58-21(c)(6)(i) is not met.
3. Check the vehicle column. A hybrid taxi has a lower surcharge than a gas-only one. A fleet should not charge the "all other taxis" amount on a hybrid.
4. Compare with the posted bracket. The amount must match TLC's posted surcharge for that period. It should not be a round number the fleet picked.
5. Keep receipts. The owner must give a written receipt for every payment, with the date, amount, purpose and rule section (58-21(g)).

If you were overcharged

Charging a gas surcharge when it is not allowed, or charging more than the table, breaks the lease-cap rule, 58-21(c). The penalty in Chapter 58 is $500 for a first violation and $1,000 and/or up to 30 days' medallion suspension after that. The administrative law judge must order the owner to pay you restitution "equal to the excess that was charged to the Driver or the extra fuel the driver had to pay for."

You can complain to TLC in writing or by calling 311. Every lease must say so (58-21(i)(4)). The Driver Protection Unit also takes complaints directly. Rule 58-21(j) forbids an owner from retaliating against you for a good-faith complaint about leasing rules. Keep fuel receipts, lease copies and payment receipts. This page explains the rules; it is not legal advice.

Related pages

• Gas surcharge (glossary) — the short definition.
• NYC taxi lease caps — the base price the surcharge is added to.
• Can I lease a taxi for less than 12 hours? — pro-rated shifts.
• Every surcharge on a taxi fare — passenger surcharges, a different thing.
• The $1 improvement surcharge.
• Money hub.