TLC Taxi Payment Rules: Cash, Cards, Change & Tips

In short: a yellow taxi driver, and a green cab driver on a street hail, must accept cash and credit or debit cards, must be able to change a $20 bill, must not add a card fee, must not ask for a tip, and must offer a receipt at the end of the trip. FHV drivers must accept cards if card payment is available. Most of these rules carry fixed fines of $25 to $200, but charging more than the approved fare through any payment method is an overcharge with mandatory penalties.

Overcharging, demanding tips and refusing cards are all on the list of problems riders can report on the 311 taxi complaint form. This guide collects every payment rule from TLC chapter 80 in one place, with the exact steps the rules give for broken card readers and riders who won't pay. It is general information, not legal advice.

The payment rules at a glance

Where a fine shows two amounts like "$50 / $75", the lower one applies if you plead guilty before a hearing and the higher one if you are found guilty after a hearing.

Cards: the rules in order

Rule 80-17(e)(1) sets out a sequence that covers almost every card problem:

1. Every taxi and green cab must have a working Technology System, and the driver must accept the passenger's choice to pay by card.
2. If the system cannot take cards, say so before you start. A driver must not pick up or transport a passenger when the system cannot accept cards, unless the driver tells the passenger before engaging the meter.
3. Only through approved channels. Card payments only through the vehicle's Technology System or an approved e-hail app. No personal card readers or payment apps.
4. If the network fails at the end of the trip, the driver must offer the passenger a choice: pay cash, or continue to a place where the system can connect.
5. No mark-up. No extra fee of any kind for paying by card. TLC's fare page tells riders the same: there is no charge for paying by card.

Rules 80-17(j)(3) to (5) add that e-hail fares must be calculated by the meter (except Flex Fare trips), sent automatically from the Technology System, and never typed in by hand. Accepting a card payment through an e-hail app that does not integrate with the Technology System is a $200 fine.

When a passenger can't or won't pay

The non-paying passenger procedure is worth memorizing. It protects you: arguing at the curb can turn a lost fare into a summons for threats or harassment under rule 80-12(e), which carries $350 to $1,000 and/or a suspension, and 3 points.

Tips

Passengers decide whether to tip and how much. TLC's Passenger Bill of Rights lists it as a rider right. Rule 80-17(a)(6) says you must not ask for a tip or indicate that one is expected or required. Even a comment like "tip is not included" could be read as indicating a tip is expected, so let the screen or the passenger handle it. Rule 80-17(j)(2) allows e-payments up to the approved fare "plus any optional tip"; anything above that is treated as an overcharge.

Receipts

At the end of every taxi trip and every green cab hail trip you must offer a receipt, in person or through the Technology System, and you must give one if asked (80-16(d)). The receipt must show the date, time, medallion or SHL number, trip number, total fare, tolls, surcharges, extras, a card tip if any, the last four card digits if any, your hack license number, and the 311 complaint number. The fine is $50 or $75 and 1 point. Receipts help you as much as the rider: they are the first document anyone checks in a fare dispute.

Correct change and the overcharge line

Not giving correct change is its own violation (80-17(a)(5), $50 / $100 and 2 points, appearance required). But if the result is that a passenger paid more than the approved fare, the case can be charged as an overcharge instead, with mandatory penalties and revocation for $10 or more. See TLC overcharging rules.

Owners and card fees

Taxi owners are bound too. Under rule 58-26(g), an owner who is the merchant must pay the driver all fares paid by card and may not charge the driver a pass-along or deduction from the card charges during the shift, and merchants may not charge passengers a pass-along for card transactions. The lease rules separately mention a credit card surcharge some owners may collect, and rule 58-26(g)(3) says an owner who collects it must not charge the driver any additional card costs. If you think card fees are being taken from your pay improperly, raise it with TLC or a lawyer.

FHV and app payments

For black car, livery and app drivers, the main payment rule is simple: accept a card if card payment is available (80-17(e)(2)). On app trips the fare and payment run through the app, so the risks are different. Do not take cash on the side for a trip the app already charged, do not ask for extra money for tolls or waiting that the app did not quote, and do not ask for a tip. Charging more than the base's fare quote or estimate is an overcharge under rule 80-17(a)(2), with the same mandatory penalties as a taxi overcharge. Tips on app trips go through the base: chapter 59 requires bases to let passengers tip with the same payment method and to pass the whole tip to the driver.

A short habit list

• Start each shift with change for a $20.
• Check that the card reader and Technology System work before your first trip, and tell passengers before the meter starts if they do not.
• Offer the receipt every time, even if the passenger is in a hurry.
• Let the passenger choose the tip. Say nothing about it.
• If a passenger will not pay, follow 80-17(b) and go to the precinct.

If a payment dispute turns into a summons, read responding to a passenger complaint.

Our pages for yellow taxi drivers, green cab drivers and app drivers cover other rules for each industry.