Yellow, Green, Black Car, Livery, App: Rules Compared

All TLC drivers share one license and one rule book for drivers (chapter 80). But what you may do on a shift depends on the vehicle you drive that day. A yellow taxi can take street hails anywhere in the city. A green cab can take hails only outside Manhattan's core and the airports. Black cars, liveries, limos and app cars (Uber and Lyft) can never take a hail: every trip must be pre-arranged through a base.

The table below puts the rules that change by vehicle type in one place, with the rule number for each cell, so you can check it yourself. Rules for every TLC driver, like cell phones, passenger refusals and lost property, are the same for everyone and are not repeated here.

The comparison table

Two lines matter most for street pickups. The Hail Exclusionary Zone is Manhattan south of East 96th and West 110th Streets plus the airports. The Pre-Arranged Exclusionary Zone is the same part of Manhattan without the airports. That is why a green cab can't take a hail at JFK but can, under TLC rules, start a base-dispatched trip there.

Where the sectors overlap

One driver, many vehicle types. Your TLC Driver License follows you, but the vehicle's rules switch with the car. If you drive a yellow cab on weekdays and an app car on weekends, the hail rules change when you change cars. A habit that is legal in one, like stopping for a waving passenger, is a summons in the other. See rule 80-19(c)(1).

One car, many dispatchers. An FHV is affiliated with one base but may accept trips from other bases, as long as the customer is told both bases' names and license numbers (rule 59A-11(e)). Most app cars sit at black car bases. That is why TLC's lists show "black car" for most FHVs. FHV base affiliation explains the details.

One trip, different money. For a yellow cab, the meter sets the fare. For an app trip, the company sets the price and TLC's minimum pay formula sets a floor under what you are paid. For a livery, the base must quote a binding price when you give a destination. Tolls, surcharges and congestion charges add more differences. See who pays tolls on taxi trips.

How big each sector is

The rules matter more in the sectors where most trips happen. App trips far outnumber everything else, and green cab trips have fallen to a small fraction of their 2015 level.

A few things stand out in the table. Yellow cab trips are short, and most of them touch Manhattan's congestion relief zone: 72.4% were charged the CBD fee, against 32.9% of app trips. App trips are longer on average and pay a toll more often. Black car, livery and limo trips that are not app trips do not appear in these trip files. For those, see livery and black car trip statistics and NYC taxi and Uber trip statistics.

Mistakes that cost drivers money or points

• Taking a street hail in an FHV. Even a short, friendly ride is a non-pre-arranged pickup under 80-19(c)(1). The penalty climbs quickly with repeat violations.
• Waiting at a taxi stand in an app car. FHV drivers may not pick up at any taxi stand (80-19(d)(2): $350 first, $500 second within 24 months, revocation for a third within 36 months).
• Green cab hails below 110th or 96th Street. $500 and a suspension for a first violation, with a hearing appearance required (80-19(b)(1)).
• Accepting an app ping in the airport pickup area. $250 under 80-19(f). At JFK and LaGuardia, accept a dispatch only when you are parked somewhere other than the airport's designated passenger pickup locations.
• Assuming the inspection schedule from another car. A green cab owner who misses the six-month inspection is summarily suspended, with fines that grow the later it gets (82-30(b)).

Inspection rules are where the sectors' differences show up most in the official record. Among summonses filed at OATH from 2021 to 2025, the FHV inspection rule 59A-26(a)(1) was the first charge on 21,078 summonses, and the taxi inspection rule 58-29(b) on 10,356. Both are in the top ten (OATH Hearings Division data on NYC Open Data, first charge only). A summons is an allegation, not a finding, but the numbers show how often owners miss these dates.

Switching cars: a short routine

If you drive more than one type of vehicle, run through these questions at the start of each shift:

1. What is this car allowed to do? Hails anywhere (yellow), hails only outside Manhattan's core (green), or pre-arranged only (every FHV).
2. Which base is it affiliated with? An FHV's base is on its records. If you take a trip from another base, the customer must be told both bases' names and license numbers.
3. Is the car current? Check the decals and inspection dates. An owner's missed inspection can lead to a suspension, and a suspended vehicle license is not valid until the suspension ends (59A-06(e)).
4. How is this trip priced? The meter, a binding livery quote, or the app's price. Don't quote a taxi-style fare in an FHV, or the reverse.
5. Where can I wait? Taxi stands are for taxis (and green cabs in the Hail Zone). At the airports, taxis and FHVs follow different rules (see the table above).

Where to get the details for your vehicle

Each driver page goes deeper on its own sector: yellow taxi, green cab, Uber and Lyft, black car and livery. If you are still choosing, yellow taxi vs Uber: which to drive compares the work itself. Every TLC license type explains the licenses behind each column. For injury coverage, which also depends on the base, see am I covered by the Black Car Fund.

General information, not legal advice. Rule citations from TLC chapters 58, 59, 80 and 82 as published on nyc.gov, checked October 12, 2026. Fines are the amounts printed in the rules.