Do WAV Drivers Get Paid Extra? Pay Rules Explained

In short: It depends on what you drive. App (Uber/Lyft) WAV trips have a higher TLC minimum: $1.601 per mile instead of $1.283, plus the same $0.681 per minute (since March 1, 2026). Accessible yellow taxi drivers get $10 per trip for rides requested by phone through an e-hail company's call center, and a $77 a week lease credit when the owner receives Taxi Improvement Fund (TIF) payments. The old $1-per-trip payment for every WAV taxi trip ended on April 25, 2025. TLC gives no separate incentive for owning or driving an FHV WAV.

All rates and rules below were checked on TLC pages and rule books on October 12, 2026.

Side by side

App drivers: the WAV minimum pay rate

Under rule §59D-22, Uber and Lyft must pay at least these amounts for a trip dispatched to an accessible vehicle, effective March 1, 2026 (TLC Driver Pay Rates):

Example: a 5-mile, 20-minute trip. Non-WAV minimum: 5 × $1.283 + 20 × $0.681 = $20.04. WAV minimum: 5 × $1.601 + 20 × $0.681 = $21.63 — about $1.59 more. The extra grows with distance, because only the per-mile rate is higher. TLC set the WAV rate higher in 2018 "to account for the additional expense of operating these vehicles" (TLC press release); the rule's base WAV factor is $1.061 per mile before utilization, against $0.850 for other cars.

In TLC's trip records for March–August 2026, app trips that took place in a WAV had a median pay of $5.82 per mile, against $5.05 for other trips. Per trip the medians were similar ($15.44 vs $15.81), because WAV trips in the data tended to be shorter. See pay per trip data.

You cannot charge the passenger more for a wheelchair trip — see can I charge more for a wheelchair accessible trip?. Check any trip with the minimum pay estimator.

Taxi drivers: the $10 phone-dispatch payment

Rule §58-50(i)(2) says drivers of accessible taxis "will receive periodically, a trip payment of $10 for each Passenger trip initiated by a passenger that requested accessible service by contacting a call center run by an approved E-Hail Application Provider and completed while driving an Accessible Taxicab" (Chapter 58).

TLC's driver page adds two practical points (TLC):

• The $10 is paid only if the ride was requested by phone — "not via app or website."
• It is paid by the TIF, not by the e-hail company, on a monthly cycle.

TLC's March 2026 budget testimony explains why: TLC moved from a single accessible-dispatch vendor that cost the fund $6 million a year to call centers run by licensed e-hail apps, and used the savings to add WAVs and "a $10 bonus incentive for drivers dispatched by the E-hail companies' call centers" (testimony).

Taxi drivers: the $1-per-trip payment has ended

Until 2025, accessible taxi drivers got $1 for every trip in a WAV. TLC's driver page now says: "the $1-per-trip driver payments for accessible taxi trips will be discontinued … The final $1-per-trip driver payments ended on April 25, 2025." The money went to higher hack-up payments for owners. If someone tells you WAV taxi trips still earn $1 each, that information is out of date.

Taxi drivers: the $77 weekly lease credit

If you lease a medallion only (no car) for an accessible taxi, the weekly lease is capped at $952. When the owner is required to run an accessible taxi under §58-50 or is receiving TIF payments, that lease "shall include a credit to the Driver of $77 per week for the four year period" (§58-21). TLC's driver bill of rights poster puts it simply: "Owners must credit drivers $77/week if the owner is receiving TIF Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Operational Payments." The credit should show on your receipt. More: what is the $77 WAV credit?

Owners: TIF hack-up and operational payments

These go to medallion owners, not drivers, but they explain the $77 credit. Under §58-50(i)(1):

Details on applying: Taxi Improvement Fund grants.

FHV owners and drivers: no TLC incentive

TLC's FHV accessibility page is direct: "The TLC does not provide any financial incentives to own or drive FHV WAVs" (TLC). It adds that green cabs (street hail liveries) "may be eligible for financial incentives." For FHV drivers, the money difference is the higher WAV minimum on app trips. Note that new FHV licenses are currently available only for wheelchair accessible vehicles — see WAV drivers.

Why the extra pay exists, and what it does not cover

A wheelchair accessible vehicle is a bigger, heavier van with a ramp or lift, and it usually costs more to buy and run. TLC's expense work for the 2025 pay rule gave WAVs their own cost factor and did not weight it by fuel type, because there is no electric accessible vehicle to weight it with. TLC's February 2026 license review confirms: "As no accessible electric vehicle is currently available on the U.S. market, there are no electric WAVs in the TLC-licensed fleet" (FHV License Review). So WAV drivers cannot cut fuel costs by switching to an EV the way other app drivers can.

One detail matters for your statements: rule §59D-22 ties the higher rate to "a trip dispatched to an Accessible Vehicle." The wording is about the vehicle the trip was dispatched to, not about whether the rider asked for a wheelchair ramp. If your car is licensed and registered with the app as a WAV and a trip paid only the non-WAV rate, ask the company to explain, and contact TLC's Driver Protection Unit if the answer does not add up.

Quick check: which payments apply to you?

• You drive Uber or Lyft in a WAV: look for the WAV per-mile rate on your trip pay. That is the only TLC-required extra.
• You drive a leased accessible yellow taxi: check that your weekly medallion lease shows the $77 credit if your owner gets TIF payments, and keep track of trips that came from an e-hail company's phone line, which earn $10 each.
• You own an accessible taxi medallion: the hack-up and quarterly operational grants are yours, with the trip and inspection conditions above.
• You drive or own an FHV WAV outside the apps: TLC offers no incentive payment.

Related: minimum pay for app drivers, do Uber drivers earn minimum wage?, utilization explained, paid sick leave, Uber and Lyft drivers and the money hub.