Who Can Pick Up Where in NYC: Taxi, Green Cab, FHV

In short: Yellow cabs may take street hails anywhere in NYC except a few no-cruising spots, and at JFK and LaGuardia only through the taxi line. Green cabs may take hails and start base trips only in the Hail Zone — everywhere except Manhattan south of East 96th Street and West 110th Street (and, for hails, the airports). FHVs, including Uber and Lyft, may only pick up riders dispatched through a licensed base, never a street hail and never at a taxi stand. Breaking these lines costs from $100 to license revocation.

The lines you need to know

Four different Manhattan lines decide what you may do and what passengers pay. They use three different streets, which is why drivers mix them up.

The definitions are quoted from TLC's Chapter 51: the Hail Exclusionary Zone is "(1) Manhattan south of East 96th St. and West 110th St. (2) The New York City Airports," and the Hail Zone is "all areas of New York City except" those two. The charges come from our rates file (as of October 12, 2026), which follows the TLC fare page and the MTA.

Four common mix-ups

1. "96th Street is the line." Only on the East Side, and only for some rules. The hail lines are East 96th and West 110th. A green cab on West 100th Street is still in the Hail Exclusionary Zone; a green cab on East 100th Street is not.
2. "Congestion pricing starts at 96th." No. The NYS congestion surcharge uses 96th Street. The MTA toll (Congestion Relief Zone) starts at 60th Street and excludes the FDR Drive and the West Side Highway.
3. "Airports are off-limits to green cabs." For hails, yes. For pre-arranged trips, the TLC zone rules don't bar a start at JFK or LaGuardia, because the airports are not in the Pre-Arranged Exclusionary Zone. Port Authority pre-arrangement rules still apply.
4. "An app booking makes any pickup legal." No. An FHV with a proper dispatch still may not pick up at a taxi stand, and at JFK and LaGuardia must not accept a dispatch at the designated pickup locations.

The matrix: who can pick up where

What the "pre-arranged only" lines rest on:

• Port Authority rule V.D (all three airports): "ground transportation services shall be provided at an Air Terminal only pursuant to specific pre-arrangement," except street-hail vehicles licensed by the city where that airport spot is. "A vehicle licensed by the NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission as a 'taxicab' … is a vehicle so licensed with respect to Air Terminal locations within the City of New York" (PA Airport Rules). That is why yellow cabs use the taxi line at JFK and LaGuardia but not at Newark.
• E-hail at airports: TLC's fare page says "The Port Authority does not currently allow taxis to be E-Hailed at the airport. However, you can be dropped off at the airport" (TLC fare page).
• FHVs everywhere: "A Driver of a For-Hire Vehicle must not solicit or pick up Passengers other than by prearrangement through a licensed Base of the class that can dispatch the Driver's For-Hire Vehicle" (§80-19(c)(1)).

The penalty for each wrong cell

All from Chapter 80:

• Green cab hail in the Hail Exclusionary Zone, or pre-arranged start below 96th/110th (§80-19(b)(1)): first violation $500 and suspension; second within 24 months $750 and suspension; third within 120 months revocation. Appearance required.
• FHV street pickup (§80-19(c)(1)): first $200–$350; second within 24 months $350–$500 and up to 30 days' suspension; third within 36 months revocation.
• FHV street pickup in Manhattan below 96th/110th or at an NYC airport (§80-19(c)(2)): $500, then $750 within 24 months, then revocation within 120 months.
• FHV pickup at a taxi stand (§80-19(d)(2)): $350, $500, then revocation.
• Taxi soliciting at an airport or within 100 feet of a stand (§80-19(a)(4)): $100 if you plead guilty, $150 after a hearing.

Going home: off-duty pickups

A yellow cab logged off its technology system may take a passenger only if all are true: you are going to your garage or home, you have made the trip record entry "Returning to garage (or home)", and the passenger's destination is directly on your route (§80-19(a)(5), $75 / $100). A green cab that is off duty has the same test, plus you must be in the Hail Zone (§80-19(b)(6)). In that case you may ask the destination before the passenger sits down (§80-20(a)(4)(i)). Details: can I pick up a street hail on my way home.

Find your answer

Zones that straddle a line

TLC's taxi zones (used in trip data, apps and on our zone pages) do not follow the legal lines exactly. The zone-lookup label "Yellow Zone" is a data label, not a legal boundary. Some zones cross 96th Street, 110th Street or 60th Street, so being "in" a zone does not tell you which side of a line a corner is on. The trip data shows this: about 93% of green cab pickups (September 2025 to August 2026) began in zones labelled "Boro Zone", and the biggest share of the rest began in Central Park (zone 43), which runs from 59th Street up to 110th Street. Check the cross street, not the zone name.

Congestion charges on a trip

Whatever you drive, the passenger pays the NYS congestion surcharge for trips that begin, end or pass through Manhattan south of 96th Street, and the MTA per-trip charge for trips in the Congestion Relief Zone. Use the calculator to see which apply to a route.

More short answers: can green cabs pick up in Manhattan, can green cabs pick up at JFK or LaGuardia, can green cabs use taxi stands, can yellow taxis pick up in the outer boroughs, the Hail Zone and street hail license (SHL) definitions, and green cab pickups by zone. More on the places hub.