Tolls on Uber & Lyft Trips in NYC: What Drivers Get Back

In short: On an Uber or Lyft trip, the rider is charged the toll as part of the app price, and the company must pass the whole toll back to you. TLC rule §59D-17(c) says the company "must remit to the Driver the entirety of any toll paid by the Driver during a dispatched trip". If it doesn't, the company faces a $500 fine plus restitution of the toll. Tolls are not part of your TLC minimum pay; they are paid on top. The weak spot is tolls with no rider in the car, such as the drive to a pickup or the drive home.

What TLC rules require

Four rules decide how tolls work on app trips. Uber and Lyft are "High-Volume For-Hire Services" under TLC chapter 59D.

Rule text is from the TLC chapter 59 (updated Feb 27, 2026) and chapter 80 rule books. More on the company rule, including how drivers raise it, is on the 59D-17(c) page. E-ZPass requirements for app drivers are in do I need E-ZPass to drive for Uber?.

One more rule touches tolls. When a base gives a rider a fare estimate, it can't charge more than 120% of it, unless the rider changes the trip, including when the rider "requests a route change requiring the payment of a toll" (§59B-23(g)(4)). So if your rider asks for a tolled route, the higher price is allowed. Who chooses the route is covered in toll bridge or free route.

What Uber says (company policy, not a TLC rule)

Uber's driver help page, read on October 12, 2026, says:

• "You receive reimbursement only for tolls incurred during a trip with a rider."
• "Tolls are automatically added to the rider's fare once you drive through a toll area."
• "You can see tolls in the fare breakdown on the Uber Driver App and in your weekly payment statement."
• "The service fee does not apply to tolls."
• If a toll is missing, use the option "My toll or parking fee wasn't included in my fare".

Uber's rider help page adds three points drivers should know:

• A return toll "may be included in your upfront price so the driver isn't left covering the cost".
• Optional express-lane tolls "are not included in trip prices or reimbursed to drivers".
• The rider's toll charge "may differ from the actual amount paid by a driver", for example a rider charged an estimated toll at the commercial rate. That is about what the rider pays; the TLC rule is about what you get back.

Lyft: we did not verify Lyft's own toll pages for this guide, so we don't describe them. The TLC rule binds Lyft in the same way.

Tolls are not part of minimum pay

TLC's minimum pay (§59D-22) is a per-mile and per-minute amount for time and distance with a passenger. Tolls aren't in the formula. They are owed separately under §59D-17(c). Uber's NYC driver benefits page says the same from its side: "customer-charged fees (like tolls and cleaning fees)" are "not included when calculating your minimum earnings."

TLC's trip data dictionary keeps them apart too: driver_pay is "Total driver pay (not including tolls or tips …)" and tolls is the "Total amount of all tolls paid in trip". So on your statement, the toll line should be on top of your trip pay, not inside it. Details: do tolls count toward minimum pay? and the FHV minimum pay guide.

Driving a rented or leased car

If the E-ZPass tag belongs to the car's owner, the toll money belongs to the owner too. Under §59A-24(c)-(d), a driver who uses a personal tag keeps the tolls the passenger paid; when the owner's tag is used, the tolls "accrue to the For-Hire Vehicle Owner". The owner can also ask you to keep a small replenishment deposit (at most $10 per 12-hour shift, up to $100). See can I use my own E-ZPass in a leased car? and rental TLC vehicle tolls.

How common tolls are on app trips

App trips are longer than taxi trips and cross more bridges and tunnels. From September 2025 to August 2026, about 11% of Uber and Lyft trips in TLC records had a toll. The share dipped in winter and was 11.0% in August 2026.

The average is higher than the median because Port Authority crossings into Manhattan ($14.79 off-peak, $16.79 peak with E-ZPass) and Newark trips pull it up. More data, by borough, airport and amount: tolls on Uber and Lyft trips (data).

The gap: tolls with no rider in the car

Drivers mostly lose money on tolls when the car is empty:

• Driving to the pickup. If the app sends you across a toll to reach a rider, Uber's policy says that toll isn't reimbursed. The TLC rule says "during a dispatched trip" and doesn't define whether the drive to the pickup is part of it. See tolls on the way to a pickup.
• Coming back. After you drop off in Staten Island, the Rockaways or New Jersey, you may pay to come back. Uber says a return toll may be in the rider's price. For Staten Island, TLC records show nearly every Brooklyn-to-Staten Island app trip from March to August 2026 recorded exactly $14.92, two times the $7.46 Verrazzano toll (the return-toll rule).

Some drivers are pushing for change: a driver group's petition asks TLC to "reimburse all tolls incurred during professional duties". That is a request, not a rule.

If a toll is missing

In short: check the trip's fare breakdown and weekly statement, match the crossing in your E-ZPass account, ask the company to review it, and if it still isn't paid, email TLC's Driver Protection Unit (driverprotection@tlc.nyc.gov) citing §59D-17(c).

The full walk-through, with a checklist of what to save, is Uber or Lyft didn't pay my toll. TLC's Driver Protection Unit investigates complaints about "failure to pay drivers what they earned by providing a trip".

Also useful: New Jersey Turnpike tolls and all toll pages in the Tolls topic.

This page explains TLC rules and company policies as published. It is not legal advice.