Can I Double Park to Pick Up a Passenger in NYC?

No. NYC DOT says: "Double parking of passenger vehicles is illegal at all times, including when street cleaning is occurring, regardless of location, purpose or duration. An occupied illegally parked vehicle causes the same safety hazard and congestion as an unoccupied vehicle" (NYC DOT). A quick pickup, a waiting passenger, or staying in the seat does not change that. On bus routes, bus-mounted cameras ticket double parking too.

Three ways one double-parked pickup can cost you

DOT says parking enforcement is the NYPD's job (NYC DOT Parking Regulations), and it describes the City's camera programs as sending a Notice of Liability to the vehicle's registered owner (NYC DOT Vision Zero). The MTA says ACE violations are paid to, or contested with, the NYC Department of Finance. The TLC penalty is in Chapter 80: a third violation within 15 months is $200/$300 plus a point and a suspension, deferred 60 days and waived if you finish a Vision Zero and Accessibility Remedial course.

Bus cameras and double parking

The MTA's Automated Camera Enforcement program (ACE) puts cameras on buses. The MTA says they ticket vehicles that drive, stand or park in a bus lane, stand in or block a bus stop, or are double parked along a bus route. Fines "start at $50 and increase by $50 for each additional violation received, up to a maximum of $250 per violation." New routes get 60 days of warning notices before fines begin (MTA ACE). DOT says ACE cameras "focus on parking and standing violations" (NYC DOT).

So a double-parked pickup on a bus route can bring a camera ticket weeks later, even if no officer was there. If you drive a rented or leased TLC car, check your agreement for who pays camera tickets.

Legal alternatives

Sources: DOT Parking Regulations, DOT Loading Zones, DOT bus lane rules. DOT's own advice for bus-lane streets: "If possible, arrange your pick up or drop off where there is no bus lane – across the street, or on the cross street."

A few habits help:

• Message the rider before you arrive: "I'll stop at the corner of X, the curb side."
• Go around the block rather than wait in the lane if the curb is full.
• No Stopping signs mean no passenger stops at all.
• FHV drivers: a taxi stand may look empty, but you must not pick up there ($350 under §80-19(d)(2)).

What to do next

Check any sign in the curb sign decoder. For No Standing curbs, see can I pick up passengers in a No Standing zone; for bus lanes, can I drop off passengers in a bus lane. For FHV drivers, the taxi-stand pickup code is 80-19(d)(2), and the general non-prearranged pickup code is 80-19(c)(1). Street-hail limits are in can I pick up a street hail on my way home, can green cabs pick up in Manhattan and can green cabs pick up at JFK or LaGuardia. More on the places hub.