Can I Lease a Taxi for Less Than a Full 12-Hour Shift?

Yes, if your fleet offers it — but the fleet does not have to. For daily shift leases of a medallion and vehicle, TLC Rule 58-21(c)(1)(vii) says the owner "may offer pro-rated leases for shifts of under 12 hours." What the owner must do is cut the price when the cab isn't available for part of your 12-hour shift through no fault of yours. That includes when the driver before you brings it back late.

The rule

The same wording appears twice: in 58-21(c)(1)(vii) for standard taxis and in (c)(2)(vii) for hybrid and clean-diesel taxis.

"For a Driver with a daily lease … the lessor may offer pro-rated leases for shifts of under 12 hours. The lessor must pro-rate the lease if the vehicle is unavailable for use for any reason that is not the lessee's responsibility during any part of the 12 hour shift, including the return of the vehicle from the previous shift."

TLC's Driver Pay for Drivers page describes this as one of the 2018 leasing protections: "When taxis are unavailable through no fault of the driver, drivers must be offered pro-rated leases for shifts under 12 hours."

Late handover from the previous shift

Your shift is sold as 12 hours, and your lease must state its start and end date and time. Rule 58-21(i)(1) says "a shift must run for 12 consecutive hours." If the cab arrives late because the day driver kept it, that lost time is not your responsibility, so the lease must be pro-rated.

The rule does not say how to calculate it. One simple method is to pay only for the hours you actually had the car. For example, a fictional day shift at the $105 standard cap with the cab 3 hours late would come to $105 × 9 ÷ 12 = $78.75 by hours. That math is our illustration, not a TLC formula. Ask the fleet to put its method in writing.

Protect yourself:

• Note the time you were given the keys, and keep a photo or a dispatcher's note.
• Check your receipt. Every payment needs a receipt with the date, amount, purpose and rule section (Rule 58-21(g)).
• The rule lets the fleet charge a late fee of up to $25 per hour to the driver who returned the car late. The lost time on your shift is pro-rated, not billed to you.

Weekly leases

For weekly medallion-and-vehicle leases, Rules 58-21(c)(1)(v) and (c)(2)(v) say that if the vehicle "is unavailable for use for any reason that is not the lessee's responsibility during any part of any week, the payment of the Lease Cap must be pro-rated." A weekly lease runs seven consecutive calendar days (58-21(i)(1)(i)).

On a long-term DOV lease, 58-21(c)(4)(vii) has a similar pro-rating rule. It also gives examples of when the car does not count as unavailable: required maintenance, repairs needed because the car wasn't properly maintained, or a required TLC inspection. Those examples are written for DOV leases.

What to do next

1. Ask before you sign. If you want shorter shifts, ask whether the fleet offers pro-rated leases and get the price and hours in the written lease (58-21(h), (i)).
2. Dispute full-price charges for lost time. Show the handover time and ask for the pro-rated amount back.
3. Complain if needed. Charging more than the lease cap allows is an overcharge under 58-21(c). The penalty is $500, then $1,000 and/or up to 30 days' medallion suspension, and the judge must order restitution to you. Call 311 or TLC's Driver Protection Unit (718-391-5539, driverprotection@tlc.nyc.gov). Retaliation for a good-faith complaint is banned (58-21(j)).

Related rules and exceptions

• The full cap table: NYC taxi lease caps and the short definition of a lease cap.
• If the car broke down: taxi broke down — do I pay the full lease?
• Every allowed add-on, including late fees: extra charges a taxi fleet can add.
• Your deposit: taxi security deposit rules.
• A collective bargaining agreement that sets lease prices replaces these lease-cap rules (58-21(c)(7)).

More pay topics are on the money hub. This page explains TLC rules; it is not legal advice.