Do Tolls Count Toward Uber's NYC Minimum Pay?

No. Tolls are not part of TLC's minimum pay for Uber and Lyft drivers. The minimum is worked out from your miles and minutes with a passenger (§59D-22). Tolls are a separate payment: the company "must remit to the Driver the entirety of any toll paid by the Driver during a dispatched trip" (§59D-17(c)). So the toll should be on top of a trip pay that already meets the minimum.

Two rules, two different payments

The rule text is in TLC chapter 59. TLC's driver pay page describes the minimum as "a minimum per-trip payment standard", not an hourly wage. Nothing in the formula mentions tolls.

Current rates, effective March 1, 2026:

A worked example

Say a non-WAV trip inside the city is 5 miles and 20 minutes with the rider, and it uses one MTA crossing.

• Minimum for the trip: 5 × $1.283 + 20 × $0.681 = $6.42 + $13.62 = $20.04.
• Toll paid with an NY E-ZPass: $7.46.
• So at least $27.50 should reach you for this trip: the $20.04 minimum plus the $7.46 toll, with any tip on top.

If your statement showed $20.04 in total and the $7.46 toll was not listed separately, the toll was not repaid. This example only shows how the two parts add up. To check a real trip, use TLC's own driver pay calculator, linked from the TLC driver pay page, or our minimum pay guide.

The data field

TLC's trip data dictionary defines driver_pay as "Total driver pay (not including tolls or tips and net of commission, surcharges, or taxes)" and tolls as "Total amount of all tolls paid in trip". TLC keeps the two apart. About 11% of app trips from September 2025 to August 2026 recorded a toll: see tolls on Uber and Lyft trips (data).

Uber says the same thing on its NYC driver benefits page (company page, April 15, 2026): "Tips, customer-charged fees (like tolls and cleaning fees), and offline promotions such as referrals are not included when calculating your minimum earnings."

What to do next

1. Open a tolled trip in your driver app and find the separate toll line.
2. Check that the trip pay without the toll still meets the minimum for its miles and minutes.
3. If the toll is missing, follow Uber or Lyft didn't pay my toll.
4. If pay or tolls are short and the company won't fix it, email TLC's Driver Protection Unit at driverprotection@tlc.nyc.gov, as TLC's driver pay page advises.

Related rules and exceptions

• Tolls on the drive to a pickup or back home aren't in the trip at all: tolls on the way to a pickup.
• New Jersey trips have their own tolls: are there tolls going to New Jersey?.
• Out-of-town miles and minutes use higher minimum rates, shown in the card above.
• How often crossings are paid by E-ZPass vs by mail: E-ZPass vs Tolls by Mail share.

The full toll picture for app drivers is in tolls on Uber and Lyft trips. For drivers on both apps, see Uber and Lyft drivers and the Tolls topic.

This page explains TLC rules and is not legal or tax advice.