How Many Hours a Day Can I Drive for Uber in NYC?

On this page (7)

Limits and resets
Track your own hours
Fines
How the limit compares with real shifts
Fatigue rules and app access
FAQ
Sources

10 hours of passenger time in any 24 hours, and 60 hours a week. TLC rule 80-14(f) says you must not carry passengers for hire for more than 10 hours in total in any 24-hour period. If you carry no passengers for at least 8 hours in a row, the 10-hour count resets. Over a Monday-to-Sunday week, the limit is 60 hours. Only time with passengers counts; time between trips does not (TLC chapter 80).

Limits and resets

One made-up day under the 10-hour rule

6:00am
First passenger
Passenger time starts adding up. The rule counts any 24-hour period, not a fixed clock day.
6am–5pm
Trips with breaks
Only minutes with a rider add up. Waiting, driving to pickups and lunch don't count.
5:00pm
Watch out: 10 passenger hours reached
Stop accepting trips. A trip that started before you reached 10 hours and runs over is a defense (§80-14(f)(1)(iv)).
5pm–1am
8 hours in a row with no passengers
The 10-hour count resets.
After 1:00am
Good to know: You may carry passengers again
But all hours still count toward the 60-hour Monday–Sunday limit.

Key points from the rule:

Every vehicle counts together. Pickups you make in any vehicle under the TLC driver rules are combined (§80-14(f)(1)(ii)). Two apps, one limit.
No double counting. Time used to charge you with breaking the daily limit can't also be used for a weekly-limit violation (§80-14(f)(1)(iii)).
The base is bound too. A base must not dispatch you beyond the daily or weekly limits: $200 for each dispatch over the limit (§59B-18(e)).

Track your own hours

The apps know your passenger time, but the summons is written to you. A simple habit keeps you safe:

Each day, add up passenger minutes from your trip history in every app you use, not just one.
Write down the time of your last drop-off. Eight hours with no passengers after that resets the daily count.
Keep a running weekly total from Monday. Around 50 hours, plan your last days so you stay under 60.
Keep the records. If you get a summons, your trip history can support the single-trip defense or show a wrong count.

Fines

The same scale applies to the daily limit (80-14(f)(2)) and the weekly limit (80-14(f)(3)); appearance is not required. For the daily limit only, being found guilty three or more times in a calendar month of going 4 or more hours over adds a suspension of 5 to 15 days. Full pages: 80-14(f)(2) and 80-14(f)(3).

Summonses citing the daily hours limit, 80-14(f)(2), by year

First-listed charge on taxi/FHV summonses at OATH. A summons is not a finding of guilt; outcomes are blank in this dataset. 2026 so far: 626.

Summonses

Show data table

Label	Summonses (summonses)
2018	3,862
2019	678
2020	537
2021	1,804
2022	809
2023	337
2024	453
2025	657

Source: NYC Open Data: OATH Hearings Division Case Status (jz4z-kudi) · Data as of Oct 12, 2026. Counts use the first-listed charge (charge_1_code) only. Later charge columns mostly repeat the first code, so they are not counted. Codes are normalised for case (80-13(A)(2) and 80-13(a)(2) are the same). Total 2018–2025: 9,137; 2026 so far: 626 (incomplete year, not charted). A summons is not a finding of guilt; outcomes and fines are blank in this dataset. Before 2018 this code appears rarely or not at all (0 summonses since 2014, under 1% of the peak year), often because the rule was renumbered or adopted then.

How the limit compares with real shifts

Hours per day with at least one trip, per driver, by industry

TLC Industry Indicators. Counts hours in which a driver recorded a trip, not passenger time and not time logged in.

Hours

Yellow taxi
Green cab (boro taxi)
High-volume FHV (app-based)
Black car
Livery
Luxury limousine

Show data table

Label	Yellow taxi	Green cab (boro taxi)	High-volume FHV (app-based)	Black car	Livery	Luxury limousine
Aug 2023	6.7	3.4	6.2	4.9	4.7	1.9
Sep 2023	6.9	3.5	6.5	4.5	4.7	2.1
Oct 2023	7.2	3.4	6.4	4.6	4.8	2.1
Nov 2023	7.1	3.5	6.3	4.5	4.7	2
Dec 2023	7	3.5	6.4	4.6	4.8	2
Jan 2024	6.7	3.4	6.3	4.4	4.7	1.9
Feb 2024	7	3.5	6.4	4.5	4.4	1.9
Mar 2024	7.2	3.5	6.4	4.6	4.5	1.9
Apr 2024	7.2	3.6	6.3	4.7	4.5	1.9
May 2024	7.3	3.6	6.4	4.7	4.5	2
Jun 2024	7.2	3.6	6.4	4.6	4.6	1.9
Jul 2024	6.7	3.4	6.1	4.7	4.9	1.8
Aug 2024	6.6	3.4	6.3	4.4	4.4	1.7
Sep 2024	7.3	3.6	6.4	4.5	4.4	2
Oct 2024	7.3	3.6	6.4	4.4	4.3	2
Nov 2024	7.1	3.6	6.4	4.6	4.6	1.9
Dec 2024	7	3.5	6.4	4.6	4.8	1.9
Jan 2025	6.9	3.4	6.4	4.5	4.8	1.8
Feb 2025	7.5	3.6	6.5	4.6	4.8	1.9
Mar 2025	7.5	3.6	6.3	4.7	4.9	1.8
Apr 2025	7.5	3.7	6.4	4.6	5	1.9
May 2025	7.9	3.8	6.5	4.6	5	2
Jun 2025	7.7	3.7	6.4	4.7	5.3	1.9
Jul 2025	7.3	3.7	6.3	4.8	5.2	1.7
Aug 2025	7.1	3.6	6.3	4.7	5.2	1.7
Sep 2025	7.6	3.6	6.3	4.5	5.1	1.8
Oct 2025	7.5	3.6	6.4	4.3	5.2	1.9
Nov 2025	7.5	3.6	6.3	4.3	5.2	1.9
Dec 2025	7.5	3.7	6.4	4.2	5.4	1.9
Jan 2026	7.2	3.5	6.3	4.2	5.3	1.8
Feb 2026	7.3	3.6	6.4	4.3	5.4	1.8
Mar 2026	7.2	3.7	6.3	4.5	5.4	1.8
Apr 2026	7.3	3.7	6.3	4.5	5.2	1.8
May 2026	7.4	3.8	6.4	4.6	5.3	1.9
Jun 2026	7.4	3.8	6.3	4.2	5.3	1.8
Jul 2026	7.1	3.6	6.3	4.2	5.2	1.8

Source: NYC Open Data: TLC Industry Indicators (v6kb-cqej) · Data as of Oct 12, 2026. Monthly figures as published by TLC (tabulated from trip records). One license lets a driver work in several industries, so driver and vehicle counts overlap across lines and must not be added. Counts hours with at least one trip, not total time logged in or waiting.

In TLC's figures, app drivers recorded trips in about 6.3 hours per working day on average in 2026. That measure counts any hour with a trip, so passenger time is lower. The limit matters most for drivers who work long days back to back, and for the weekly total. More hours also doesn't always mean more pay per hour: see Uber and Lyft pay by hour of day and busiest hours.

Fatigue rules and app access

TLC says fatigued driving "can be as dangerous as driving after heavy drinking" and created daily and weekly limits for taxi and for-hire drivers alike (TLC Driver Fatigue). Drinking limits are on how long after drinking can I drive?

Before planning a long day, check what each trip should pay:

Free tool

Uber & Lyft minimum pay calculator (NYC)

Enter a trip's miles and minutes with the passenger to see the minimum TLC says Uber or Lyft must pay you for it. Compare it with your pay statement.

This tool needs JavaScript. The rules it uses are listed under “How this works” below.

Miles with passenger (in NYC)

Minutes with passenger (in NYC)

Wheelchair-accessible vehicle (WAV) tripTrip started in NYC and ended outside the city

What the app paid you for this trip, before tips (optional)

Enter the trip's miles and minutes to see the minimum.

How this works

TLC Rule §59D-22, rates effective 2026-03-01: For each trip: (miles with a passenger in the City x per-mile rate) + (minutes with a passenger in the City x per-minute rate), plus out-of-town miles and minutes at the out-of-town rates. Rates already include the utilization rate. It is a minimum per trip, not an hourly wage; tips are on top.
Standard rates apply within city limits. Outside of New York City (trips that begin in the City and end outside it), these rates apply to the miles and minutes outside the City.
Adjusted each March 1 by the annual average CPI-W for the NY-NJ-PA area (§59D-22(a)(4)). The March 2026 increase was 3.36%.
Use the trip miles and minutes from your pay statement (time and distance with a passenger). Tips are not part of the minimum. Tolls are recorded separately from driver pay in TLC trip records.
This checks one trip. Companies may pay more than the minimum. TLC's own Driver Pay Calculator is the official check.

Official sources

Rates checked 2026-10-12. Estimate only, not financial, tax or legal advice. Official rates change: check the sources below before you rely on a number.

How many cars are out at once is on how many Ubers and taxis are on the road each day. More on the apps hub.

Frequently asked questions

How many hours can I drive for Uber or Lyft in a day in NYC?

You can carry passengers for at most 10 hours in total in any 24-hour period (rule 80-14(f)(2)). If you carry no passengers for at least 8 hours in a row, the 10-hour count starts again.

What is the weekly limit?

60 hours of passenger time in a week that runs Monday to Sunday (rule 80-14(f)(3)).

Does waiting for a trip count?

No. Only time with passengers counts. Rule 80-14(f)(1)(i) says time between trips is not counted as driving hours.

If I drive for both Uber and Lyft, are hours combined?

Yes. Rule 80-14(f)(1)(ii) combines pickups made in any vehicle you drive under the TLC driver rules. Bases are also barred from dispatching you over the limits (59B-18(e)).

What is the fine for going over?

From $50 (up to 1 hour over, pleading guilty before a hearing) to $400 (more than 4 hours over, found guilty after a hearing), for both the daily and weekly limit. Three or more daily violations of 4+ hours in a calendar month also bring a 5- to 15-day suspension.

Sources

Last reviewed against the official sources on Oct 12, 2026.

TLC Rule Book, Chapter 80 (§80-14(f) limits on hours of driving) nyc.gov
TLC Rule Book, Chapter 59 (§59B-18(e), §59D-22(c)) nyc.gov
TLC: Driver Fatigue nyc.gov
TLC Notice of Promulgation: driver pay rules adopted June 25, 2025 nyc.gov
NYC Open Data: OATH Hearings Division Case Status (jz4z-kudi) data.cityofnewyork.us
NYC Open Data: TLC Industry Indicators (v6kb-cqej) data.cityofnewyork.us

Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll check it against the official source.

TLC Help is not a law firm and is not affiliated with the NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission or OATH. Explanations on this site are general information, not legal advice. Legal representation is provided by independent attorneys and OATH-registered representatives in our network.