Do I Get Paid Back for Tolls on the Way to a Pickup?

Usually not. On Uber, tolls you pay with no rider in the car, driving to a pickup or heading back after a drop-off, are not repaid under Uber's stated policy. TLC's rule says the company must repay tolls paid "during a dispatched trip" but doesn't say whether the drive to the pickup counts. In a taxi or green cab, empty-car tolls are yours unless a specific return-toll rule applies.

The rule wording

TLC rule §59D-17(c) says: "A High-Volume For-Hire Service must remit to the Driver the entirety of any toll paid by the Driver during a dispatched trip." TLC's definitions say a dispatch is "a request made from a Base Station to a Driver, directing the Driver to provide transportation to a passenger" (chapter 51). Neither text says whether the drive to the pickup is part of the "dispatched trip". We found no TLC notice that settles it. If a pickup toll matters to you, ask TLC's Driver Protection Unit at driverprotection@tlc.nyc.gov.

Company policy

Uber's driver help page says: "You receive reimbursement only for tolls incurred during a trip with a rider." Its rider page adds that a toll for the driver's return "may be included in your upfront price so the driver isn't left covering the cost." That is Uber's policy, not a TLC rule. We did not verify Lyft's policy.

Taxi and green cab: return tolls only where the rules allow

In a yellow taxi or green cab, the passenger pays tolls "incurred during the trip". The only times they also pay for your drive back are:

• Into Staten Island or the Rockaways: two times the toll on the Verrazzano, Cross Bay or Marine Parkway bridge, because you can't get back without paying again. See the return-toll rule.
• Outside the city: "all necessary tolls to and from the destination" (§58-26(f)(2)), for example Newark Airport.

Any other empty-car toll is not the passenger's to pay. If you drive the owner's car, the owner is still owed that toll: the rules say a driver who fails to reimburse the tag holder for all tolls, "including toll charges for which there is no passenger reimbursement", faces §80-15(d)(4) penalties. Full taxi rules: who pays tolls on a taxi trip.

What to do next

• Check the trip, not the drive. If a toll was paid after the rider got in and it's missing, that is a missing toll, and §59D-17(c) clearly applies.
• Keep your E-ZPass history. It shows the time of each crossing, which you can match to pickup and drop-off times.
• Record empty-car tolls for taxes. IRS Topic 510 says tolls for business use are deductible separately from the standard mileage rate. Ask a tax professional how this applies to you; see can I deduct tolls and parking?.
• Congestion pricing is a different charge. Driving empty into Manhattan is covered in do I pay congestion pricing driving empty?.

Related rules and exceptions

• New Jersey trips: Port Authority crossings charge only entering New York, so coming back from New Jersey costs a toll; see are there tolls going to New Jersey?.
• How often app trips have a toll at all: tolls on Uber and Lyft trips (data). The full app toll rules: tolls on Uber and Lyft trips.
• Local: Brooklyn. All toll pages: Tolls.

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