When Does the Taxi Rush Hour Surcharge Apply?

Short answer: The $2.50 rush hour surcharge applies to yellow taxi and green cab trips that begin on a weekday after 4:00 p.m. and before 8:00 p.m. It is not charged on Saturdays, Sundays or legal holidays. A separate $1.00 overnight surcharge applies to trips that begin after 8:00 p.m. and before 6:00 a.m., every day of the week. What counts is the time the trip starts, not when it ends. On the JFK–Manhattan flat fare, the rush surcharge is $5.00.

The rules are TLC Rule 58-26(a)(2) for yellow taxis and Rule 82-26(a)(2) for green cab hail trips, and TLC's Taxi Fare page, checked October 12, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

The start time governs

Both rules use the words "for all trips beginning". So:

• Tuesday, trip starts 3:58 p.m., ends 4:30 p.m.: no rush surcharge.
• Tuesday, trip starts 7:55 p.m., ends 8:40 p.m.: $2.50 rush, no overnight.
• Tuesday, trip starts 8:05 p.m.: $1.00 overnight, no rush.
• Friday, trip starts 5:50 a.m.: $1.00 overnight, even though the trip ends in daylight.

The surcharges never stack on the same trip, because their windows don't overlap. Charging a surcharge outside its window is an overcharge, with the mandatory penalties in TLC Rule 80-02(e).

Weekends and holidays

The rush surcharge is for weekdays only, so Saturday and Sunday trips never pay it. On legal holidays it is also not charged: the rule says the surcharge "will not be applied on legal holidays", and TLC's fare page says "excluding holidays". Neither lists the holidays. If you are not sure whether a date counts, check with TLC before the day rather than after a complaint.

The overnight surcharge has no weekday or holiday limit. A trip at 11 p.m. on a Sunday or on a holiday pays $1.00.

JFK, LaGuardia and Newark

• JFK–Manhattan flat fare: a $5.00 rush surcharge for trips beginning on a weekday after 4 p.m. and before 8 p.m., not holidays (Rule 58-26(b)(1)(i)). TLC's fare page lists the MTA tax, improvement surcharge, $5.00 rush surcharge, congestion charges, tolls and tip for this trip, but not the $1.00 overnight surcharge. See the JFK flat fare guide.
• LaGuardia and other metered airport trips: the normal $2.50 or $1.00 applies, on top of the $5.00 LaGuardia surcharge.
• When airport trips happen is on airport pickups by hour.

How we got here

TLC's fare increase of December 19, 2022 raised the rush surcharge from $1.00 to $2.50, the night surcharge from 50 cents to $1.00, and the JFK flat-fare rush surcharge from $4.50 to $5.00 (Industry Notice #22-02). The hours did not change.

What to do next

• Check the start time printed on the receipt against the windows above.
• If a passenger disputes a surcharge, show the receipt: it lists each charge.
• If you get an overcharge summons, look at the trip's start time in your trip record.

Related rules and exceptions

Flex Fare trips (upfront price in an e-hail app) don't use the meter, so these surcharges are not added separately; the passenger pays the accepted price. All the other charges on a fare, including the congestion charges that you never keep, are in how a NYC taxi fare is calculated and does the taxi driver pay the congestion surcharge? The $1.00 that every trip carries is explained in what is the taxi improvement surcharge? More on the money hub.