Busiest Hours for Taxis, Uber and Lyft in NYC (Trip Data)

On this page (9)

The numbers at a glance
Every hour of the week
Weekdays vs weekends
Borough differences (app trips)
Airport peaks
Seasons and surcharge windows
What the data can't tell you
FAQ
Sources

In short: in TLC trip records for September 2025 to August 2026, the busiest hour of the week for Uber and Lyft was Saturday at 7pm, when about 48,000 app trips started on an average Saturday. Friday and Saturday evenings filled most of the top hours, and Saturday was the busiest day (about 804,000 app trips). Yellow taxis peak earlier in the week: their busiest hour was Thursday at 6pm (about 10,100 trips). The quietest hour for both was around 3am on a Tuesday.

This page measures demand: when trips start. It does not measure how much drivers earn in those hours. Pay by hour is on Uber and Lyft pay by hour of day.

The numbers at a glance

Every hour of the week

Trips starting in each hour of the week: yellow, green, app

Average trips starting in each hour, Monday 12am to Sunday 11pm. TLC trip records, Sep 2025 – Aug 2026, holidays included.

Trips per hour

Yellow taxi
Green cab
App (high-volume FHV)

Show data table

Label	Yellow taxi	Green cab	App (high-volume FHV)
Mon 12am	2,020	16	18,110
Mon 1am	1,038	8	10,976
Mon 2am	591	5	7,457
Mon 3am	449	4	6,435
Mon 4am	610	6	8,604
Mon 5am	1,123	11	12,557
Mon 6am	2,308	36	20,346
Mon 7am	4,168	75	30,658
Mon 8am	5,370	93	37,870
Mon 9am	5,202	92	32,794
Mon 10am	5,005	86	27,769
Mon 11am	5,250	78	26,063
Mon 12pm	5,587	87	26,349
Mon 1pm	5,747	83	27,425
Mon 2pm	6,326	93	30,079
Mon 3pm	6,689	99	30,805
Mon 4pm	6,800	110	31,605
Mon 5pm	7,704	118	34,685
Mon 6pm	7,665	105	34,563
Mon 7pm	6,454	77	31,532
Mon 8pm	6,115	58	29,977
Mon 9pm	6,032	48	28,718
Mon 10pm	4,778	38	26,411
Mon 11pm	3,129	24	21,941
Tue 12am	1,835	14	15,273
Tue 1am	846	7	8,807
Tue 2am	449	4	5,825
Tue 3am	298	3	5,176
Tue 4am	424	5	7,654
Tue 5am	982	10	12,191
Tue 6am	2,308	36	21,112
Tue 7am	4,599	79	33,171
Tue 8am	6,144	100	40,905
Tue 9am	6,088	100	35,421
Tue 10am	5,721	92	29,167
Tue 11am	5,883	88	27,129
Tue 12pm	6,199	91	26,994
Tue 1pm	6,350	89	28,437
Tue 2pm	7,017	96	31,629
Tue 3pm	7,374	105	32,330
Tue 4pm	7,537	116	33,401
Tue 5pm	8,787	125	37,362
Tue 6pm	9,128	112	37,942
Tue 7pm	7,654	84	35,013
Tue 8pm	7,585	63	33,658
Tue 9pm	8,238	53	32,986
Tue 10pm	6,706	44	30,816
Tue 11pm	4,141	28	24,933
Wed 12am	2,185	16	17,119
Wed 1am	1,019	9	10,054
Wed 2am	538	4	6,653
Wed 3am	371	3	5,782
Wed 4am	494	5	8,066
Wed 5am	1,021	11	12,495
Wed 6am	2,402	36	21,561
Wed 7am	4,787	82	33,958
Wed 8am	6,466	101	42,003
Wed 9am	6,299	102	36,567
Wed 10am	5,907	94	30,175
Wed 11am	6,095	89	28,203
Wed 12pm	6,417	94	28,432
Wed 1pm	6,643	91	29,499
Wed 2pm	7,208	99	32,437
Wed 3pm	7,550	111	33,229
Wed 4pm	7,722	121	34,429
Wed 5pm	8,989	129	38,679
Wed 6pm	9,506	117	39,862
Wed 7pm	8,460	87	38,261
Wed 8pm	8,199	66	36,806
Wed 9pm	8,676	56	36,214
Wed 10pm	7,531	47	34,460
Wed 11pm	4,960	33	28,499
Thu 12am	2,897	20	20,405
Thu 1am	1,558	10	12,631
Thu 2am	885	7	8,821
Thu 3am	619	4	7,579
Thu 4am	652	6	9,511
Thu 5am	1,178	11	13,453
Thu 6am	2,543	36	22,067
Thu 7am	4,786	80	33,922
Thu 8am	6,349	96	41,702
Thu 9am	6,187	98	36,612
Thu 10am	5,899	90	30,867
Thu 11am	6,122	89	29,377
Thu 12pm	6,482	90	29,735
Thu 1pm	6,758	92	31,214
Thu 2pm	7,451	101	34,271
Thu 3pm	7,931	111	35,116
Thu 4pm	8,103	123	36,632
Thu 5pm	9,479	138	40,821
Thu 6pm	10,082	126	42,061
Thu 7pm	8,835	91	40,746
Thu 8pm	8,412	67	38,866
Thu 9pm	8,945	61	38,078
Thu 10pm	8,366	52	37,372
Thu 11pm	6,305	37	32,641
Fri 12am	4,000	22	24,278
Fri 1am	2,236	13	15,581
Fri 2am	1,329	7	10,440
Fri 3am	870	4	8,558
Fri 4am	858	6	10,239
Fri 5am	1,256	12	13,637
Fri 6am	2,354	32	21,648
Fri 7am	4,112	68	32,863
Fri 8am	5,155	80	39,966
Fri 9am	5,221	79	35,377
Fri 10am	5,370	81	31,251
Fri 11am	5,742	78	30,387
Fri 12pm	6,263	78	31,319
Fri 1pm	6,545	79	32,720
Fri 2pm	7,463	97	35,942
Fri 3pm	7,811	108	36,571
Fri 4pm	7,957	118	38,290
Fri 5pm	8,846	122	42,565
Fri 6pm	9,630	115	45,824
Fri 7pm	8,768	87	46,654
Fri 8pm	7,385	65	43,249
Fri 9pm	7,436	62	41,971
Fri 10pm	7,969	58	44,409
Fri 11pm	7,828	48	43,245
Sat 12am	6,927	35	37,440
Sat 1am	5,432	26	29,707
Sat 2am	3,961	23	22,957
Sat 3am	2,736	20	17,692
Sat 4am	1,754	16	14,812
Sat 5am	919	9	12,633
Sat 6am	1,273	11	15,569
Sat 7am	1,744	21	19,473
Sat 8am	2,677	29	24,212
Sat 9am	3,998	44	29,155
Sat 10am	4,987	55	32,097
Sat 11am	5,878	65	34,171
Sat 12pm	6,535	74	35,497
Sat 1pm	6,995	77	36,575
Sat 2pm	7,046	79	37,851
Sat 3pm	7,336	86	39,541
Sat 4pm	7,787	85	40,978
Sat 5pm	8,216	85	43,597
Sat 6pm	8,765	87	46,439
Sat 7pm	8,562	75	48,037
Sat 8pm	7,393	62	46,380
Sat 9pm	7,323	56	45,356
Sat 10pm	8,202	55	47,218
Sat 11pm	8,451	52	46,384
Sun 12am	7,435	38	41,544
Sun 1am	5,954	30	34,173
Sun 2am	4,204	25	25,448
Sun 3am	3,101	22	20,120
Sun 4am	2,153	19	16,370
Sun 5am	1,120	12	12,953
Sun 6am	1,353	14	14,731
Sun 7am	1,708	22	17,722
Sun 8am	2,396	31	20,447
Sun 9am	3,658	45	25,632
Sun 10am	4,814	49	30,424
Sun 11am	5,665	59	32,016
Sun 12pm	6,366	73	32,655
Sun 1pm	6,732	74	33,064
Sun 2pm	6,976	80	34,326
Sun 3pm	6,730	82	34,621
Sun 4pm	6,781	84	34,437
Sun 5pm	6,825	80	34,869
Sun 6pm	6,713	84	35,246
Sun 7pm	5,878	69	33,544
Sun 8pm	5,331	59	32,021
Sun 9pm	5,122	50	31,139
Sun 10pm	4,429	39	29,428
Sun 11pm	3,236	27	25,292

Source: NYC TLC Trip Record Data (yellow, green, high-volume FHV), Sep 2025 – Aug 2026 · Data as of Oct 12, 2026. Aggregated by TLC Help from TLC trip records, Sep 2025 – Aug 2026 (pickup date; TLC publishes trip files about two months after the month ends and may revise them). 'App' = high-volume for-hire services (Uber, Lyft). Taxi records with a negative fare (reversals) are excluded. Averages, medians and rates use 'clean' trips only: 1 minute to 4 hours, more than 0 and under 150 miles, fare above $0 and under $1,000. Each value = trips starting in that hour ÷ number of such weekdays in the window. Holidays are included.

The app line has two humps every weekday (a morning rush around 8am and an evening plateau from about 5pm to 7pm) and a big late-night bulge on Friday and Saturday. The five busiest app hours were all on Friday or Saturday evening: Saturday 7pm, Saturday 10pm, Friday 7pm, Saturday 6pm and Saturday 11pm. The yellow taxi line is flatter at night and peaks on weekday evenings: its top five hours were all 5pm or 6pm, Tuesday to Friday.

Weekdays vs weekends

Trips by hour of the day: weekdays vs weekends

Average trips starting in each hour. App = Uber and Lyft. Green cabs left out (too few to show on this scale).

Trips per hour

App, weekdays
App, weekends
Yellow, weekdays
Yellow, weekends

Show data table

Label	App, weekdays	App, weekends	Yellow, weekdays	Yellow, weekends
12am	19,033	39,492	2,585	7,181
1am	11,607	31,940	1,338	5,693
2am	7,838	24,203	758	4,083
3am	6,705	18,906	521	2,918
4am	8,814	15,591	608	1,954
5am	12,865	12,793	1,112	1,020
6am	21,343	15,150	2,383	1,313
7am	32,906	18,597	4,489	1,726
8am	40,479	22,329	5,895	2,536
9am	35,344	27,394	5,797	3,828
10am	29,838	31,260	5,578	4,901
11am	28,223	33,093	5,816	5,772
12pm	28,558	34,076	6,187	6,451
1pm	29,850	34,819	6,406	6,864
2pm	32,861	36,088	7,090	7,011
3pm	33,599	37,081	7,468	7,033
4pm	34,859	37,707	7,621	7,284
5pm	38,806	39,233	8,757	7,520
6pm	40,029	40,842	9,196	7,739
7pm	38,415	40,791	8,028	7,220
8pm	36,486	39,200	7,534	6,362
9pm	35,567	38,247	7,858	6,223
10pm	34,662	38,323	7,061	6,315
11pm	30,220	35,838	5,264	5,844

Source: NYC TLC Trip Record Data (yellow, green, high-volume FHV), Sep 2025 – Aug 2026 · Data as of Oct 12, 2026. Aggregated by TLC Help from TLC trip records, Sep 2025 – Aug 2026 (pickup date; TLC publishes trip files about two months after the month ends and may revise them). 'App' = high-volume for-hire services (Uber, Lyft). Taxi records with a negative fare (reversals) are excluded. Averages, medians and rates use 'clean' trips only: 1 minute to 4 hours, more than 0 and under 150 miles, fare above $0 and under $1,000. Green cabs are omitted here (too few trips to read on the same scale); see trips-hour-of-week.

Day shift vs night shift: share of each day's trips

Row label	Day (6am–6pm)	Night (6pm–6am)	Trips per day
App, weekdays	57.8%	42.2%	668,907
App, weekends	49.4%	50.6%	742,993
Yellow taxi, weekdays	58.6%	41.4%	125,350
Yellow taxi, weekends	49.9%	50.1%	124,791

On weekends the night half of the day carries slightly more than half of all trips. Weekend app trips stay high after midnight: about 39,500 start between 12am and 1am on an average weekend day, compared with about 19,000 on a weekday.

Average trips per day, by day of the week

TLC trip records, Sep 2025 – Aug 2026.

Trips per day

Yellow taxi
Green cab
App (high-volume FHV)

Show data table

Label	Yellow taxi	Green cab	App (high-volume FHV)
Mon	106,160	1,450	593,727
Tue	122,292	1,544	627,332
Wed	129,447	1,602	663,442
Thu	136,824	1,636	704,502
Fri	132,403	1,519	756,985
Sat	134,898	1,228	803,771
Sun	114,681	1,166	682,222

App trips climb from Monday (593,727) to Saturday (803,771). Yellow taxis are busiest on Thursday (136,824) and quietest on Monday (106,160).

Borough differences (app trips)

Uber and Lyft pickups by borough: peaks and quiet hours


Manhattan	240,391	6pm–9pm (about equal)	3am	46.5%	262,692	12am	53.1%
Brooklyn	175,827	6pm	3am	42.1%	217,088	12am	52%
Queens	148,936	8am	3am	39.7%	160,423	6pm	47.3%
Bronx	91,583	8am	3am	36.3%	91,155	3pm	46.7%
Staten Island	11,411	8am	2am	31.6%	10,519	3pm	42.7%

Source: TLC Trip Record Data, high-volume FHV, Sep 2025 – Aug 2026 (TLC Help calculation by pickup zone borough; 261 weekdays incl. holidays, 104 weekend days)

Manhattan and Brooklyn are evening and late-night markets. The Bronx, Queens and Staten Island peak in the weekday morning rush at 8am, when people head to work, and on weekends in the afternoon. Queens includes both airports. To see the busiest single zones, use busiest pickup zones.

Airport peaks

JFK Airport: trips starting each hour (all sectors)

Average pickups per day by hour, yellow + green + app. TLC trip records, Sep 2025 – Aug 2026.

Pickups per day

Weekdays
Saturday
Sunday

Show data table

Label	Weekdays	Saturday	Sunday
12am	884.6	710	722.4
1am	499.9	391.9	419
2am	221.2	170.8	191.4
3am	119.1	91.1	119.3
4am	96.8	76.9	95.8
5am	272.4	225.7	247.9
6am	493.1	442.9	486.5
7am	531.6	541.1	544.2
8am	428.8	455.3	474
9am	415.5	438.4	461.7
10am	471.5	442.1	544.5
11am	492.1	475.1	586.3
12pm	534.4	484.5	631.4
1pm	594.9	580.4	727.4
2pm	788.4	769.8	953.3
3pm	975	949.2	1,155.9
4pm	1,024.3	929	1,262.7
5pm	883	838.5	1,150.2
6pm	853	802.1	1,046.1
7pm	952.3	868.7	1,219.8
8pm	1,046.7	979.7	1,352.9
9pm	1,035.6	930.9	1,367
10pm	1,085.9	981.5	1,418.5
11pm	999	951.4	1,370.4

Source: NYC TLC Trip Record Data (yellow, green, high-volume FHV), Sep 2025 – Aug 2026 · Data as of Oct 12, 2026. Aggregated by TLC Help from TLC trip records, Sep 2025 – Aug 2026 (pickup date; TLC publishes trip files about two months after the month ends and may revise them). 'App' = high-volume for-hire services (Uber, Lyft). Taxi records with a negative fare (reversals) are excluded. Averages, medians and rates use 'clean' trips only: 1 minute to 4 hours, more than 0 and under 150 miles, fare above $0 and under $1,000. Average over all such days in the window, holidays included.

LaGuardia Airport: trips starting each hour (all sectors)

Average pickups per day by hour. LaGuardia has almost no pickups between 3am and 6am.

Pickups per day

Weekdays
Saturday
Sunday

Show data table

Label	Weekdays	Saturday	Sunday
12am	905.3	648.7	390.2
1am	273.2	179.6	99.7
2am	101.6	82.4	33.4
3am	36.7	28.8	19.7
4am	15.7	16.3	18.8
5am	17.5	17.1	18.5
6am	22	19.1	19.8
7am	270.8	64.8	122.1
8am	501.5	208.9	292.5
9am	813.8	524.9	630.6
10am	1,020.6	704.2	875.1
11am	876.9	605	797.7
12pm	891.4	605.4	917.3
1pm	886.7	650.4	1,022
2pm	1,178.5	726.2	1,304.4
3pm	1,132.4	712.8	1,262.5
4pm	1,047.5	777.5	1,207.3
5pm	1,022.1	722.1	1,193
6pm	1,059.4	697.4	1,177.4
7pm	1,096	627.7	1,238.9
8pm	1,104.6	574.1	1,226.5
9pm	1,170.1	532.4	1,311.3
10pm	1,097.6	465	1,221.4
11pm	1,159	543.5	1,375.6

Source: NYC TLC Trip Record Data (yellow, green, high-volume FHV), Sep 2025 – Aug 2026 · Data as of Oct 12, 2026. Aggregated by TLC Help from TLC trip records, Sep 2025 – Aug 2026 (pickup date; TLC publishes trip files about two months after the month ends and may revise them). 'App' = high-volume for-hire services (Uber, Lyft). Taxi records with a negative fare (reversals) are excluded. Averages, medians and rates use 'clean' trips only: 1 minute to 4 hours, more than 0 and under 150 miles, fare above $0 and under $1,000. Average over all such days in the window, holidays included.

Airport demand follows flight times, not office hours. JFK pickups build through the afternoon and stay high until midnight; the busiest hour was Sunday 10pm (about 1,419 pickups). LaGuardia pickups almost stop from 3am to 6am, then run high from mid-morning to midnight, with Sunday 11pm the busiest (about 1,376). Saturday is the quietest day at LaGuardia. Airport rules and lots are covered on the airports hub.

Seasons and surcharge windows

By month, TLC's own industry figures for high-volume (app) trips ranged from about 621,700 trips per day (August 2025) to about 713,700 (May 2026) in the latest 12 months published (TLC Industry Indicators). Seasonal patterns are on trips by weekday and season.

Yellow and green cab riders pay extra at set times: a $2.50 rush hour surcharge from 4pm to 8pm on weekdays (not holidays) and a $1.00 overnight surcharge from 8pm to 6am (TLC Taxi Fare, rates as of 2026-10-12). App prices are set by each company, and TLC trip records don't show a price multiplier. Congestion Relief Zone toll times, which matter for Manhattan trips, are on congestion zone entries by hour.

What the data can't tell you

Driver supply is not in the trip records. TLC trip files show trips, not how many drivers were waiting. A busy hour with even more drivers can mean longer waits between trips for you.
Averages hide events. Concerts, storms and holidays move demand a lot on single days.
App companies are combined. Uber vs Lyft is compared in does Uber or Lyft pay more?

To see what a trip in your planned hours must pay at minimum, enter its miles and minutes here:

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.

Frequently asked questions

What is the busiest time for Uber and Lyft in NYC?

In TLC trip records for Sep 2025 – Aug 2026, the busiest hour of the week for app trips was Saturday 7pm (about 48,000 trips started in that hour on an average Saturday). Friday and Saturday evenings fill most of the top hours. Saturday is the busiest day.

What is the busiest time for yellow taxis?

Weekday evenings. The busiest hour of the week for yellow taxis was Thursday 6pm, about 10,100 trips. Taxis are busiest Thursday, app trips on Saturday.

When is the morning rush for app trips?

On weekdays app trips peak at 8am (about 40,500 trips in that hour on an average weekday), almost as high as the 6pm peak (about 40,000).

Is the busiest hour the best-paid hour?

Not necessarily. More riders also brings more drivers, traffic and shorter trips. Average pay per trip and per engaged hour were highest in the early morning, not at the busiest hours. See the pay-by-hour page.

Do these numbers include holidays?

Yes. Each hourly value is the average over all such days in the 12 months, holidays included.

Sources

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

NYC TLC Trip Record Data (yellow, green, high-volume FHV), Sep 2025 – Aug 2026 nyc.gov
TLC Data Dictionary: High Volume FHV Trip Records (March 18, 2025) nyc.gov
TLC Data Dictionary: Yellow Taxi Trip Records (March 18, 2025) nyc.gov
NYC TLC: Taxi Fare (rush hour and overnight surcharges) nyc.gov
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.

The numbers at a glance

Every hour of the week

Weekdays vs weekends

Borough differences (app trips)

Airport peaks

Seasons and surcharge windows

What the data can't tell you

Frequently asked questions

Sources

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