Card vs Cash in NYC Taxis: Payment Data Since 2010

In short: Almost every NYC yellow taxi ride is now paid without cash. TLC's monthly indicators show the card share of yellow trips at 36% in 2010, 72% in 2019, 87% in 2025 and about 89% in January–July 2026 (yearly averages of TLC's monthly figures). Green cabs are lower, 81% in July 2026. In the detailed trip records, cash was only about 8% to 10% of yellow trips each month from September 2025 to August 2026. A large and growing slice is Flex Fare: trips paid in an e-hail app at an upfront price.

For drivers this matters in three ways: card money is paid out by the owner (and can't carry card fees beyond $7 per shift or $49 per week), card tips are recorded while cash tips are not, and card payouts are the money your owner can take the MTA tax and improvement surcharge from.

The numbers at a glance

Card share by year

The card share rose almost every year. The only dip was 2020 (71.1%, from 72.0% in 2019), the year trips collapsed.

Yellow vs green, month by month

Green cabs went from 68% card in August 2023 to 81% in July 2026; yellow taxis from 79% to 89%. Green cab card share has also risen since it began: TLC's figures average about 41% for 2014, the first full year of green cab data.

How riders pay, by payment code

TLC's yellow data dictionary gives every trip a payment_type: 0 = Flex Fare trip, 1 = credit card, 2 = cash, 3 = no charge, 4 = dispute, 5 = unknown, 6 = voided trip.

• Credit card (1) ranged from 60.8% (February 2026) to 71.4% (November 2025).
• Flex Fare (0) ranged from 17.6% (November 2025) to 30.3% (February 2026). TLC's fare page explains that with a binding e-hail quote the meter is not turned on and "you will pay the fare that you accepted". What a Flex Fare is: what is a Flex Fare taxi trip?
• Cash (2) ranged from 7.9% to 9.8%.
• No charge, dispute and other fell from 1.9% to 0.7%.

Why the two sources differ. TLC's published card share (89% in July 2026) is close to card plus Flex Fare in the trip records (62.0% + 27.6% = 89.6% that month). In every month from September 2025 to July 2026, card plus Flex Fare was within about two points of TLC's card share. TLC does not say how it counts Flex Fare trips in the indicator, so treat this as a match we observed, not a definition.

Why cash tips are missing

The dictionary says tip_amount "is automatically populated for credit card tips. Cash tips are not included", and total_amount "does not include cash tips". So:

• every taxi tip statistic is really a card-tip statistic — see yellow taxi tipping statistics;
• TLC's "farebox" figures leave out card tips entirely — see yellow taxi fare per trip;
• your own records are the only proof of cash tips, which still count as income.

What this means for your money

Because most fares are paid by card, most of a taxi driver's takings arrive through the owner's payout, not in cash. The rules:

On your weekly statement, check that the number of card trips and the card total match your own trip log, that no line says "processing", "merchant" or "TSP fee" beyond the $7/$49 surcharge, and that Flex Fare (e-hail) trips are included in the payout like other card trips. More detail: how much a taxi owner can charge for credit cards and taxi payment rules. Passengers can always pay cash, and drivers must accept cards (Rule 80-17(e)(1)).

What the data can't tell you

• It doesn't show who pays cash (tourists, residents, airport riders) or where.
• It doesn't show debit vs credit, or how much card fees cost owners.
• The Flex Fare code tells you the trip was upfront-priced in an app, not which app.
• TLC figures are tabulated from trip records and may be revised.

Taxi vs app trip prices are compared on yellow taxi vs Uber fares. More on the money hub.