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In short: Uber now passes many of its Manhattan ride requests to yellow taxis through the e-hail apps Curb and Arro. TLC's February 2026 FHV License Review says that in the latest month it had, over 800,000 Uber trip requests in Manhattan were forwarded to taxis, and more than 80% of all forwarded trips had Manhattan pickups. TLC's trip files back this up: from June 2026, about one in five yellow taxi trips carries Uber's license code.
The numbers at a glance
What TLC found, and when
In mid-2025 TLC changed its data rules for e-hail apps so that each request shows where it came from. Using that field, TLC's review (covering February 2025 to January 2026) says:
- Uber forwards trip requests to taxis "through partnerships with e-hail apps Curb and Arro";
- more than 80% of trips forwarded by the high-volume companies to taxis start in Manhattan;
- "over 800,000 Uber trip requests in Manhattan were forwarded to taxis" in the most recent month of e-hail request data.
TLC links this to a change in where app trips happen. From January 2025 to January 2026, app pickups fell 6.1% in Manhattan but grew in every other borough:
TLC wrote that congestion pricing "may have contributed" to fewer app trips in Manhattan, "but the growing practice of Uber forwarding trip requests to taxis may be a larger factor." It also said that without forwarding, Manhattan "would have likely seen an increase in trips." The same report quotes MTA figures for January–September 2025: app trips crossing into the Congestion Relief Zone fell 4.5% from 2024, while taxi trips rose 17%. The taxi toll per trip is $0.75 and the app toll is $1.50.
What the trip files show
Since June 2026, TLC's yellow taxi files have a request_source column. TLC's yellow data dictionary (March 18, 2025) does not describe it yet. Two codes match the high-volume license numbers TLC uses in its app data dictionary: HV0003 = Uber and HV0005 = Lyft. That suggests app-requested taxi trips, but TLC has not confirmed what each code means.
| Month (2026) | Yellow trips | Coded HV0003 | Coded HV0005 | Any code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June | 3,823,593 | 24.3% | 0% | 26.5% |
| July | 3,515,877 | 21.0% | 0% | 27.6% |
| August | 3,322,690 | 18.9% | 5.5% | 27.7% |
Two more things stood out in our count of the same files. About 85% of HV0003-coded trips started in Manhattan, close to TLC's "more than 80%". And every trip with a request-source code was paid as a Flex Fare trip (payment type 0, an upfront price set by the e-hail app). Coded trips were also longer: the median HV0003 trip was 2.6–2.9 miles, against about 1.6–1.7 miles for trips with no code.
Effect on taxi work
Yellow taxis averaged 131,133 trips a day in 2025, up from 111,257 in 2024, and the number of yellow drivers with at least one trip each month rose to 13,297 on average (from 12,414). Forwarding is one possible cause; TLC's report does not measure how much of the rise it explains.
What it means for taxi drivers
The full rules (one device, going unavailable, no overcharging, tips) are in our guide to e-hail apps for NYC taxis. If you are deciding between a cab and an app car, see yellow taxi vs Uber/Lyft.
What the data can't tell you
- Pay: taxi trip files record the fare and tips, not what an e-hail app or Uber keeps.
- Requests that no taxi took: the files hold completed trips only.
- Older months: the code exists only from June 2026 in public files, so there is no before-and-after line.
For the bigger picture, see how many Ubers and taxis are on the road each day, taxi vs Uber fares, busiest hours for Uber and Lyft and will apps cut me off if TLC suspends me?.
Frequently asked questions
Does Uber really send trips to yellow taxis?
Yes. TLC's February 2026 FHV License Review says Uber forwards trip requests to taxis through partnerships with the e-hail apps Curb and Arro, and that over 800,000 Uber trip requests in Manhattan were forwarded to taxis in the most recent month of data TLC had.
Where are forwarded trips picked up?
Mostly Manhattan. TLC says more than 80% of trips forwarded by the app companies to taxis had Manhattan pickups. In our count of June–August 2026 yellow trip files, about 85% of trips coded HV0003 started in Manhattan.
How many yellow taxi trips come from Uber now?
TLC has not published that figure. In yellow trip files, the code HV0003 (Uber's TLC license number) was on 24.3% of yellow trips in June 2026, 21.0% in July and 18.9% in August. TLC has not defined these codes, so treat them as an indicator only.
Did Lyft start sending trips to taxis too?
The code HV0005, which is Lyft's TLC license number, first appears in the yellow files in August 2026, on 181,225 trips (5.5% of yellow trips that month). TLC has not explained it yet.
Why would Uber send trips to taxis?
TLC's view is that forwarding Manhattan requests to taxis lets the app companies keep their own drivers available in the outer boroughs without hurting Manhattan service. TLC also says congestion pricing may have played a part in fewer app trips in Manhattan.
Sources
Last reviewed against the official sources on .
- TLC February 2026 For-Hire Vehicle License Review nyc.gov
- TLC 2025 Annual Report (Jan 2026) nyc.gov
- TLC Trip Record Data (yellow taxi, Jun–Aug 2026) nyc.gov
- Data Dictionary – Yellow Taxi Trip Records (Mar 18, 2025) nyc.gov
- Data Dictionary – High Volume FHV Trip Records (Mar 18, 2025) nyc.gov
- NYC Open Data: TLC Industry Indicators (v6kb-cqej) data.cityofnewyork.us
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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.