On this page (9)
In short: This hub is about the street: where trips happen and where you are allowed to stop. TLC divides the city into 263 taxi zones, and our zone pages show the trip data for each one. Four Manhattan lines change the rules (East 96th and West 110th Streets for green cab hails, 96th Street for the state surcharge, 60th Street for the MTA toll), and they are not the same as the "Yellow Zone" label in TLC data. For stopping, the key difference is a taxi stand (stay in your car, taxis only) versus a relief stand (leave the car for up to an hour). Pick your question below.
Start here: five things to know
- Zones are for data. "Yellow Zone" and "Boro Zone" are labels in TLC's zone table, not legal lines. Start with NYC taxi zones explained, then look up any zone in the zone explorer.
- The lines that matter. Green cabs may not take hails in Manhattan south of East 96th and West 110th Streets or at the airports (the Hail Exclusionary Zone). The state congestion surcharge starts below 96th Street; the MTA congestion toll at 60th Street and below. All four lines on one map: who can pick up where.
- Stands. Taxis line up at taxi stands; FHVs may not pick up there. Rules and fines: taxi stand rules.
- Breaks. Relief stands are for parking and leaving the car. Some are taxi-only. Find one with the relief stand finder and read relief stands and bathroom breaks.
- The curb. What each sign allows, hydrants, double parking and bus lanes: where you can stop for passengers.
Before you stop: a quick check
The sign rules come from NYC DOT parking regulations; the hydrant rule from TLC rule 80-13(a)(1)(i).
Most common questions
- Can a taxi or Uber wait at a fire hydrant?
- Can Uber drivers pick up at a taxi stand? · Can they use relief stands?
- Can I drop off passengers in a bus lane? · Can I double park to pick up?
- Can I pick up a street hail on my way home?
Guides by task
- Rules at the curb: curb rules · bus lanes, busways and ACE cameras · taxi stand rules
- Planning a shift: event days and street closures · relief stands
- Boroughs: Manhattan · Brooklyn · Queens · Bronx · Staten Island
Data and statistics
More: busiest pickup zones, all 263 zones ranked, app trips by borough and relief stands by the numbers. Every zone has its own page under taxi zones.
Tools for this topic
Zone explorer to open any zone's data page · relief stand finder · airport trip helper for JFK, LaGuardia and Newark.
Official contacts and sources
NYC DOT runs taxi and relief stands; its relief stand page links a monthly-updated map and says the map "may not be reflective of all current posted regulations". Report a missing or damaged stand sign to 311. TLC's stand and pickup rules are in §80-19 of Chapter 80.
Everything in this topic
Zones & placesBus Lanes, Busways & ACE Cameras: Rules for TLC DriversWhen a taxi or app driver may enter a NYC bus lane or busway, every busway's hours, what bus ACE cameras ticket, the $50 to $250 fines and how to contest.Read Zones & placesEvent Days & Street Closures: Plan Your NYC ShiftHow TLC drivers can check NYC street closures, parades and Gridlock Alert Days before a shift: official sources, what each covers, 2026 dates, a checklist.Read Zones & placesIdling Rules for TLC Drivers: 3 Minutes, Fines & ComplaintsTLC rule 80-22(a) bans idling over 3 minutes ($25). How it fits NYC's air code, the 1-minute rule near schools and parks, and who can report you.Read Zones & placesNYC Taxi Stand Rules: Who Can Use Them and the FinesEvery TLC taxi stand rule in one place: who may join, the 100-foot cruising ban, seat and 1-hour rules, terminals, green cab and FHV limits, fines, counts.Read Zones & placesNYC Taxi Zones Explained: IDs, Maps and Service ZonesNYC has 263 TLC taxi zones, numbered 1–263. What the IDs mean, Yellow Zone vs Boro Zone labels, airport zones, the 38 congestion-zone IDs and finding yours.Read Zones & placesTaxi & FHV Relief Stands in NYC: Rules, Counts, BreaksWhere TLC drivers can legally park for a break: the 1-hour relief stand rule, which of NYC's 110 stands allow FHVs, borough gaps and the 2026 meter pilot law.Read Zones & placesWhere You Can Stop for Passengers: NYC Curb RulesSign by sign: where a taxi or app driver may pick up or drop off in NYC (No Standing yes, No Stopping no), hydrants, loading zones, bus lanes and TLC fines.Read Zones & placesWho Can Pick Up Where in NYC: Taxi, Green Cab, FHVNYC pickup rights in one place: where yellow cabs, green cabs and FHVs may take hails, app trips and stand pickups, the four Manhattan lines and the fines.Read
§80-19(a)(4)(ii)Cruising Near a Taxi Stand$100 if you plead guilty before a hearing; $150 if found guilty after a hearing.§80-19(a)(4)(iv)Cruising Where It's Banned$100 if you plead guilty before a hearing; $150 if found guilty after a hearing.§80-19(d)(1)Who Gets a Taxi Stand Spot$75§80-19(d)(2)FHV Pickup at a Taxi StandFirst violation $350; second within 24 months $500; third within 36 months revocation.§80-19(d)(5)How Long You Can Stay on a Stand$50§80-19(d)(6)Leaving Your Cab at a Taxi Stand$75
Zones & placesCan a Taxi or Uber Wait at a Fire Hydrant in NYC?Yes, narrowly: TLC rule 80-13(a)(1)(i) lets a TLC driver wait in front of a hydrant if seated and ready, unless forbidden. Otherwise DOT's 15-foot rule.Read Zones & placesCan Green Cabs Use Taxi Stands?Yes, but only in the Hail Zone: never in Manhattan below E 96th / W 110th St or at the airports. Place-by-place examples, terminal stands and the 100-ft rule.Read Zones & placesCan I Double Park to Pick Up a Passenger in NYC?No. NYC DOT says double parking is illegal at all times, even for seconds with you in the car. Bus cameras ticket it too. Here are the legal alternatives.Read Zones & placesCan I Drop Off or Pick Up Passengers in a Bus Lane?Yes, briefly: NYC lets any car stop in a curbside bus lane while a passenger gets in or out. Never stop in a bus stop or wait. Busway hours and camera fines.Read Zones & placesCan I Leave My Cab at a Taxi Stand for a Break?Only briefly. Front two cabs: driver stays seated. Others: within 15 ft unless off duty, and 1 hour max on a break. Where to take a real break instead.Read Zones & placesCan I Park My TLC Car on a Residential Street Overnight?NYC's 9 PM–5 AM ban covers commercial vehicles. What the City says a commercial vehicle is, why a TLC car is a gray area, and the street rules that do apply.Read Zones & placesCan I Pick Up a Street Hail on My Way Home?Yes for yellow and green cabs, if you are off duty, heading home, made the trip record entry and the rider's stop is on your route. Fine $75/$100.Read Zones & placesCan I Pick Up Passengers in a No Standing Zone?Yes: NYC DOT allows passenger pickups and drop-offs at No Standing signs, but no waiting and never at No Stopping signs. What it means, and the TLC fines.Read Zones & placesCan Livery Drivers Wait on the Street Outside the Base?At your livery base, TLC says use the base's off-street parking, obey street signs and don't create a nuisance: $50 each. What the base must provide, too.Read Zones & placesCan Someone Find Passengers for My Taxi?Only a terminal dispatcher, a licensed e-hail app or the accessible dispatcher (or a green cab's base). No touts, and airport tips cost $10,000.Read Zones & placesCan Taxis and Ubers Wait in a Hotel Loading Zone?No waiting: NYC hotel loading zones are No Standing zones. You may stop to pick up a guest and load bags. The $115 ticket, the TLC add-on, and doorman rules.Read Zones & placesCan Uber and Lyft Drivers Use NYC Relief Stands?Yes, at 69 of NYC's 110 relief stands: the ones signed TAXI/FHV. How to read the sign, which boroughs have FHV stands, and the 1-hour limit and $50 fine.Read
ACE (Automated Camera Enforcement)Cameras on MTA buses that ticket vehicles in bus lanes, at bus stops and double-parked on bus routes.BuswayA street where only buses (and usually trucks and emergency vehicles) may drive through during posted hours; others get local access only.CruisingFor taxis, driving around looking for street hails; in TLC's definitions, an FHV's empty time available for dispatches.Gridlock Alert DayA day NYC DOT expects to be among the most congested of the year; it watches traffic and adjusts signals in real time.Hail Exclusionary ZoneThe area where green cabs may not accept street hails: Manhattan south of East 96th St. and West 110th St., plus the NYC airports.Hail ZoneThe part of NYC where green cabs (street hail liveries) may pick up street hails: everywhere except Manhattan south of East 96th and West 110th Streets and the NYC airports.Neighborhood Loading Zone (NLZ)A DOT curb on residential streets for deliveries, taxi and car service pickups and drop-offs, and active loading of personal vehicles.On-duty unavailableLogged on to the Technology System but marked unavailable for street hails, usually after accepting a dispatch; roof light off, no hails.Pre-Arranged Exclusionary ZoneManhattan south of East 96th and West 110th Streets: the area where a green cab may not begin a pre-arranged (base or app) trip. Unlike the Hail Exclusionary Zone, it does not include the airports.Relief standA DOT-signed curb space where taxi (and, where signed, FHV) drivers may park and leave the vehicle for up to one hour.Taxi standA place authorized by NYC DOT or a terminal operator where taxicabs line up and wait for customers.Service zone (Yellow Zone / Boro Zone)A label in TLC's taxi zone lookup table that groups the 263 taxi zones into Yellow Zone, Boro Zone, Airports and EWR. It is used in trip data, not a legal boundary.
Zones & placesBorough-to-Borough Trip Flows: Where NYC Rides GoHow many NYC taxi and Uber/Lyft trips go from each borough to each other borough and the airports: a full origin-destination table for Sep 2025 – Aug 2026.See the data Zones & placesBronx Taxi Zones Ranked: Pickups, Drop-offs & PayAll 43 Bronx taxi zones ranked by pickups, Sep 2025 – Aug 2026. Mott Haven/Port Morris leads (1.72M); 98.9% are Uber/Lyft. Pay per trip and peak hours.See the data Zones & placesBrooklyn Taxi Zones Ranked: Pickups, Drop-offs & PayAll 61 Brooklyn taxi zones ranked, Sep 2025 – Aug 2026: Crown Heights North leads with 3.36M pickups. Yellow vs app share, pay per trip, peak hours.See the data Zones & placesBusiest Pickup Zones in NYC for Taxis and Uber/LyftLaGuardia leads Uber/Lyft pickups (4.9M a year) and Upper East Side South leads yellow taxis. The top 25 zones per industry and which zones grew fastest.See the data Zones & placesManhattan Taxi Zones Ranked: Pickups, Drop-offs & PayManhattan's 69 taxi zones ranked: Midtown Center leads with 4.74M pickups in 12 months to Aug 2026. Yellow taxis still win in only three zones. Full table.See the data Zones & placesNYC Taxi Stands by Borough: DOT Sign DataHow many taxi stands NYC DOT has posted in each borough, which are night-only, and where TAXI/FHV pick-up/drop-off curbs are, counted from DOT's sign records.See the data Zones & placesNYC Taxi Zone Data: All 263 Zones RankedAll 263 NYC taxi zones in one sortable table: pickups, drop-offs, yellow share, app pay and fares (Sep 2025 – Aug 2026), plus a map of the 38 CBD zones.See the data Zones & placesOvernight Pickup Hotspots: Midnight to 5 a.m.Where NYC taxi and Uber/Lyft pickups happen between midnight and 5 a.m.: top zones, Friday and Saturday nights vs weeknights, and taxi vs app share.See the data Zones & placesQueens Taxi Zones Ranked: Pickups, Drop-offs & PayAll 69 Queens taxi zones ranked by pickups, with JFK and LaGuardia split out, yellow vs app share and Uber/Lyft pay per trip, from 12 months of TLC data.See the data Zones & placesRelief Space vs Trips: Where Drivers Have Nowhere to StopRelief-stand spaces per million pickups in each borough, and the busiest taxi zones with no relief stand at all, from DOT's stand list and TLC trip records.See the data Zones & placesStaten Island Taxi Zones Ranked: Pickups, Drop-offs & PayAll 20 Staten Island taxi zones ranked by Uber, Lyft and taxi pickups, with where trips go, the 8 a.m. peak and app pay per trip, from 12 months of TLC data.See the data Zones & placesTaxi Relief Stands by the Numbers: 110 Stands, 547 SpacesNYC has 110 relief stands with 547 spaces (DOT data, Oct 2026). Counts by borough and type, stand sizes, posted hours and the 53 taxi zones with one.See the data
Zones & placesCurb Sign Decoder: Can I Stop Here for a Passenger?Pick the sign in front of you and your vehicle type. Get a yes or no for a passenger pickup, drop-off or waiting, with the DOT or TLC rule behind each answer.Open tool Zones & placesTaxi & FHV Relief Stand Finder: All 110 NYC StandsSearch all 110 NYC DOT relief stands by borough, street or taxi zone. See which allow FHVs, how many spaces each has and the hours printed on the sign.Open tool Zones & placesTaxi Zone Explorer: Data for Any NYC ZoneSearch TLC's 263 taxi zones by name, borough or LocationID and open each zone's page: pickups, busy hours, top destinations, fares and app pay.Open tool
Zone 3Allerton/Pelham Gardens Zone 3: Short Hops, Low FaresBronx · Boro ZoneZone 4Alphabet City Taxi Zone (4): Trips, Hours & FaresManhattan · Yellow ZoneZone 5Arden Heights Taxi Zone (5): Trips, Hours & FaresStaten Island · Boro ZoneZone 6Arrochar/Fort Wadsworth (Zone 6): Taxi & Uber DataStaten Island · Boro ZoneZone 8Astoria Park Taxi Zone 8: Summer Trips & Weekend PeaksQueens · Boro ZoneZone 7Astoria Taxi Zone 7: Queens' Busiest Pickup ZoneQueens · Boro ZoneZone 9Auburndale Taxi Zone 9: A Weekday Zone in Northeast QueensQueens · Boro ZoneZone 10Baisley Park Taxi Zone (10): Queens' Top Airport ShareQueens · Boro ZoneZone 11Bath Beach Taxi Zone (11): Trips, Hours & FaresBrooklyn · Boro ZoneZone 13Battery Park City Taxi Zone (13): Trips, Hours & FaresManhattan · Yellow ZoneZone 12Battery Park Taxi Zone (12): Trips, Hours & FaresManhattan · Yellow ZoneZone 14Bay Ridge Taxi Zone (14): Trips, Hours & FaresBrooklyn · Boro Zone
Other topics
OATH hearings & processFines, payments & suspensionsTraffic safety, points & camerasEnforcement & unlicensed activityPassengers & service rulesGetting & keeping a TLC licenseVehicles, bases & inspectionsApps, bases & deactivationElectric vehicles & chargingMedallions & ownershipAirports: JFK, LaGuardia & NewarkTolls, E-ZPass & congestion pricingPay, fees & earnings rulesTaxes for TLC driversDriver rights & help programs
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a taxi stand and a relief stand?
NYC DOT says relief stands let taxi and FHV drivers park and leave their vehicles for up to one hour, while taxi stands require drivers to stay in their cars while waiting for passengers. Always follow the posted sign.
How many relief stands are there?
NYC Open Data listed 110 taxi and FHV relief stands with 547 spaces (data updated October 1, 2026): 69 in Manhattan, 26 in Queens, 12 in the Bronx, 3 in Brooklyn and none in Staten Island. Some are taxi-only.
Can Uber drivers pick up at a taxi stand?
No. TLC rule 80-19(d)(2) says a for-hire driver must not pick up passengers at any taxi stand. First violation $350, second within 24 months $500, third within 36 months revocation.
Can I wait at a fire hydrant for a passenger?
TLC rule 80-13(a)(1)(i) allows a TLC vehicle to stop and wait for passengers in the space immediately in front of a hydrant, except where expressly forbidden, as long as the driver stays seated and ready to drive.
Sources
Last reviewed against the official sources on .
- NYC DOT: Taxi and For-Hire Vehicle Relief Stands nyc.gov
- NYC Open Data: Taxi and FHV Relief Stands (vqu8-xef9) data.cityofnewyork.us
- TLC Rule Book, Chapter 80 (§80-13(a)(1), §80-19) nyc.gov
- TLC Rule Book, Chapter 51 (Hail Exclusionary Zone) nyc.gov
- NYC TLC: Trip Record Data (taxi zone lookup) nyc.gov
- NYC DOT: Parking Regulations (sign rules) nyc.gov
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.