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The Chevrolet Suburban is the most common full-size SUV in NYC's TLC fleet. On October 12, 2026, 4,716 TLC-licensed vehicles were Suburbans, every one a for-hire vehicle (FHV). There are no Suburban yellow taxis.
It is also one of the newest big fleets: 48.4% of TLC Suburbans are model-year 2024 or newer, compared with about 31% of all FHVs. And it is a gas fleet: no hybrid or electric Suburbans appear in the data.
How we counted
TLC's FHV list and medallion taxi list don't include make or model. We decoded the VINs with NHTSA's vPIC decoder and counted the Suburbans. The lists change daily.
A young fleet that keeps growing
Suburbans are rare before model-year 2021 (285 cars that year). Then the numbers jump: 509 for 2022, 1,070 for 2023, 490 for 2024, 765 for 2025 and 1,028 for 2026. There is already one 2027 model. Model-year 2026 is a big year for the Suburban even though only 8.6% of all FHVs are 2026 models (dataset tlc-vehicle-model-years).
The data doesn't say why. What it does show is that most TLC Suburbans are recent model years: 3,354 of 4,716 (71.1%) are model-year 2023 or newer. For any age rule that could apply, see TLC vehicle retirement age.
Gas and diesel only
4,648 Suburbans (98.6%) decode as gas and 68 as diesel. The 68 diesels are 1.4% of TLC Suburbans; among the 60 most common TLC models, only the Cadillac Escalade ESV (128) has more diesels. Fuel is a large part of the cost of running any big SUV, so compare carefully before you commit. The lease-vs-buy tool and EV vs hybrid guide can help you put numbers side by side.
Base types: mostly app work, some luxury
4,460 Suburbans (94.6%) are at black car bases, which is where app-based (high-volume) trips run. 183 (3.9%) are at luxury limousine bases and 73 at livery bases.
Compared with the whole FHV fleet (1.3% luxury), the Suburban leans toward luxury work. Compared with other large SUVs, it leans less: the Cadillac Escalade ESV has 20.9% at luxury bases, the Lincoln Navigator L 9.5% and the GMC Yukon XL 6.1%. In short, the Suburban is mostly an app car that happens to be large.
Rules to check for a big SUV
- Plates. New FHV licenses are only for approved wheelchair accessible vehicles (TLC), and the Suburban isn't on that list. No TLC Suburbans are marked accessible. To use one, move your existing license with a vehicle transfer: see TLC plates for FHVs.
- Seating and inspection. Under rule 59A-26(a)(2) in chapter 59 and TLC's inspections page, a vehicle seating 10 or more (including the driver) needs a NYS DOT inspection and MC-300 sticker before TLC's visual inspection, unless it is exempt from NYS DOT requirements. Check how your Suburban is configured. All FHVs are otherwise inspected three times a year; see TLC vehicle inspection.
- Insurance. Rule 59A-12 sets one coverage level for FHVs seating fewer than eight passengers, a higher one for eight to fifteen, and separate levels for luxury limousines. A large SUV can fall into a different tier depending on how many seats it has, so tell your broker the exact seating. Amounts are in FHV insurance requirements.
See the Cadillac Escalade ESV, GMC Yukon XL, Toyota Grand Highlander, Honda CR-V, or the full TLC fleet by make and model.
More in the vehicles topic.
Data on this page
Aggregates of public data. They describe trips and vehicles, never individual people.
TLC's vehicle lists have no make/model column, so TLC Help decoded the VIN of every licensed vehicle with NHTSA's vPIC decoder (one representative VIN per manufacturer + model-descriptor + model-year pattern) and published only counts. 5 of 115,081 vehicles (0%) could not be decoded to a model and are left out. vPIC sometimes reports trim-family names (e.g. 'RX' not 'RX 350h'); powertrain comes from vPIC's electrification/fuel fields and may misclassify a few model years. Snapshot lists change daily.
- Chevrolet Suburban: licensed TLC vehicles by model year — Active FHVs and authorized medallion taxis that are a Chevrolet Suburban, by model year.NYC Open Data: FHV - Active (8wbx-tsch) and Medallion Vehicles - Authorized (rhe8-mgbb), VINs decoded with NHTSA vPIC · pulled Oct 12, 2026Model year from TLC's vehicle_year / model_year columns. Age limits for TLC vehicles come from TLC rules, not this chart.
- Chevrolet Suburban in the TLC fleet: hybrid, electric or gas — Licensed Chevrolet Suburban vehicles by powertrain (from decoded VINs).NYC Open Data: FHV - Active (8wbx-tsch) and Medallion Vehicles - Authorized (rhe8-mgbb), VINs decoded with NHTSA vPIC · pulled Oct 12, 2026
- Chevrolet Suburban: where it is licensed (FHV base type vs medallion taxi) — Licensed Chevrolet Suburban vehicles by fleet: FHVs by the type of base they are affiliated with, and medallion taxis.NYC Open Data: FHV - Active (8wbx-tsch) and Medallion Vehicles - Authorized (rhe8-mgbb), VINs decoded with NHTSA vPIC · pulled Oct 12, 2026Wheelchair-accessible (FHV list): 0 WAV, 0 PILOT. App-based (high-volume) work generally runs through black car bases.
Frequently asked questions
How many Chevrolet Suburbans are licensed by the TLC?
4,716 in the October 12, 2026 snapshot, all of them for-hire vehicles (FHVs); none are yellow taxis. That is 4.1% of all TLC vehicles and the most of any full-size SUV. TLC Help counted them by decoding VINs with NHTSA's vPIC decoder.
Are TLC Suburbans gas or diesel?
By the VIN decode, 4,648 are gas and 68 diesel. None decode as hybrid or electric.
Do Suburbans work mostly for luxury limousine bases?
No. 4,460 (94.6%) are at black car bases, the base type app trips run through. 183 (3.9%) are at luxury limousine bases, more than the fleet-wide 1.3% but a smaller share than other big SUVs like the Escalade ESV (20.9%).
Can I get new TLC plates for a Suburban?
No. New FHV vehicle licenses are only for approved wheelchair accessible vehicles, and the Suburban is not on TLC's approved list. You can move an FHV license you already hold to a Suburban through a vehicle transfer.
Does a big SUV need a different TLC inspection?
It depends on seating, not size. Rule 59A-26(a)(2) and TLC's inspection page say vehicles seating 10 or more (including the driver) must be inspected by NYS DOT and get an MC-300 sticker before TLC's visual inspection. Check your own vehicle's seating capacity.
Sources
Last reviewed against the official sources on .
- NYC Open Data: For Hire Vehicles (FHV) – Active (8wbx-tsch) data.cityofnewyork.us
- NYC Open Data: Medallion Vehicles – Authorized (rhe8-mgbb) data.cityofnewyork.us
- NHTSA vPIC VIN decoder API vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov
- TLC: Vehicle Inspections nyc.gov
- TLC Rule Book Chapter 59 (For-Hire Vehicles), updated Feb 27, 2026 nyc.gov
- TLC: Get a For-Hire Vehicle License 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.