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The Toyota Camry is the single most common car in the NYC TLC fleet. On October 12, 2026, 17,301 licensed TLC vehicles were Camrys: 17,031 for-hire vehicles (FHVs, the cars that work for Uber, Lyft and other bases) and 270 yellow taxis. That is about 1 in every 7 TLC vehicles (15.03%).
You cannot get new TLC plates for a Camry today. If you already hold an FHV license, you can move it to a Camry with a vehicle transfer. The rest of this page shows what the fleet data says about Camrys and which rules matter before you buy, rent or lease one.
How we counted Camrys
TLC's public vehicle lists (FHV – Active and Medallion Vehicles – Authorized) do not have a make or model column. TLC Help decoded each vehicle's VIN with NHTSA's vPIC decoder and counted the results. vPIC sometimes reports a model family rather than a trim, so "Camry" here includes every Camry version. The lists change every day; these numbers are a snapshot from October 12, 2026.
TLC's own numbers agree on the big picture. Its February 2026 FHV License Review names the 2025 Toyota Camry Hybrid as one of the two most common make-model-years in the for-hire fleet (the other is the 2023 Tesla Model Y).
Model years: an older tail and a big 2025 wave
The Camry fleet has two shapes at once:
- A large 2025 group. 2,704 FHV Camrys are model-year 2025, the biggest single year. That matches TLC's note about the 2025 Camry Hybrid.
- A long tail of older cars. 18.7% of FHV Camrys (3,193 cars) are model-year 2016 or older. Across all FHVs, only about 10% are that old (dataset
tlc-vehicle-model-years). Some Camrys on the road date back to 2007.
If you are buying a used Camry that is already licensed, the model year matters for your own costs, not for an FHV age limit. Our vehicle retirement guide explains which TLC vehicles have age limits and which do not.
Hybrid or gas?
By the VIN decode, 6,591 Camrys (38.1%) are hybrids and 10,710 (61.9%) are gas. Across all FHVs, about 30% decode as hybrid, so the Camry is a little more hybrid-heavy than average. Treat the split with care: vPIC's fuel fields are not perfect, and TLC's own vehicle code column is also incomplete. Your car's window sticker, title or a VIN check is the reliable answer for one car.
There is no battery-electric Camry in the data. If you are weighing a hybrid Camry against an EV, see EV vs hybrid for Uber in NYC.
Who drives Camrys: app work, not taxis
16,560 Camrys (97.2% of FHV Camrys) are affiliated with black car bases. App-based (high-volume) trips generally run through black car bases, so this is the Uber and Lyft fleet. Another 469 are at livery bases, and only 2 at luxury limousine bases.
Only 270 Camrys are yellow taxis, 2.6% of the 10,236 authorized medallion taxis. Since October 18, 2024, every new taxi hack-up must be an accessible vehicle (TLC hack-up page), and the Camry is not on TLC's approved accessible list. So no new Camry taxis can join; the existing ones leave as they reach retirement.
Wheelchair accessible Camrys
None. TLC's FHV list marks 0 Camrys as WAV. It marks 103 as "PILOT", a label the dataset does not define, so we do not count them as accessible. A sedan like the Camry is not on TLC's approved accessible vehicle list.
Getting a Camry on the road as a TLC car
- New plates: not possible. TLC's Get a For-Hire Vehicle License page says only owners of wheelchair accessible vehicles may apply for a new FHV vehicle license. See are new TLC plates available.
- Moving your existing license: under rule 59A-09(a), you file the transfer within 15 days after registering the new car with DMV, and TLC inspects it before approving. Steps and fees are in TLC plates for FHVs.
- Inspections: FHVs must be inspected three times a year, at least once every four months (rule 59A-26(a)(1)). See TLC vehicle inspection.
- Insurance: the minimums are in FHV insurance requirements.
Compare the Honda Accord, Toyota Corolla and Nissan Altima, or see every model in TLC fleet by make and model.
More vehicle pages are in the vehicles topic. Use the lease-vs-buy tool to compare your costs.
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.
- Toyota Camry: licensed TLC vehicles by model year — Active FHVs and authorized medallion taxis that are a Toyota Camry, 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.
- Toyota Camry in the TLC fleet: hybrid, electric or gas — Licensed Toyota Camry 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
- Toyota Camry: where it is licensed (FHV base type vs medallion taxi) — Licensed Toyota Camry 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, 103 PILOT. App-based (high-volume) work generally runs through black car bases.
Frequently asked questions
How many Toyota Camrys are licensed by the TLC?
17,301 in the October 12, 2026 snapshot: 17,031 for-hire vehicles (FHVs) and 270 yellow taxis. That is 15.03% of all licensed TLC vehicles, more than any other model. TLC Help counted them by decoding each vehicle's VIN with NHTSA's vPIC decoder, because TLC's lists have no make or model column.
Can I get new TLC plates for a Toyota Camry?
No. TLC only issues new FHV vehicle licenses for wheelchair accessible vehicles on its approved list, and the Camry is not on that list. You can put a Camry on an FHV license you already hold by doing a vehicle transfer (rule 59A-09(a)).
Can a Camry be hacked up as a new yellow taxi?
No. TLC's hack-up page says that since October 18, 2024 every hack-up must be an accessible vehicle. The 270 Camry taxis on the road were hacked up before that or under earlier rules, and they follow the retirement rules for non-accessible taxis.
Are most TLC Camrys hybrids?
Not by the VIN decode: 6,591 decode as hybrid (38.1%) and 10,710 as gas (61.9%). vPIC's fuel fields can misclassify some model years, so check your own car's VIN or title if the powertrain matters to you.
Is the Camry the best car for Uber in NYC?
TLC Help does not rank cars. The data only shows the Camry is the most common licensed model. Cost, comfort and app vehicle requirements depend on your situation; use the lease-vs-buy tool to compare your own numbers.
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: Yellow Cab Hack-Up nyc.gov
- TLC Rule Book Chapter 59 (For-Hire Vehicles), updated Feb 27, 2026 nyc.gov
- TLC: FHV License Review, February 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.