On this page (7)
The Toyota Highlander is almost purely an app car in NYC. On October 12, 2026, 10,346 TLC-licensed vehicles were Highlanders: 10,281 for-hire vehicles (FHVs) and just 65 yellow taxis. It is the fourth most common TLC model, about 1 in 10 FHVs.
Two things set it apart from the other big Toyotas: three out of four Highlanders are gas, not hybrid, and the fleet is concentrated in model-years 2021–2023, with far fewer newer ones.
Where the counts come from
TLC publishes its active FHV list and authorized taxi list without make or model. TLC Help decoded every VIN with NHTSA's vPIC decoder. The larger Toyota Grand Highlander decodes as a separate model and is not included here.
Model years: a 2021–2023 bulge
FHV Highlanders peak at model-year 2022 (1,936 cars), with 1,501 from 2021 and 1,853 from 2023. After that the numbers fall: 682 for 2024, 368 for 2025 and 283 for 2026. Only 13.0% of FHV Highlanders are 2024 or newer, while about 31% of all FHVs are (dataset tlc-vehicle-model-years).
At the same time, the Grand Highlander shows up in the data from model-year 2024, with 620, 508 and 878 cars for 2024, 2025 and 2026. The data can't tell us why drivers chose one over the other; it only shows that newer Toyota SUVs in the FHV fleet are split between the two names.
The Highlander also has an older tail: 12.5% of FHV Highlanders (1,283 cars) are model-year 2016 or older, a little more than the roughly 10% of all FHVs that are that old. If you rent a Highlander from a fleet, ask for the model year and mileage in writing. How old a TLC vehicle may be is covered in TLC vehicle retirement age.
Gas vs hybrid
Only 25.8% of Highlanders decode as hybrid, below the FHV average of about 30%. Compare the RAV4 at 71.5% and the Grand Highlander at 58.7%. If fuel cost is your main worry, the EV vs hybrid guide and the lease-vs-buy tool help you compare running costs with your own numbers.
Base types
10,128 Highlanders (98.5% of the FHV ones) are at black car bases, where app trips are dispatched. 151 are at livery bases and 2 at luxury limousine bases. Livery bases hold 1.5% of FHV Highlanders, slightly below their 2.0% share of the whole FHV fleet (2,112 of 104,845 vehicles), so the Highlander leans even more toward app work than the average car. The 65 yellow-taxi Highlanders are a small leftover: TLC's hack-up page says every new hack-up since October 18, 2024 must be an accessible vehicle, and the Highlander is not on the approved list.
No Highlanders are marked wheelchair accessible. 21 carry the "PILOT" label in TLC's FHV list, which the dataset does not define.
Before you drive a Highlander for hire
- Plates. You need an existing FHV vehicle license. New ones are only issued for approved wheelchair accessible vehicles (TLC). To move your license onto a Highlander, file the vehicle transfer within 15 days of DMV registration; TLC inspects the car first (rule 59A-09(a), chapter 59). Details: TLC plates for FHVs.
- Base. The car must be affiliated with a base; see FHV base affiliation.
- Inspections. Three a year, at least once every four months (rule 59A-26(a)(1)); see TLC vehicle inspection.
- Insurance. See FHV insurance requirements.
See also the Honda CR-V, Chevrolet Suburban, and the full list in 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.
- Toyota Highlander: licensed TLC vehicles by model year — Active FHVs and authorized medallion taxis that are a Toyota Highlander, 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 Highlander in the TLC fleet: hybrid, electric or gas — Licensed Toyota Highlander 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 Highlander: where it is licensed (FHV base type vs medallion taxi) — Licensed Toyota Highlander 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, 21 PILOT. App-based (high-volume) work generally runs through black car bases.
Frequently asked questions
How many Toyota Highlanders are licensed by the TLC?
10,346 in the October 12, 2026 snapshot: 10,281 for-hire vehicles and 65 yellow taxis, or 8.99% of all TLC vehicles. Counts come from decoding each vehicle's VIN with NHTSA's vPIC decoder.
Are TLC Highlanders mostly hybrid?
No. By the VIN decode, 7,681 are gas (74.2%) and 2,665 hybrid (25.8%). That is the lowest hybrid share among the four big Toyota models in the TLC fleet.
Does the Highlander count include the Grand Highlander?
No. The Grand Highlander decodes as a separate model, with 2,006 TLC vehicles, all model-year 2024 or newer. It has its own page.
Can I get new TLC plates for a Highlander?
No. New FHV vehicle licenses are only issued for approved wheelchair accessible vehicles, and the Highlander is not on TLC's approved list. You can move an FHV license you already hold to a Highlander with a vehicle transfer.
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: 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.