Old TLC Rule 55-19(a): FHV Street Hail Code (Pre-2016)

In short: 55-19(a) is an old TLC code. It was the street-hail rule for for-hire vehicle (FHV) drivers in chapter 55, which TLC's own copy marks "effective through 10/25/16." Since then, driver rules sit in chapter 80, and the same conduct is charged under 80-19(c)(1) and 80-19(c)(2). You will see 55-19(a) on older records and in OATH lookups, but a summons written today should not cite it.

Why this old code still matters

It is one of the most common codes in OATH's whole taxi caseload: about 31,600 summonses list 55-19(a) as their first charge, plus about 1,560 more that cite 55-19(a)(1) or (a)(2). If you drove an FHV between 2011 and 2016, there is a fair chance it appears on your history. Reasons to understand it now:

• Reading your record. Old findings, defaults and fines show up when you or a lawyer review your history.
• Old defaults and unpaid fines. Records of decisions and amounts due don't disappear when a rule is renumbered.
• Context for today's rule. Chapter 80's FHV street-hail rule kept the same basic structure.

What the rule said

The last version in chapter 55, "Limitations on Driver Solicitation of Passengers":

• 55-19(a)(1): "A Driver, other than a Driver of a Street Hail Livery ... must not solicit or pick up Passengers other than by prearrangement through a licensed Base of the class that can dispatch the Driver's For-Hire Vehicle or Dispatch Service Provider, or by dispatch of an Accessible Vehicle."
• 55-19(a)(2), Hail Exclusionary Zone: the same conduct "in Manhattan south of East 96th Street and West 110th Street or at the New York City Airports" carried enhanced penalties.

Who it covered: chapter 55 was titled "For-Hire Drivers," so the rule reached drivers of black cars, liveries, luxury limousines and other for-hire vehicles. It expressly excluded street hail livery (green cab) drivers, who were allowed to take hails in the Hail Zone. It also allowed pickups "by dispatch of an Accessible Vehicle," so a properly dispatched wheelchair-accessible trip was not a violation. The core idea has not changed: an FHV trip must be booked first, through a base allowed to dispatch that car.

Neighboring rules: 55-19(b) barred for-hire drivers from picking up at taxi stands, and 55-19(c) barred accepting a dispatch while parked at JFK or LaGuardia pickup areas.

Old penalties vs. today

These are the amounts in the last version of chapter 55. The (a)(1)/(a)(2) split shows up in OATH data only from mid-2016, so older summonses that cite plain "55-19(a)" were written under earlier wording, which may have had different penalties. The decision on your case states what was actually imposed.

A short history of the rule numbers

The OATH data lines up with two TLC rule overhauls:

Chapter 70 also set a principle for that 2011 switch: summonses written under the old rules stayed valid and were decided under the old rules, and fines owed under them stayed "due and payable until paid." That chapter speaks to the 2011 change, not the 2016 one, but it shows how TLC has treated renumbering: old cases are not wiped out.

To see your own history, TLC's summons page points drivers to TLC UP, which "allows you to see the status of your license and review summons information."

How often it appeared

The code effectively stops after 2016. Later FHV street-hail summonses use the City-law code §19-507(a)(4) (mostly 2019–2021) and chapter 80's 80-19(c). OATH's catalog notes that the move from chapters 54/55 to chapter 80 "reflects TLC renumbering its driver rules, not a change in what drivers do."

If an old 55-19(a) case is still open

Points to discuss with your lawyer

General information only:

• Does an old finding still count toward a repeat-offense window in a current case? 80-19(c)(1) looks back 24 and 36 months, so 2016-era findings are outside it. But the third tier of 80-19(c)(2) looks back 120 months (10 years), so a late-2016 finding under 55-19(a)(2) may sit near the edge. Whether an old-code finding counts under the new rule is a legal question.
• What did the decision actually impose? Old penalties varied by version.
• Is a 2016-era default still affecting you, for example through unpaid amounts?

Check any summons number with our lookup or read how to check a TLC summons status. Today's FHV rules for black car and app drivers are on the 80-19(c) pages.