TLC Rule 80-19(a)(3): Suggesting a Shared Ride

In short: Rule 80-19(a)(3) says a yellow taxi driver must not suggest to a passenger that another person ride along. The suggestion alone breaks the rule, even if the passenger says yes and even if no one else gets in. The fine is $50, with no TLC points and no required appearance. OATH data shows 68 summonses since 2016, most of them in 2018 and 2019.

This page is general information, not legal advice.

What the rule says

Section 80-19(a)(3) of TLC Chapter 80:

A Driver of a Taxicab must not suggest to a current Passenger that an additional person be accepted as a Passenger.

§80-19(a)(3) Fine: $50 — Appearance NOT REQUIRED

In plain English:

• "Current Passenger" is the person already riding with you, or about to start the trip.
• "Suggest" covers asking, hinting or offering: "Would you mind sharing with this lady? She's going the same way," or "I can take him too and you pay less."
• "An additional person" is anyone not already part of the passenger's group.

How it differs from 80-19(a)(2)

The two rules sit side by side and are easy to mix up.

So the safe line is simple: the idea must come from the passenger. If your rider asks to bring a friend, 80-19(a)(2) allows it. If you raise the idea, you risk this summons, and if the extra person then gets in, you could face both.

When a stranger asks you to share

This happens often at busy curbs, in bad weather and after events. Someone sees your passenger getting in and asks, "Can I come too? I'm going the same way." The safest response keeps you out of the conversation:

• Don't relay the request. Turning to your passenger and asking "Is that OK?" is the suggestion the rule bans.
• Tell the person you can't take another rider and point them to the taxi line or the next cab.
• If your passenger speaks up on their own and asks to bring that person, the decision is theirs. Then 80-19(a)(2) allows the extra pickup, and no extra charge applies.

Passengers are told they have this choice. TLC's Green Taxi Passenger Bill of Rights says riders have the right to "not share a ride, unless you want to." A passenger who felt pushed into sharing can complain through 311, and a complaint can become a summons. How that works: passenger complaint summons.

Shared taxi rides are almost gone

Some drivers suggest sharing because they remember shared or "group" taxi rides. In the trip records, TLC's yellow data dictionary still has a rate code for "Group ride," but it is almost never used:

Those counts come from TLC Help's aggregation of TLC trip records. A rate code shows how the meter was set, not what anyone said in the cab. For the term itself, see the group ride glossary entry.

Who writes it and how often

55 of the 67 dated summonses came in 2018 and 2019. The data doesn't say why; it records only when the violation was alleged and which agency wrote it. Since 2020 the code has been close to unused.

Common situations

• At a busy curb, a second traveler asks to share, and you turn to your passenger and ask if that's OK.
• You offer your passenger a "discount" if they let you take another rider.
• At a hotel or terminal line, a group of strangers going to the same area is pushed into one cab by the driver.
• Not this rule: your passenger asks you to pick up their colleague. That request is allowed under 80-19(a)(2).

Does the summons fit?

Penalty and points

What to do

1. Read what the summons says you said. This charge is about words, so the exact statement matters.
2. Write your own account now: where you were, who spoke first, and what was said.
3. Check for a second charge. If another rider got in, there may also be an 80-19(a)(2) charge.
4. Answer before the hearing date so you don't get a default decision.

See also: can a taxi pick up another passenger mid-trip, forcing a shared FHV ride, green cab off-duty pickups, Access-A-Ride taxi trips, how many passengers can ride, can a passenger change the destination and the passengers topic.