TLC Rule 80-19(f): Taking App Dispatches at JFK or LGA

In short: If you drive an app car, black car or livery at JFK or LaGuardia, you may not accept a dispatch while you sit in one of the airport's designated passenger pickup locations. Wait and accept from somewhere else, such as the FHV staging lot. The fine is $250, with no TLC points listed and no required appearance. It is rarely written: OATH data shows 13 summonses citing it first from 2016 to October 2026.

This page explains the rule. It is not legal advice.

What the rule says

Section 80-19(f) of TLC Chapter 80, under the heading "For-Hire Vehicle Dispatch at Airports and Terminals":

A Driver of a For-Hire Vehicle must not accept a dispatch while parked or otherwise located at Kennedy Airport or La Guardia Airport unless the Driver is parked in an area other than the airport's designated passenger pick up locations.

§80-19(f) Fine: $250 Appearance NOT REQUIRED

Three words do most of the work:

• Dispatch. TLC's Chapter 51 defines it as "a request made from a Base Station to a Driver, directing the Driver to provide transportation to a passenger who has previously arranged for such transportation." A trip request in the Uber or Lyft driver app is a dispatch from your base.
• Accept. The rule is about the moment you accept the request, not where you later meet the rider.
• Designated passenger pick up locations. The rule does not list them. The airports and the apps do, and they change with construction. On October 12, 2026, the Port Authority's LaGuardia page listed ride-app pickup at Terminal A "directly across the street", Terminal B "Level 2 on the Terminal B parking garage", and Terminal C "arrivals inner lane".

Why the rule exists

The rule keeps app cars from filling the terminal curbs while they wait for work. Drivers are meant to wait in a staging lot, accept the request there, and then drive to the pickup point. It works together with two other airport rules: the ban on picking up anyone who was not booked through your base (80-19(c)(2), at the airports a $500 first offense), and the Port Authority's own rules against stopping on airport roads.

Who it applies to

All For-Hire Vehicle drivers: app drivers (Uber, Lyft), black car, livery and luxury limousine drivers. It does not apply to yellow taxis, which use the airport taxi lines under rules 80-19(e) and 80-19(a)(4)(i). It applies only at JFK and LaGuardia. Newark is not named, though Port Authority rules and your app's rules still apply there.

Who writes it, and how often

The numbers are small. Our count uses only the first charge on each summons, and OATH's data for taxi and FHV rows has no usable location field, so it can't show which airport. Port Authority Police write many other summonses at the airports: see airport solicitation summonses.

Common situations

• Waiting at the curb for "the next request". You drop off at departures, roll down to arrivals and wait with the app on. A request comes in and you tap accept. That is the core of this rule.
• Waiting in a terminal's ride-app pickup area. At LaGuardia Terminal B the pickup area is a garage level. Waiting there and accepting a new request fits the rule, even though you are not at a curb.
• The app told you to be there. Uber's LaGuardia driver page describes "ExpressMatch" at the Terminal B garage: drivers pull up to a "Wait Here" sign at the UberX curb and "wait to receive the next UberX pickup request". That is a process the app describes. TLC's rule text does not mention it. If you got a summons while following an in-app instruction like this, save screenshots of the instruction and the trip record.
• Accepting while driving on airport roads. The exception protects a driver who is parked somewhere other than a pickup location. Read literally, accepting while circling the terminal roads is not clearly covered by the exception. Waiting there is also against Port Authority rules.

Does the summons fit?

Penalty and points

Unlike 80-19(c)(2), this rule has no higher fine for a second offense and no path to revocation written into it. A summons is still a mark on your record, and a default for missing the hearing adds trouble.

What to do

Find the code, hearing date and appearance box on your summons:

1. Read the summons carefully. Check the airport, the terminal, the time, and the code. A pickup without a booking is a different code, with much higher fines.
2. Pull your app records. The trip details show when you accepted the request and where you picked up. Take screenshots now. Apps don't keep everything forever.
3. Save any instruction you followed. That includes in-app pickup instructions, airport notices, or directions from Port Authority staff.
4. Decide: hearing or pay. Our fight-or-pay guide walks through the trade-offs. Never miss the hearing date.

To avoid the problem: wait only in the staging lots your app names, accept there, then drive to the pickup point. The lots, terminal changes and queue rules are in JFK for app drivers and LaGuardia for app drivers. See also can Uber drivers wait at JFK or LaGuardia? and the airport virtual queue.

Related: walk-up pickups at airports (80-19(c)(2)), taxi solicitation at airports (80-19(a)(4)(i)), holding-area rules for taxis (80-19(e)(2)), the airport access fee, when airport pickups peak, JFK vs LaGuardia vs Newark, LaGuardia Airport and the airports topic.