Kips Bay Taxi Zone (137): Trips, Hours & Fares

Kips Bay (TLC zone 137) is an East Side zone with very early arrivals and lower tips than most of Manhattan. In TLC trip records for September 2025 to August 2026, 1,775,709 trips started here (about 4,865 a day) and 1,843,789 ended here, so more trips end here than start. Weekday drop-offs peak at 6 a.m.; in the four neighbouring zones they peak at 8 a.m. or 9 p.m. Unlike most of Manhattan, the zone's busiest months were in winter and early spring. Apps carried 70% of pickups, yellow taxis 30.2%.

Kips Bay at a glance

On TLC's map, zone 137 runs from about 23rd Street to 34th Street on the East Side, out to the East River. It touches four zones: Murray Hill (170), Gramercy (107), Stuy Town/Peter Cooper Village (224) and UN/Turtle Bay South (233). TLC groups it as "Yellow Zone" in its lookup table; the grouping is for data.

When rides start and end

• Weekday arrivals come early. Drop-offs peak at 6 a.m. (about 345), then 7 a.m. (343) and 8 a.m. (333). In Murray Hill next door, weekday arrivals peak at 8 a.m.; in Gramercy, Stuy Town and UN/Turtle Bay South, at 9 p.m.
• Weekday pickups peak in the evening, at 7 p.m. (about 327), 6 p.m. and 5 p.m.
• Saturday is the busiest day (about 5,781 pickups, against 4,761 on a weekday), with peaks at 7 p.m. and 10–11 p.m.
• Sunday's top pickup hour is midnight (about 339). About 23.5% of Sunday pickups happen between midnight and 5 a.m., and Sunday drop-offs also peak at midnight and 1 a.m.

A winter-heavy year

Of the 51 Manhattan zones with over a million pickups, 39 were busiest in October or December 2025. Kips Bay's busiest month was March 2026 (157,125 pickups), followed by December 2025 (155,868) and January 2026 (154,609). Its quietest month was September 2025 (139,241). Yellow pickups were slightly higher in June–August 2026 than in September–November 2025.

Where trips go: spread out

No destination dominates. The top one, the East Village, takes only 4.4% of pickups. Then come Midtown East (3.6%), Murray Hill (3.3%), outside New York City (TLC zone 265, 3.0%) and Penn Station/Madison Sq West (3.0%). The ten top destinations together take 28.9%, a lower share than in the other zones around it. Airports take only 5.5% of app pickups and 0.9% of yellow pickups.

Fares, tips and pay

Tips are lower here than in most of Manhattan. The yellow card tip rate is 21.0% and the app tip rate 4.6%, with an average app tip of $1.28. App trips: a median 2.92 miles, 17.7 minutes and a $21.52 fare, with a median driver pay of $17.31 (before tips and tolls). Yellow trips: a median 1.77 miles, 12.9 minutes and $14.20 on the meter.

Green cabs had 394 pickups here, about one a day, more than in most Midtown zones. Their figures look odd (a $3 median fare for a median 8.4-mile trip). With so few records, we would not read anything into them.

Congestion fee and hail lines

• MTA Congestion Relief Zone: Kips Bay, between about 23rd and 34th Streets, is inside the zone. The FDR Drive along the river is excluded for vehicles that stay on it. Yellow pickups were charged less often (95.7%) than app pickups (99.2%); the data does not show why. Per-trip charge as of 2026-10-12: $1.50 app, $0.75 taxi.
• NYS congestion surcharge: Kips Bay is inside the state's surcharge area too. As of 2026-10-12 an in-state trip adds $2.50 (medallion taxi) or $2.75 (FHV) (tax department).
• Hail Exclusionary Zone: green cabs may not take hails or begin pre-arranged trips in Kips Bay (Chapter 51), though 394 green pickups were recorded. FHV street pickups: 80-19(c)(2).

Relief stand

DOT's relief-stand dataset (updated October 1, 2026) lists one relief stand in zone 137, open to taxis and FHVs. Current DOT sign records (October 11, 2026) show no taxi stand in the zone. More relief stands are listed in Murray Hill and UN/Turtle Bay South.

The East 28th Street stand admits both taxis and FHVs, with a one-hour limit (DOT; 80-19(d)(7)). Murray Hill's two stands, a few blocks west, are taxi-only. Can app drivers use relief stands in general? See this answer.