Lincoln Square East Taxi Zone (142): Trips, Hours & Fares

Lincoln Square East (TLC zone 142) is one of the strongest yellow taxi zones in New York City. In TLC trip records for September 2025 to August 2026, 2,897,402 trips started here (about 7,938 a day) and 2,644,621 ended here. Yellow cabs had 45.8% of pickups (1,326,417 trips), which ranks the zone 7th of 263 for yellow pickups. Pickups peak late in the evening, around 9–11 p.m., and the top destination is the Upper West Side.

Lincoln Square East at a glance

Zone 142 sits between Central Park and Lincoln Square West, from about 59th Street up to the low 70s. TLC's zone map gives it six neighbours: Central Park (43), Midtown North (163), Clinton East (48), Clinton West (50), Lincoln Square West (143) and Upper West Side South (239). Its "Yellow Zone" tag in TLC's lookup table only sorts the data; the 60th Street line described below matters far more here.

When rides start here: an evening zone

The hour chart shows a clear split. Drop-offs peak around 6 p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays (about 692 and 698 an hour). Pickups peak three to five hours later: 10 p.m. (about 607) and 9 p.m. on weekdays, and 11 p.m. (about 673) and 10 p.m. on Saturdays. People arrive in the early evening and leave late. On Sundays the peak comes earlier, at 5–6 p.m.

Mornings are modest by comparison. The 7–9 a.m. hours average about 1,083 pickups on a weekday, while the 4–6 p.m. hours average about 1,440. After midnight it stays fairly active on weekends: about 10.5% of Sunday pickups happen between midnight and 5 a.m.

Busy months and quiet months

December 2025 was the busiest month (277,551 pickups), just ahead of October 2025 (274,566). August 2026 was the quietest (199,171), about 28% below December. Both yellow and app pickups fell by a similar amount from autumn 2025 to summer 2026.

Where trips go: across the park as often as up Broadway

The top destination is Upper West Side South (5.5% of pickups). But the next two are on the other side of Central Park: Upper East Side South (4.8%) and Upper East Side North (4.3%). Trips ending outside New York City (TLC's zone 265) make up 3.3%. Airports take 8.1% of app pickups but only 1.3% of yellow pickups.

Fares and pay

Yellow trips from here are short: median $12.80 on the meter, 1.63 miles and 11.4 minutes. Card tips average 24.7% of the fare, among the highest in this part of Manhattan. App trips are longer (median 2.65 miles, $24.71 fare). The median app driver pay is $18.02 per trip (before tips and tolls), with an average tip of $2.28.

Lines that cross or cover zone 142

• Congestion Relief Zone (MTA): it covers Manhattan south of and including 60th Street. We laid the city's 60th Street centerline over TLC's zone shape. About 87% of zone 142 is north of it, so the zone is partly inside. Trips to, from, within or through the zone pay a per-trip charge. As of 2026-10-12 it is $1.50 on app trips and $0.75 on taxi and green cab trips, paid by the passenger. See the rate card.
• NYS congestion surcharge: all of zone 142 is below 96th Street. Trips that start, end or pass through here and stay in New York State carry $2.50 (medallion taxi) or $2.75 (other FHV) as of 2026-10-12.
• Hail Exclusionary Zone: this is Manhattan south of West 110th Street, so green cabs may not take hails or start pre-arranged trips here (Chapter 51). There were only 233 green pickups in a year.
• Lincoln Center private streets: Rule 80-19(a)(4)(iii) bars taxi drivers from soliciting or cruising there. By our zone check, the campus sits on or near the 142/143 line.

Taxi stands in the zone

Current DOT sign records (dataset nfid-uabd, updated October 11, 2026) show taxi-stand signs on two street segments in zone 142. The West 60th Street stand has posted hours. DOT's relief-stand dataset has no stand in zone 142.

At a taxi stand, a taxi driver must take the rear position and not overcrowd it. The first two cars must keep the driver in the seat (Rule 80-19(d)). A taxi must also not cruise for passengers within 100 feet of a stand (80-19(a)(4)(ii)). Uber and Lyft drivers may not pick up at a stand at all (80-19(d)(2)). More: taxi stand rules.