Long Island City/Hunters Point (Zone 145): Trip Data

Long Island City/Hunters Point (TLC zone 145) is one of the busiest places in Queens to get a ride. About 6,473 trips a day start here (2,362,774 in the 12 months to August 2026), second only to Astoria among the 67 Queens zones outside the airports. More trips from here go into Manhattan's congestion zone than from almost anywhere else in Queens, and the zone has 5 relief stands with 31 spaces.

These numbers come from TLC trip records for yellow taxis, green cabs and high-volume app trips (Uber and Lyft), totaled by TLC Help. Black car and livery trips that are not app trips are not included.

Long Island City/Hunters Point at a glance

On TLC's zone map, zone 145 touches three Queens zones: Long Island City/Queens Plaza (146), Queensbridge/Ravenswood (193) and Sunnyside (226). TLC's lookup table calls it a "Boro Zone". That is a label for sorting data, not a legal line (see taxi zones explained).

When rides start: a Saturday-night zone

Saturdays are much busier than weekdays: about 8,948 pickups on an average Saturday against 5,824 on a weekday. The busiest hour of the whole week is Saturday at 11 p.m. (about 552 pickups). Sunday's top hour is midnight (about 481), and 20.3% of Sunday pickups happen between midnight and 5 a.m.

On weekdays the evening is stronger than the morning. Pickups climb to a peak at 6 p.m. (about 406), while drop-offs peak later, at 9 p.m. (about 419).

Month by month

Monthly pickups ranged from 181,713 in January 2026 to 216,555 in May 2026. Unlike many Queens zones, yellow taxi pickups here did not fall off in summer 2026: they stayed between about 8,200 and 8,400 a month from June to August.

Where trips go

11.9% of trips stay inside the zone. The top outside destination is Greenpoint in Brooklyn (7.7%), then Astoria and Sunnyside (4.9% each). The two airports come next: LaGuardia 3.8% and JFK 2.9%. No single Manhattan zone makes the top ten, even though many trips cross the river. Trips into Manhattan are spread over many zones.

Fares, pay and the congestion fee

The median app trip from here is 3.18 miles in 16.6 minutes, with a $19.57 fare and $16.33 driver pay, both 9th-highest of 67 non-airport Queens zones. But pay per engaged hour is $61.13 (45th), because trips are slow for their length. Engaged hours count only time with a passenger, so they are not hourly earnings.

Yellow taxis made 4.2% of pickups, a high share for Queens (9th). Their card riders tipped 15.8% of the fare, 5th-highest in Queens, against 4.2% for app riders.

21.9% of app pickups and 31.3% of yellow pickups paid the MTA Congestion Relief Zone fee, which applies to trips that start, end or travel within Manhattan at or below 60th Street (not counting the FDR Drive and West Side Highway). As of October 12, 2026 the per-trip charge is $1.50 for app trips and $0.75 for taxis and green cabs, paid by the passenger (MTA). Check a trip with the congestion fee calculator.

Pickup rules and relief stands

• Zone 145 is in TLC's Hail Zone (Chapter 51), so yellow taxis and green cabs may take street hails here.
• App and other FHV drivers may only pick up trips dispatched through their base (80-19(c)(1)).
• Relief stands: NYC DOT lists five in the zone, all marked "TAXI/FHV RELIEF STAND 1 HOUR LIMIT": 21st Street between 43rd and 44th Avenues (10 spaces), 13th Street from 43rd Avenue to Queens Plaza South (10), 44th Road between 11th and 21st Streets (5), 45th Avenue between Jackson Avenue and 23rd Street (4) and 44th Avenue between 21st and 22nd Streets (2). Under 80-19(d)(7) you must obey the posted time limit and vehicle type. DOT says its map may not match every sign, so read the sign. More in relief stands in NYC.