A Look into the Cost of Taxis in NYC

Last Updated on October 21, 2026 by James Shaffer

A metered yellow or green taxi ride in New York City starts at $3.00, then adds 70 cents for every fifth of a mile or every 60 seconds stuck in slow traffic. On top of the meter you’ll usually pay a $1.00 improvement surcharge, a 50-cent MTA state surcharge, and, depending on time and route, rush-hour, overnight, congestion, airport, and toll charges, plus your tip.

All of these rates are set by the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC), so the same trip costs the same regardless of which cab you flag down. Below is what each charge is, when it applies, and what drives the cost of running a cab in the city, including the insurance taxis must carry. Taxi demand and driving conditions are heaviest in Manhattan, which also shapes car insurance costs there (see our guide to car insurance rates by NYC borough).

How the NYC Taxi Meter Calculates Your Fare

The meter charges by distance while the cab moves faster than 12 mph and switches to charging by time when it slows down or stops. Either way the increment is 70 cents, so a short ride through gridlock can cost more than a longer ride on open streets. The TLC’s official taxi fare page lists every current charge. The meter should display “Rate #01 – Standard City Rate” for an ordinary trip within the five boroughs.

Charge	Amount	When It Applies
Initial charge	$3.00	Every metered trip
Meter increment	$0.70	Per 1/5 mile above 12 mph, or per 60 seconds in slow traffic or stopped
Improvement surcharge	$1.00	Every trip
MTA state surcharge	$0.50	Trips ending in NYC or in Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, Dutchess, Orange, or Putnam counties
Overnight surcharge	$1.00	8 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Rush-hour surcharge	$2.50	Weekdays 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., except holidays
NY State congestion surcharge	$2.50 yellow, $2.75 green	Trips that begin, end, or pass through Manhattan south of 96th Street
MTA congestion relief zone toll	$0.75	Trips in Manhattan at or below 60th Street (FDR Drive and West Side Highway excluded)
Tolls and tip	Varies	Added on top of the meter

Under TLC rules there is no extra charge for additional passengers, luggage, or paying by credit card. If a driver tries to add any of those, that’s a reason to keep your receipt and file a complaint.

The Two Congestion Charges Are Separate

Many riders see two congestion lines on a Manhattan receipt and assume one is a mistake. The NY State congestion surcharge has applied to taxi trips south of 96th Street for years. The MTA’s congestion pricing program added a second, smaller charge when tolling started on January 5, 2025: taxis collect a 75-cent per-trip charge from passengers on trips in the Congestion Relief Zone, which covers Manhattan south of and including 60th Street. App-based ride services pay a higher per-trip charge of $1.50.

Green Taxis Use the Same Meter

Green cabs, officially called Street Hail Liveries, charge the same meter rate and surcharges as yellow cabs, except for the slightly higher state congestion surcharge. The difference is where they can pick you up: the TLC says green cabs may not accept street hails south of West 110th Street and East 96th Street in Manhattan.

Upfront Fares Through E-Hail Apps

If you’d rather know the price before you ride, TLC-licensed e-hail apps can quote a binding upfront fare for yellow and green taxis. TLC currently lists Curb, Arro, and Myle Technologies as participants. On these trips the meter isn’t used, and the quote should include all charges, though it can change if you change the destination or the route hits unexpected tolls.

Airport Taxi Fares in NYC

Each airport has its own pricing rule. Only trips between JFK and Manhattan get the flat fare; a JFK trip to Brooklyn or Queens runs on the standard meter.

Trip	Base Price	Added Charges
JFK to or from Manhattan	$70 flat fare	$0.50 MTA surcharge, $1.00 improvement surcharge, $5.00 weekday rush-hour surcharge (4 to 8 p.m.), NY State congestion surcharge, $0.75 congestion relief toll, tolls, tip
JFK to other NYC areas	Standard meter	Usual surcharges, tolls, tip
LaGuardia (LGA)	Standard meter	$5.00 LaGuardia surcharge plus usual surcharges, tolls, tip
Newark (EWR)	Standard meter	$20.00 Newark surcharge, tolls including the driver’s return tolls, tip
Pickups at JFK or LGA	Added to any of the above	$2.00 airport access fee

Example: a weekday ride from a JFK taxi stand to Midtown Manhattan that leaves at 5 p.m. would add up to $70 + $5.00 rush hour + $2.50 state congestion + $0.75 congestion toll + $1.00 improvement + $0.50 MTA + $2.00 airport access, or $81.75 before any tolls and tip. Outside rush hour, the same trip would be $5 less.

Trips Outside New York City

For Westchester and Nassau, the standard rate runs until the city line, and after that the meter charges double for the distance from the city limit to your destination. For other places outside the city, the driver can choose whether to take the trip, and you agree on a flat price before you go. Passengers also pay the tolls on trips to Westchester, Nassau, and Newark, and over the Verrazzano-Narrows, Cross Bay Veterans, and Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges bridges.

What Makes a Short Taxi Ride Cost More Than Expected

• Slow traffic keeps the meter running by time, at the same 70 cents a minute whether you’ve moved a block or not.
• A weekday trip starting at 4 p.m. or later picks up the $2.50 rush-hour surcharge, and after 8 p.m. the $1.00 overnight surcharge applies instead.
• A Midtown or downtown trip can carry both congestion charges, which together add $3.25 to a yellow cab fare.
• Tolls are passed through at the E-ZPass rate the driver pays, and the tip isn’t included in the meter.

If you have some flexibility, the easiest savings come from avoiding the weekday 4 to 8 p.m. window, skipping toll crossings when another route works, and getting an upfront e-hail quote for a long trip so traffic doesn’t change the price.

The Business Behind the Meter

The TLC’s Office of Financial Stability tracks the yellow cab industry and publishes an annual report. Its report for calendar year 2024 gives these figures:

Yellow Taxi Metric (2024)	Reported Figure
Medallion taxicabs regulated by TLC	13,587
Medallions that completed at least one trip	10,870
Total trips	41,169,638
Total farebox revenue	$965,887,028
Average farebox per driver	$48,698

What Taxi Drivers Earn

The $48,698 average farebox figure is what passengers paid, not what drivers kept. Depending on how they work, drivers may pay for a vehicle or medallion lease, fuel or charging, and other costs out of that money. Earnings also vary a lot by shift, hours, and neighborhood.

For a national comparison, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the median annual wage for taxi drivers was $42,100 in May 2025. That’s a nationwide median for all taxi drivers, not a New York City figure.

What a Taxi Medallion Costs Now

A yellow cab needs a medallion to pick up street hails. Medallion prices peaked in the early 2010s and fell sharply as app-based rides grew. At a City Council transportation committee hearing on February 10, 2025, TLC Commissioner David Do said the TLC doesn’t set or track medallion values but sees private transfers ranging from about $90,000 to $200,000, with resales of defaulted medallions averaging about $130,000.

The 2024 annual report counts 936 medallions transferred and 368 foreclosures that year. Through the city’s Medallion Relief Program, 2,375 medallions had been approved for relief and about $473 million in medallion loan debt forgiven since the program began. The TLC posts monthly medallion transfer reports for anyone who wants recent sale prices.

Most yellow cab traffic is in Manhattan, where heavy congestion also affects what private drivers pay for coverage. Our Manhattan car insurance guide covers that side of it.

Insurance Requirements for NYC Taxis

Taxis carry commercial auto insurance with minimums set by the TLC, which are higher than New York’s minimums for a personal car. According to the TLC’s vehicle insurance requirements chart, a medallion taxi seating one to seven passengers needs at least:

Coverage	TLC Minimum for Medallion Taxis
Bodily injury liability	$100,000 per person / $300,000 per occurrence
Property damage liability	$10,000
Personal injury protection (PIP)	$100,000

Livery cars and black cars with one to seven seats have the same minimums on that chart. For a closer look at how these policies work, see our guide to TLC insurance in NYC, and for the rules that apply to an ordinary personal car, read whether you need insurance in New York.

If you’re a passenger in a taxi or other TLC vehicle that’s involved in a crash, the TLC’s passenger complaint page explains how to get the vehicle’s insurance information. You’ll need the vehicle’s license plate number, so take a photo of it or write it down at the scene.

For your own car, comparing several insurers is the most reliable way to see what coverage costs you. Our overview of auto insurance companies is a starting point.

FAQs on NYC Taxi Costs