TLC’s Drive in 2025: Historic Accessibility Gains, Driver Pay and Protections, and More Medallion Relief
Last 12 Months Have Underscored Record Successes During Administration’s Four Years
NEW YORK, NY
– The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission is proud to
reflect on a substantial list of achievements and accomplishments
during the last four years – many of which have lifted driver
pay, led to historic accessibility gains, and expanded the
agency’s community outreach. The past 12 months have also seen
major gains in sustainability across TLC’s fleet.
"We
took office with a simple promise: to 'Get Stuff Done,’ and, four
years later, our administration can say we delivered that every day for
working-class New Yorkers," said Mayor Adams. "We drove shootings to
record lows and pushed jobs and small businesses to record highs. We
rewrote the playbook on homelessness and mental health to finally get
New Yorkers living on our streets the help they need, and, after
decades of half-measures, passed historic housing legislation to turn
New York into a 'City of Yes.' We overhauled the way our students learn
to read and do math, cut the cost of child care, and forgave medical
debt. We eliminated taxes for low-income families, launched free
universal after-school programming, and lifted driver pay, implemented
historic accessibility gains, improved sustainability across the New
York City Taxi and Limousine Commission’s fleet, and expanded
outreach to taxi drivers. We got scaffolding off our buildings, trash
bags off our streets, and opened up new public spaces for New Yorkers
to enjoy. The haters may have doubted us, but the results are clear. On
issue after issue, we brought common-sense leadership to create a
safer, more affordable city, and our work has changed our city for the
better; it will stand the test of time because we made New York City
the best place to live and raise a family."
“From the time I started here, I have always told licensees that they will have a partner in me,” said
TLC Commissioner and Chair David Do. “Since then,
we’ve secured groundbreaking driver pay rules and advancements,
helped taxi drivers get out from under crippling debt, and provided
services to communities where drivers live and work. We will always
continue to help drivers, many of whom are immigrants, to strive for
the American dream in the greatest city in the world. I will always
fight for them.”
Here are some of TLC’s notable accomplishments in the last four years:
Historic Debt Relief to Small Medallion Owners: Launched in 2022 to help medallion
owners overcome a debt crisis, the
Medallion Relief Program
Plus (MRP+) has provided critical debt relief for thousands of
medallion owners, preventing many from losing their homes and helping
drivers and their families. In total, MRP and MRP+ helped 2,082 owners
refinance loans for 2,422 medallions, resulting in $476 million in debt
relief. As of last month, about 3,100 medallions have left storage
since 2022.
A Taxi Fare Raise – And Industry Rebound: The Commission
raised the metered rates
for the first time in 10 years in 2022, providing a much-needed raise
for yellow and green taxi drivers. In 2021, total farebox revenue was
just over $486 million across almost 31 million trips. In
2024,
taxis completed over 41 million trips and earned $965 million in
farebox revenue, illustrating continued positive trends in the taxi
sector. Overall, from September 2022 to September 2025, yellow taxi
trips increased by 33.2%. In May, the yellow taxi sector had its best
month since the pandemic with nearly 4.6 million trips.
Increasing Driver Minimum Pay: The City’s first-in-nation
minimum pay standards
were passed in 2018 and have since continued to ensure that rideshare
drivers are fairly compensated to keep up with rising costs. Since
2021, TLC has raised minimum driver pay twice, and each year has also
accounted for inflation-related adjustments. In the last four years,
driver pay has increased 24.6% for a sample trip (7.5 miles for 30
minutes). From 2021 to 2024, overall driver pay for high-volume
rideshare drivers jumped about 58%. Additionally, in 2025, TLC’s
rules also implemented protections around unfair app restrictions known
as “lockouts.”
Historic Accessibility Milestones: In June, more
than 50% of the city’s active taxi fleet became wheelchair accessible
— a goal the City had pursued for more than 10 years following a
2013 legal settlement. That year, only 213 wheelchair accessible
vehicles (WAVs) were in operation. As of October, 56% of the
active fleet was now accessible with over 5,900 taxis. When taking into
consideration TLC’s for-hire vehicle fleet, there are over 13,100
accessible vehicles on the road – a combined increase of almost
7,300 since October 2022. In 2021, fewer than 70% of high-volume WAV
trips were serviced in under 10 minutes, and in 2024, that number
jumped to nearly 90%. Thanks to these efforts to provide equal service
for all, New York City has the most accessible taxi fleet in the
country.
A Commitment to Sustainability:
In 2023, the historic Green Rides Initiative was signed into law. In a
first-of-its-kind effort, it outlined a transition for Uber and Lyft to
dispatch 100% of trips to either zero-emission or accessible vehicles
by 2030. Its implementation has led to a transformation of the TLC
rideshare fleet, with around 13,000 electric vehicles now on the road.
Since March 2024, electric vehicle trips have surpassed 2 million per
month on average, with a new record of 2.55 million in September 2025.
Additionally, it’s been a
boon for charging development.
Fast charging across the city has expanded by about 130% from November
2023 to November 2025. In total, TLC EV licensees have driven
over 265 million trip miles that have avoided about 65,000 metric tons
of carbon emissions – or what 1 million tree seedlings sequester
over 10 years. Since launching Green Rides, the city has also seen 978
new L2 and L3 chargers installed.
Honoring Vision Zero Drivers: This year, the
annual Vision Zero Honor Roll ceremony celebrated its 11th anniversary, recognizing over 1,000 drivers and 20 bases. The event brings together
TLC drivers and bases
whose outstanding commitment to safety is reflected in their impeccable
driving records. Hundreds of drivers who have gone at least five
years without any serious crashes, have no traffic violations, and have
no violations of TLC’s safety-related rules are honored. Last
year, on the ceremony’s 10th anniversary, Mayor Adams became the
first mayor to
host the ceremony at Gracie Mansion.
Riding Along in the Commissioner's Cab:
In 2024, TLC launched an online video series detailing the driving
experiences of Commissioner David Do, the first TLC Commissioner to
obtain a hack license and drive TLC-licensed vehicles while holding
office. Titled “Commissioner
Cab,”
the series follows Do as he attempts to navigate the streets of New
York, find trips, and deliver passengers while showcasing the
challenges drivers face daily and how TLC’s policies help them do
their job. Commissioner Do received his TLC license in January 2023 and
began making trips soon afterwards. So far, Do has conducted trips in
taxis, community car service vehicles, electric vehicles, and a luxury
limo.
Customer Service Strides and Improvements: Over the last fiscal year, the TLC made
great strides across several departments, and these were documented in the
Mayor's Management Report (MMR).
It showed TLC delivering services efficiently, effectively and
expeditiously. The average customer wait time at the Long Island City
licensing office was 23 minutes, 2 minutes under the goal of keeping
wait times below 25 minutes. At the Woodside inspection facility,
inspection times remained well below the one-hour target across all
vehicles, and FHV inspections saw a nearly 35% reduction (23 minutes to
15 minutes). Average TLC Call Center times dropped to 4 minutes and 49
seconds, down from 9 minutes and 18 seconds. Additionally, TLC
Licensing Division’s application processing teams saw a 28%
decrease in average processing time for new driver applications.
Van Hailin’ Rolls Into Communities Where Drivers Live:
TLC’s beloved Mobile Outreach Vehicle, which was born from a
Mayoral initiative in 2022, has grown to provide services to thousands
of licensees across the city. Since its debut, the mobile office has
served nearly 5,550 licensees, but
Van Hailin’
delivers a lot more than your average mobile office. The monthly events
are typically hosted by local elected officials, and the van becomes an
anchor for other agencies and community organizations to also connect
with licensees. The events always take place on Fridays, and in a
different borough every month. The idea came from drivers themselves
following Mayor Eric Adams’s initiative to improve customer
service, so TLC polled drivers on what they wanted most. They picked a
mobile outreach unit, and Van Hailin’ was born. Its first event
took place in March 2023.
About the NYC TLC
Created
in 1971, NYC TLC is the agency responsible for licensing and regulating
New York City's medallion (yellow) taxi cabs, for-hire vehicles
(community-based liveries, black cars, and luxury limousines), commuter
vans, and paratransit vehicles, along with the businesses that operate
them. It is recognized as the largest and most active taxi and for-hire
vehicle regulatory body in the United States.
Almost
180,000 TLC licensees complete approximately 1,000,000 trips each day.
To operate for hire, drivers must first undergo a background check,
have a safe driving record, and complete 24 hours of driver training.
TLC-licensed vehicles are inspected for safety and emissions at TLC's
Woodside Inspection Facility.
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