I had the pleasure of appearing before the City Council on September 15, and what I enjoy most about these hearings is that they’re a great way to update the public about the state of the industry. In short, the for-hire sectors are continuing their steady recovery, highlighted by a few positive trends.
Through June, we saw about 158 million trips across our largest sectors, which is about seven million more trips than at the same time in 2024. That breaks down to about 121 million Uber and Lyft trips, 24 million yellow taxi trips, and 12 million livery, black car, and luxury limousine trips – a roughly 4% increase. We also saw gains in licensed bases – from 728 to 782 – at the start of this year compared to 2024. These improvements indicate positive momentum that we are all happy to see.
Programs designed to uplift specific sectors have also begun to bear fruit. Since the TLC began implementing the state-authorized COVID-19 Livery Vehicle Recovery Act on April 15, about 25 vehicles have been reinstated and are back on the road. If you think you’re eligible, I encourage you to check out your eligibility on our website. It’s also important to remember that, with this program, licenses may not be transferred to a high-volume for-hire base, such as Lyft or Uber, and every vehicle that gets back into circulation will help uplift our local community car services.
Another topic of discussion at the Council hearing was commuter vans. There are now 51 licensed vans operating across the boroughs, compared to 38 at the beginning of the year and 31 in 2022. We hope to see these numbers continue to improve, and we owe a great deal of thanks to the Empire State Development’s Commuter Van Stabilization Program, which provides funding to help offset the cost of insurance and vehicle safety upgrades. Commuter vans are an important part of the city’s transportation ecosystem, and we support their safe and legal operation. Our Enforcement has dialed up the focus on unlicensed commuter vans, and we’ve already issued 113 violations this year compared to 59 last year. With the help of our friends at the NYPD, we’ve performed 9 safety operations in Brooklyn and Queens this year.
And while we’re on the subject of safety, don’t forget that the 11th annual Vision Zero Honor Roll event is being held on October 29. We’ll be celebrating this year’s class of safest drivers – those who have gone at least five years without any serious crashes, have no traffic violations, and no violations of TLC’s safety-related rules – at the Queens Theater, so if you see an invitation come from us, please be sure to respond. I hope to see as many of you there as possible!
See you out there,
David Do
Commissioner, NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission
