§ 78-15 Business Requirements – Fees Charged by E-Hail Application Provider Licensees.
RCNY § 78-15
(a)Tips and Gratuities.
(1)An E-Hail Application Provider cannot charge a Passenger a tip or gratuity unless (i) The Driver receives the full amount of such tip or gratuity, without any withholding or sharing, and (ii) The Passenger can elect to change or withhold payment of such tip or gratuity at any time prior to completion of the trip and payment of the fare.
(2)An E-Hail Application Provider must not charge as a tip or gratuity (or using the words "tip" or "gratuity" or something similar) any fee that the Provider will retain. 35 RCNY § 78-15(a)Penalty: $200 fineAppearance NOT REQUIRED (b) Fares. An E-Hail Application and an E-Hail Application Provider must NOT charge any Passenger a fare for a trip that exceeds the fare as calculated by the Taximeter, permitted in 35 RCNY § 58-26 and 35 RCNY § 82-26, unless it is a Flex Fare Trip. The E-Hail Application and the E-Hail Application Provider may however charge additional fees to a Passenger above the fare for the trip in accordance with subdivision (c) below so long as such fees are clearly delineated and not called a fare or tip or gratuity. Any fare charged for a Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle must not exceed the fees charged for a non-Accessible Vehicle.
(i)An E-Hail App Provider’s Flex Fare Rate Schedule must assess all applicable taxes, fees, and surcharges that may be required by these Rules.
(ii)An E-Hail App Provider’s Flex Fare Rate Schedule must not charge more for a wheelchair accessible Flex Fare request than for a non-wheelchair accessible Flex Fare request.
(iii)An E-Hail App Provider must remit to each Medallion Owner (or Owner’s Agent) all MTA Taxes assessed for trips performed in their respective Taxicabs/SHLs.
(iv)An E-Hail App Provider must provide a means to allow passengers to tip Drivers through the E-Hail App offering Flex Fare trips. An E-Hail App Provider must remit to the Driver the entirety of anything designated as a tip or gratuity collected by the E-Hail App Provider from a customer on behalf of the Driver.
(3)The E-Hail App Provider must provide Drivers and Passengers with reasonable notice of any modifications of such fees or rates, as applicable, prior to the effective date of the modifications.
(d)File Fee Schedule. The E-Hail App Provider must file with the Commission a complete schedule of fees and rates charged to Passengers and/or Drivers for use of the E-Hail App, including but not limited to, any variable or surge pricing policies applicable to the fees charged by the E-Hail App Provider, cancellation fees, and no-show fees, and the fee structure (such as whether it is based on per-trip usage, a subscription fee, or some other manner). The fee schedule must clearly delineate to which party (the Passenger or Driver) each fee is assessed. The E-Hail App Provider must also file with the Commission all schedule updates.
(e)File User Agreement Terms. The E-Hail App Provider must file with the Commission all forms of the user agreements, use contracts, and privacy terms it requires for use, sale, and lease of the E-Hail App, both as to Passengers and Drivers. The E-Hail App Provider must file with the Commission all updates of such documents and/or terms reflecting changes thereto. (Amended City Record 5/17/2018, eff. 6/16/2018; amended City Record 8/19/2019, eff. 9/18/2019; amended City Record 8/22/2024, eff. 9/21/2024; amended City Record 4/2/2025, eff. 5/2/2025)
