§ 78-17 Business Requirements – Compliance with E-Hail Application Requirements and Service Levels.
RCNY § 78-17
(a)Credit, Debit, and Prepaid Card Payment.
(1)An E-Hail Application Provider must ensure that an E-Hail Application that includes E-Payment provides Credit, Debit, and Prepaid Card Services in compliance with the requirements of 35 RCNY § 78-21(b) and/or (c).
(2)An E-Hail Application Provider must ensure, for an E-Hail Application that includes E-Payment, that when Passengers pay by credit, debit, or prepaid card, the Driver receives deposit of funds within forty-eight (48) business hours, excluding banking holidays, of transmission of a batch close transaction from the E-Hail Application, except for incidents when there is a fraud investigation, which must be completed within sixty (60) days of the transaction.
(3)An E-Hail Application Provider must ensure that an E-Hail Application that includes E-Payment complies with the requirements of 35 RCNY § 78-21(b) and/or (c).
(4)An E-Hail Application may permit Passengers to split a fare if this feature is provided by the party processing the fare payment. 35 RCNY § 78-17(a)Penalty: $500 fine and/or suspension up to 60 days or revocation for each paragraph violatedAppearance REQUIRED (b) Trip Data Collection and Transmission. An E-Hail Application Provider must ensure that an E-Hail Application collects and stores relevant trip information to obtain a complete trip record, and transmits such data to the Technology System or the Commission in compliance with the requirements in 35 RCNY § 78-21(e). 35 RCNY § 78-17(b)Penalty: $500 fine and/or suspension up to 60 days or revocationAppearance REQUIRED (c) Use Restrictions. An E-Hail Application Provider must ensure that an E-Hail Application restricts usage of the Application in compliance with the use restrictions in 35 RCNY § 78-21(a). 35 RCNY § 78-17(c) Penalty: $500 fine and/or suspension up to 60 days or revocationAppearance REQUIRED (d) Security. An E-Hail Application Provider must ensure that with respect to an E-Hail Application, the E-Hail Application Provider is in compliance with the security requirements in 35 RCNY § 78-21(f). 35 RCNY § 78-17(d) Penalty: $500 fine and/or suspension up to 60 days or revocationAppearance REQUIRED (e) Data Retention. An E-Hail Application Provider must ensure that, with respect to an E-Hail Application, all data required to be maintained pursuant to 35 RCNY § 78-21 is maintained for the period required in 35 RCNY § 78-21(g). 35 RCNY § 78-17(e) Penalty: $500 fine and/or suspension up to 60 days or revocationAppearance REQUIRED (f) Inspection by TLC. An E-Hail Application Provider must ensure that an E-Hail Application can be inspected and accessed by Commission personnel at any time. This requirement includes providing access to the E-Hail Application with requisite Driver and Passenger test IDs and access to the Driver and Passenger versions of the E-Hail App to facilitate testing. 35 RCNY § 78-17(f) Penalty: $500 fine and/or suspension up to 60 days or revocationAppearance REQUIRED (g) Commission Ordered Testing. In any proceeding where the E-Hail Application Provider has been found guilty of a violation of any of the provisions of this section, the Commission may order the E-Hail Application Provider to provide, within sixty (60) days of the final decision on the violation: • documentation demonstrating that subsequent to the violation an independent third party certified by ISO 9001 or other certification body acceptable to the Commission, has performed testing of the E-Hail Application and related services to determine that the condition giving rise to the violation has been corrected, and • certification by such third party of the successful results of such testing. (h)* Accept E-Hails by Telephone. E-Hail Application Providers must maintain a call center for customers to request a trip or to ask about the status of a trip over the phone, which must be available to take calls 24 hours a day and seven days a week, without regard to local, national, or international holidays, or other events. The phone line operated by the E-Hail Application Provider must connect to TLC’s designated phone routing system so that the call center of an E-Hail Application Provider can accept calls that are forwarded from the TLC to such Provider. * Editor's note: Pursuant to the rule published in the City Record on April 2, 2025, subsection (h) is effective on July 1, 2025. i. The E-Hail Application Provider can use an automated service to receive phone calls but the caller must be able to speak to a call center agent, and not an automated service, when the caller requests the ability to speak to a human. ii. Callers must be able to speak with someone in real-time if their ride does not show up or if the Driver does show up but refuses to transport the passenger. Real-time updates available from the call center must include, at a minimum, the following updates: A. Booking and re-booking functionalities. B. Status updates on previously requested trips. iii. Call center agents employed by E-Hail Application Providers for the purposes of routing requests for accessible service must receive disability etiquette and sensitivity training. A. Call center agents must be able to provide excellent customer service to people with various disabilities, including speech disabilities and cognitive disabilities by demonstrating respect and empathy to customer. iv. Call center agents must have knowledge of New York City streets and transportation systems. v. The E-Hail Application Provider must provide re-training to any call center agent that is the subject of a complaint from the riding public based on the requirements of sections of 35 RCNY § 78-17(h)(iii) - (iv). 35 RCNY § 78-17(h) Penalty: $500 per violation and suspension until complianceAppearance REQUIRED (Amended City Record 9/22/2016, eff. 10/22/2016; amended City Record 5/17/2018, eff. 6/16/2018; amended City Record 8/19/2019, eff. 9/18/2019; amended City Record 4/2/2025, eff. 7/1/2025)
