§ 78-21 Technical Requirements – E-Hail Application.
RCNY § 78-21
No E-Hail Application will be approved by the Commission pursuant to this Chapter unless it complies with the all of the requirements set forth in this section or as such requirements may be waived or modified by the Commission pursuant to 35 RCNY § 78-05(f).
(a)Dispatching. The E-Hail Application must allow passengers to request transportation in a Taxicab or Street Hail Livery and have the ability to dispatch a Taxicab or Street Hail Livery to the requested location.
(1)The E-Hail Application must not transmit E-Hails to any Driver who is not validly licensed to drive a Taxicab or Street Hail Livery or who is operating a Vehicle that does not have a Valid Taxicab License or Street Hail Livery Permit, per the TLC's Current Licensees list published by the TLC. 35 RCNY § 78-21(a)(1)Penalty: $400 fine and/or suspension up to 30 daysAppearance REQUIRED (2) The E-Hail Application must be available to a Driver ONLY when the Vehicle is standing or stopped, except that an E-Hail Application can permit a Driver to accept an E-Hail request, cancel an E-Hail request, or indicate arrival at the pickup location with a single touch using pre-programmed buttons or using voice activation while the vehicle is in motion. All other use of the E-Hail Application must be velocity gated by the E-Hail Application Provider to prevent its use while the vehicle is in motion.
(3)The E-Hail Application may only disclose to a Driver a potential Passenger's pickup location, drop-off location, and fare estimate, or binding upfront fare quote if it is a Flex Fare Trip, except that a Passenger's trip identification number or E-Hail Application user name may be transmitted to the Driver after the Driver has accepted the Passenger's E-Hail request.
(4)The E-Hail Application must require a Driver to affirmatively opt in to use the E-Hail Application and must allow the Driver to opt out of receiving E-Hail requests from Passengers while on duty.
(5)The E-Hail Application must make a wheelchair accessible option available to allow Passengers to indicate that they would like a wheelchair accessible vehicle. The E-Hail Application must not dispatch a non-accessible vehicle to a Passenger that requested an accessible vehicle.
(6)The E-Hail Application must require the customer to affirmatively acknowledge and accept that the customer is being charged a non-metered fare when accepting a Flex Fare Trip.
(7)The E-Hail Application must (i) Automatically send Accessible E-Hail Requests to Drivers any time the E-Hail Application is on or engaged (except where the Driver opts out of the E-Hail function).
(ii)Display the Passenger’s request for service to the Driver in a way that does not indicate to the Driver that the Passenger will require additional assistance to enter or exit the Vehicle. 35 RCNY § 78-21(a)(1) - (7) Fine: $500Appearance REQUIRED (b) Dispatch and Pay (Optional). E-Hail Applications that allow Passengers to pay for an E-Hailed trip using their credit/debit card on file with the E-Hail Application are subject to the following: (1) The E-Hail Application must not require a Passenger to pay a tip to the Driver.
(2)The E-Hail Application must transmit an accurate receipt in electronic form, including by being viewable in the Application, to the Passenger and to the Driver. The receipt must contain all the following information: (i) All items required by 35 RCNY § 66-24(c)(9); and (ii) Any fee paid by the Passenger to the E-Hail Application Provider if paid directly to such Provider, clearly identified. NOTE: 35 RCNY § 78-15(a) governs the payment of tips or gratuities.
(c)Hail and Pay (Optional). E-Hail Applications that allow Passengers to pay for a Street-Hailed trip using their credit/debit card on file with the E-Hail Application are subject to the following: (1) The E-Hail Application must comply with requirements as set forth in subdivision (b)(1) through (6) of this section.
(i)Within 5 days of licensure the E-Hail Application Provider must notify all licensed Technology System Providers that it intends to provide Hail and Pay.
(d)Public API. The E-Hail Application Provider must maintain an application programming interface (API) that includes but is not limited to the following functionalities: (1) Dispatching.
(e)Trip Data Collection and Transmission. An E-Hail Application and its third party designee, if any, must be capable of automatically collecting and transmitting E-Hail request data and Trip Data as described below.
(g)Data Retention. All data required to be collected, transmitted and maintained pursuant to this section must be maintained for at least three (3) years. (Amended City Record 5/17/2018, eff. 6/16/2018; amended City Record 12/11/2018, eff. 1/10/2019; 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)
