Most folks that visit New York City for the first time are excited to catch a ride in the iconic yellow cabs and find themselves perplexed when they spot a green taxi in New York City for the first time.
What gives?
Well, turns out there’s an explanation.
Green Taxis in New York City
History of the green cabs in NYC
As you know, New York City is a very popular place. More than 65 million per year visit New York and most of those visitors tend to explore (and stay in) Manhattan.
As such, the other four boroughs that make up NYC often get neglected and services (such as cabs) become less available.
For example, residents and visitors outside of Manhattan have a significantly harder time hailing taxis on the street than someone staying in Midtown.
The lack of taxis in the less visited areas required much more advanced planning and, frankly speaking, seemed unfair.
The recognizable yellow cabs we know today weren’t always that iconic golden color. In fact, the first taxis in the U.S were actually painted red and green. It wasn’t until the 1960’s that cabs were painted their famous yellow to show unity and to stand out enough that people could distinguish a car service over a regular driver. The whole taxi business came into fruition thanks to car salesman, John Hertz, who wanted to do something with his sizable amount of traded-in cars.
In the summer of 2013, the City of New York created a program to mitigate a discrepancy in taxi service for the less visited parts of NYC — Harlem, Queens, the Bronx and Brooklyn. The new program rolled out green cabs in NYC that officially became known as Boro Taxis.
Per NYC’s Transportation & Limousine Commission (TLC): The goal of the Boro Taxi program is to improve access to street-hail transportation throughout the five boroughs – especially for persons with disabilities and people who live or spend time in areas of New York City historically under-served by the yellow taxi industry.
What’s the difference between the yellow and green taxis in NYC?
The biggest difference between yellow and green cabs in New York City is the starting point of the ride.Yellow cabs have no restrictions when it comes to travel. They’re allowed to pick up passengers anywhere in the city, while green cabs don’t share the same luxury.
Essentially, green cabs can only pick up passengers in Harlem (south of West 110th St and East 96th St), Queens, the Bronx and Brooklyn — excluding the airports.
The green taxis can drop passengers off anywhere in New York City (all five boroughs).
How does the green Taxi program work?
A green taxi can pick up passengers outside of Manhattan but it can’t pick up passengers within Manhattan.
Boro Taxis can be street hailed or scheduled in advance, as long as the pick-up point is outside of the Manhattan exclusion zone. Apart from the pickup location and color, all other features of the green NYC taxi are identical to the yellow taxis.
Boro Taxis are equipped with credit/debit card readers, meters, roof lights and cameras.
If, in New York, you arrive late for an appointment, say ‘I took a taxi’.
andre maurois
Map of the green Cab program (Manhattan Exclusionary Zone)
Here’s a map from the NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC).
The green region denotes permitted pick-up locations and the yellow and gray sections denote where green cabs cannot pick up passengers.
Are NYC green cabs cheaper than yellow cabs?
No, the metered fare for a green taxi in NYC is the same as the metered fare for a yellow taxi.
In New York City, a lot of people think ‘the great outdoors’ is the area between your front door and taxi cab.
Michael Bloomberg
Visiting New York City? If you haven’t decided where to stay (yet) check out our helpful guide on Where to Stay in New York City (The best neighborhoods for first timers +2 to avoid). Don’t have time? Here’s our favorite hotel in NYC, hands down.
And there you have it! I hope you found this quick guide to the green cab in New York City helpful. Don’t hesitate to reach out with questions!
Cheers!
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