How Much Is a Taxi in New York City?

How a New York taxi fare is worked out

Most New York yellow taxi trips are metered. The meter starts at $3.00 and adds $0.70 per fifth of a mile, plus the standard surcharges that apply. So a 10-mile trip meters to about $38.00 before tolls and tip: $3.00 plus $0.70 times 50 fifths of a mile. A 20-mile trip meters to about $73.00 on the same math. Those are planner figures, not quotes — traffic waiting time also runs on the meter.

The one exception is the JFK–Manhattan flat fare. A yellow taxi between JFK Airport and Manhattan charges a flat $70, plus $0.50 MTA surcharge, a $1.00 improvement surcharge, a $2.00 JFK airport access fee, a $2.50 state congestion surcharge, and a $0.75 congestion-pricing toll, for a total of $76.75. On weekday rush hours, 4pm to 8pm, a $5.00 rush surcharge applies, making $81.75. Tolls and tip are extra. No other New York taxi flat rate exists — a trip to Brooklyn, Queens, or upstate is metered, and any page claiming a flat rate for those trips is wrong.

What a booked car costs instead

A JetBlack booked car is not metered. JetBlack quotes this run per trip, in writing, before you travel. Your confirmed quote is the fare, with no surge and nothing added at the curb. Hourly service starts at $44 an hour with a 3-hour minimum for an economy sedan; airport transfers are quoted per trip, not by the hour. For the JFK–Manhattan run, the JetBlack economy fare is $65, stated separately from the taxi flat above — the two are different services with different prices, and this page does not mix them up.

How to avoid overpaying

For a short city trip, a metered taxi is usually the cheapest honest option. For an airport run with bags, a flight to catch, or a group, a booked car with a written total removes the meter anxiety. Either way, ask for the total before you travel, and be wary of any driver or page quoting a flat rate that the Taxi and Limousine Commission does not publish.