The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) has released the results of its first formal survey of licensed for-hire drivers, revealing key concerns about treatment, safety, and working conditions. The survey, conducted in April through in-person outreach and email, collected responses from roughly 4,000 of the city’s approximately 180,000 licensed taxi and for-hire drivers.

Among respondents, 63% identified as drivers for rideshare companies such as Uber and Lyft, while yellow-cab drivers accounted for 19%, and black-car drivers made up 9%. A significant portion expressed dissatisfaction with how they are treated by the companies they work for: 27.4% “strongly disagreed” and 14.7% “somewhat disagreed” with the notion that they receive fair treatment. Conversely, 19.6% “somewhat agreed” and 21.5% “strongly agreed” that they were treated fairly.

Drivers’ biggest frustrations varied. The largest share (28%) cited illegal taxi operators, who often pose as licensed rideshare drivers at airports to extort tourists, as their primary source of frustration. Nearly as many (27%) pointed to new TLC regulations as their main grievance, while 26% said fines and penalties imposed by the TLC were the most aggravating.

When asked what had the greatest impact on their daily work, drivers highlighted two issues: finding suitable places to pick up or drop off passengers (29%) and locating accessible restrooms (27%). The lack of public bathrooms has been a longstanding challenge for rideshare operators, many of whom spend long shifts on the road. In contrast, only 5.5% reported that searching for electric vehicle charging stations significantly affected their workday, suggesting that recent infrastructure improvements have eased that concern.

Mayor Mamdani emphasized the importance of incorporating drivers’ perspectives into policymaking. “TLC drivers have been forced to shoulder the consequences of policies they had little role in shaping. We’re changing that,” he said in a statement. Commissioner Midori Valdivia affirmed the agency’s commitment to addressing driver issues, noting the survey will help shape the TLC’s future agenda. “We are committed to building a system that values dignity, better integrates drivers, and ensures that the corporations that benefit from their labor are held accountable,” Valdivia said.

The TLC plans to conduct the survey regularly as part of an ongoing effort to monitor driver concerns and inform policy decisions aimed at improving the conditions for the city’s for-hire driver community.