NYC Uber and Lyft drivers earn more per trip after a 2023 raise

If you drive for Uber or Lyft in New York City, the city sets the least the company can pay you for each trip, based on the miles and minutes you drive. This 2023 rule raised that floor to keep up with the rising cost of running a car. The standard per-mile rate was reset to 20.71% above its 2019 starting point, using a federal index of transportation costs. Together with a cost-of-living raise in February 2023, a 7.5-mile, 30-minute trip then had to pay the driver at least $26.76. That’s $2.16 more than under the rates drivers had through January 2023.

Drivers don’t have to apply. The companies must pay at least the minimum on every trip, and the city adjusts the rates over time. As of March 2026, the floor for a standard trip is $1.283 a mile and $0.681 a minute.

The Taxi and Limousine Commission first approved a raise in November 2022. Uber sued, and in January 2023 a judge ruled the commission had to explain its math in more detail. Bhairavi Desai and the New York Taxi Workers Alliance championed the raise as drivers held three strikes, including protests at Uber’s Manhattan office and LaGuardia Airport, while the raise was on hold. The commission, led by Commissioner David Do, gave the fuller explanation and passed the rule unanimously on March 8, 2023. When the commission made its case for the raise, it cited a 2018 study finding that 85% of drivers earned less than the equivalent of a $15 minimum wage.