Taxi TV record · The back-seat screen and the roof, side by side · Rules read 2026-09-14 · Trip records August 2026
What is Taxi TV, and how is it different from a taxi top?
Taxi TV is the video screen facing the back seat of a New York yellow cab, run by the cab's technology provider: Curb's systems filed 81.2% of yellow trips in August 2026 and CMT's 17.3%. It reaches riders on 113,811 trips a day (July 2026). A taxi top faces the street from 8,494 cabs on the road per day.
This page compares the two products structurally: who sees each, how each is counted, what the TLC rulebook allows on each, who sells each, and what is published for each. It does not recommend one. Fleet and trip figures are from the TLC record; every rate is on the cost page with its publisher and date.
Who sees a taxi top?
People outside the cab: the sidewalk at a crossing, the car behind at a light. The roof is the exterior surface with its own authorization rule in the TLC rulebook.
The Economist · Digital top · Times Square · 2024
The frame above is a digital top on medallion 9A70 in Times Square, carrying The Economist's "Paint the town read." Read it the way the street reads it: from the side, at roof height, for the seconds the cab is stopped or passing. That is the whole product. A static top holds one message day and night; a digital top rotates several advertisers and can change by hour and location, which means the number of cabs you buy is not the number of minutes your creative is up. The campaign archive shows both, photographed on the street rather than rendered.
How a roof unit is counted
Against traffic, not against riders. Geopath, the out-of-home measurement body, lists taxi panels under transit displays and defines an impression as the number of times people passing a display are likely to notice the ad, reported in weekly increments, and it sets circulation, the older head count of everyone who could have seen a display, aside as an audience measure it does not endorse for buying. Blue Line Media's footer credits Geopath audience location measurement data. Its New York page nonetheless prints a round 10,900 impressions per taxi per day with no method, and its national page prints 9,000 to 12,000 for a static top against 1,000 to 5,000 for a digital top, so the unit that costs more is stated to be noticed less (read 2026-09-14).
The honest denominator is the fleet on the road: 8,494 yellow taxis per day, each working 8.1 hours a day and 26.2 days a month (NYC TLC monthly indicators, July 2026). Not the 13,589 medallions on the books, 5,095 of which are not on the street on a given day. Any impression figure a seller gives you should be built on the first number, and the seller should be able to say which of those cabs, in which neighbourhoods, for how many hours.
Who sees Taxi TV?
One person, or a few, in the back seat, for the length of the ride. A different audience from every other taxi format, and counted a different way.
Snapchat · In-car screen · Inside a New York cab
The frame above is the passenger screen in a New York cab, a Snapchat spot playing on a tablet mounted on the back of the front seat, with the meter, a map and news panels around it. The person watching has already chosen to get in. What the rulebook calls this screen is a Passenger Information Monitor: it must sit in the back-seat area with an unobstructed view from the rear seat, be a touch screen between 10 and 15.5 inches measured diagonally, have audio, and process the fare (35 RCNY 75-25(d)(1), read 2026-09-14). The passenger may control the volume, mute it after the TLC prologue, and turn the screen off, though it comes back on when the meter stops to take payment (75-25(d)(1)(v) and (vi)).
Whose screen is it?
The screen belongs to the cab's technology provider, and the TLC trip records say which provider filed each trip. In August 2026, Curb Mobility's systems filed 81.2% of yellow-taxi trip records and Creative Mobile Technologies (CMT) 17.3%; Helix 1.2% and Myle Technologies Inc 0.2% filed the rest. Whether those smaller systems carry advertising was not checked for this page. For a buyer the split matters more than any network claim: a Taxi TV plan bought from one provider reaches that provider's share of rides, not the fleet. The method is on the fleet and trip data page.
| Technology provider that filed the trip (VendorID) | Trip records, August 2026 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Curb Mobility, LLC (2) | 2,710,479 | 81.2% |
| Creative Mobile Technologies, LLC (CMT) (1) | 578,771 | 17.3% |
| Helix (7) | 40,800 | 1.2% |
| Myle Technologies Inc (6) | 6,651 | 0.2% |
Source: TLC Yellow Taxi Trip Records, August 2026, all 3,336,701 records, counted on this desk; provider names from the TLC yellow trip data dictionary dated March 18, 2025.
What plays between the ads?
The rulebook ties the two together: a provider that runs advertising on the screen must also carry reasonably fresh news and entertainment content (75-25(d)(2)(v)), so a spot runs beside programming the provider chooses. On September 30, 2025 Curb announced a partnership to bring Newsmax national news programming to its Taxi TV platform (Curb release on PR Newswire). In a January 21, 2026 letter the Manhattan Borough President asked the Mayor and the TLC Commissioner to suspend the TLC's partnership with Curb and to require Curb to end its Newsmax collaboration as a condition of licensure; Curb said no opinion or editorial content had aired on its Taxi TV since the partnership began, and a TLC spokesman said the Newsmax ads running on some taxis did not violate TLC standards (New York Post, January 30, 2026). This desk has not checked what plays on the screens today; a buyer who cares about adjacency should ask the provider for its current content schedule in writing.
How a passenger screen is counted
Against trips. The TLC recorded 113,811 yellow trips per day in July 2026, about 3,528,141 in the month (113,811 × 31 days), with an average trip of 17.2 minutes (NYC TLC monthly indicators). That is the ceiling on rides in front of a screen; it is not a count of people, because a trip can carry more than one passenger, and it is not a count of views, because the screen can be off. Vendors publish their own network figures without a New York breakdown or a method: Curb states 15K+ screens, 2.2B+ impressions annually and 65+ major markets on its Taxi TV page; CMT states 5,600 passenger-facing screens across 10 U.S. markets in a September 2025 partnership announcement and describes a 12 to 14 minute taxi trip on its media page, 3.2 to 5.2 minutes shorter than the TLC average for July 2026. CMT also states that its program only plays when passengers opt to watch and that price is on a per-ad basis, capped at the contracted number of ads.
What does the TLC rulebook allow on each?
Read in the current rulebook PDFs on 2026-09-14. Chapter 67 governs the roof of a yellow medallion taxi, Chapter 75 the screen inside it, Chapter 59 the for-hire vehicles that are neither.
| Constraint | Taxi top (35 RCNY 67-16) | Taxi TV screen (35 RCNY 75-25(d)) |
|---|---|---|
| What it is in the rule | A Rooftop Advertising Fixture: a device that incorporates the functions of a roof light with the displaying of advertising (67-03(b)). | A Passenger Information Monitor, part of the Technology System every taxicab must have from a licensed provider (67-15, 75-25(d)). |
| Who may install or run it | A medallion owner, after paying an annual advertising permit fee, may install an authorized fixture (67-16(a)); the fixture design needs TLC approval and MIL-STD 810f certification by a professional engineer (67-16(c)). | The TPEP provider may display commercial advertising and sponsorships on the PIM (75-25(d)(2)(iv)), and must then also carry reasonably fresh news and entertainment content (75-25(d)(2)(v)). |
| Shape and size | Two-sided, each side longer across than high, not necessarily a rectangle; advertising to the sides of the vehicle only, not to the front and back (67-16(c)(4)). Creative may not exceed the display surface, with a 100 square inch exception if the engineer certifies it (67-16(c)(3)). | Touch screen, interactive, full colour, with audio; not more than 15.5 inches and not less than 10 inches diagonally, back-seat area, unobstructed from the rear seat (75-25(d)(1)(i) and (iii)). |
| Viewer control | None. The street cannot switch a roof off. | Passenger controls the volume and may mute after the prologue; passenger may turn the screen off, and it comes back on when the meter disengages (75-25(d)(1)(v) and (vi)). |
| Content limits | Advertisements must be current: an event ad stays current until 60 days after the event; nothing offensive to public morals or in violation of Penal Law 245.11, removed within 15 days of a TLC request (67-16(d)). | No implied City endorsement without written consent (75-25(d)(3)); a list of prohibited categories, beginning with unlawful goods and services (75-25(d)(4)). |
| Uber, Lyft and other for-hire vehicles | The Commission will not approve exterior advertising on a For-Hire Vehicle that consists in whole or in part of roof top advertising (59A-29(e)(2)). | Interior advertising in a For-Hire Vehicle only through an Interior Advertising Provider licensed under Sub-Chapter 59E (59A-29(e)(3)). |
One more line from the rulebook applies to neither column but comes up in every proposal. 35 RCNY 58-32(c): an owner must not display any advertising on the exterior of a taxicab unless authorized by the Commission. Rooftop fixtures are; body wraps on a yellow cab are not a standard authorized format, so a "taxi wrap" row on a rate card describes for-hire, rideshare or branded fleet vehicles in this market. The rule is recorded next to the wrap rows on the cost page.
Can Uber or Lyft cars carry roof ads in NYC?
No. The TLC rulebook says the Commission will not approve any advertising for the exterior of a for-hire vehicle that consists, in whole or in part, of roof top advertising (35 RCNY 59A-29(e)(2), Chapter 59 updated February 27, 2026). Uber and Lyft cars are for-hire vehicles, so in New York a taxi-top ad runs on a medallion taxi; the rules' one for-hire exception is the green Street Hail Livery (59B-29(e)(2)).
| Vehicle | Roof advertising | Advertising inside | On the road per day, July 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow medallion taxi | A Rooftop Advertising Fixture, installed by the medallion owner after paying an annual advertising permit fee (67-16(a)) | On the Passenger Information Monitor, run by the technology provider (75-25(d)(2)(iv)) | 8,494 |
| For-hire vehicle, including Uber and Lyft cars | Not approved (59A-29(e)(2)) | Only through an Interior Advertising Provider licensed under Sub-Chapter 59E (59A-29(e)(3)) | 61,044 high-volume |
Vehicle counts: NYC TLC monthly indicators, July 2026; the high-volume class is the one Uber and Lyft cars fall in. Rule text read in the TLC rulebook PDFs for Chapters 59, 67 and 75. A rate card that lists a rideshare roof unit describes inventory outside New York City, and an in-car screen in an Uber or Lyft runs under a different licence from Taxi TV in a yellow cab.
Who sells each?
Operators own or run the hardware; resellers quote it. This is a short list in alphabetical order, each name with a live New York page showing the product on 2026-09-14. The full roster of roof-unit operators, ordered by a written rule, with what each controls and where their own figures disagree, is on the companies page.
| Seller | Taxi tops | Taxi TV / in-car screens | Publishes a rate card? |
|---|---|---|---|
| CMT | No | Operator: in-taxi video network on its 10.4-inch screens; a TLC technology provider | No; per-ad pricing, on request |
| Curb | No | Operator: Curb Taxi TV, sold direct and programmatically through Place Exchange and Vistar, as it states | No |
| NY Taxi Ads | Operator: describes itself as the largest digital taxi-top network in New York; 2,000 yellow cabs published in case studies, no network total | No product page | General estimates in a blog guide |
| SOMO | Operator: 4,000 digital displays across 2,000 yellow taxis, as it states | Sells CMT's TaxiTV screens alongside its tops under a partnership announced September 2025 | No |
| Blue Line Media, DASH TWO, AdQuick, Inspiria Outdoor | Resell or quote both | Resell or quote fleet spots and per-screen buys | Blue Line: rate card. Others: estimates |
What is published for each, and in what unit?
The unit is the difference. A roof is priced per cab per period; a screen is priced per screen or as a spot across the whole fleet. The full table, every publisher, is on the cost page.
| Product | Unit as published | Lowest published | Highest published | Publishers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Static taxi top | Per cab, four-week period | $100 – $200 | $500 – $1,000 | OOH Today low, Alluvit Media high; Blue Line Media New York $300 – $500 |
| Digital taxi top | Per cab, four-week period | $120 – $180 | $300 – $800 | OOH Today low, Alluvit Media high; Blue Line Media New York $400 – $600 |
| In-car screen | Per screen, 1,000-screen minimum | about $30 | about $30 | DASH TWO, OOH Today, AdQuick agree; BillboardsIn lists $5,000 to $20,000 per month for seat-back screens without a count |
| Taxi TV spot, whole New York fleet | Per spot length, four-week period | $10,000 – $30,000 (:15) | $18,000 – $65,000 (:60) | Blue Line Media New York page; its national page prints lower floors for the same spots |
All figures read 2026-09-14; none is a quote and none is attributed to any operator. Every row with its publisher, type and date, and the multi-cab arithmetic against the 8,494 cabs on the road, is on the cost page.
What does each format let you say?
| Creative constraint | Taxi top | Taxi TV screen |
|---|---|---|
| Canvas | Static: 48 inches wide by 14 inches high, per Blue Line Media's spec table. Digital: 560 by 160 pixels, with a 1920 by 674 file added for New York, per the same table. | 1920 by 1080 pixels per Blue Line Media's spec table; CMT states 10.4-inch screens with a companion static banner beside every video ad. |
| Duration | Static: the whole period, no rotation. Digital: up to 8 seconds per creative in Blue Line's spec, rotated with other advertisers. | Up to 30 seconds, 60 may be accepted, per Blue Line's spec; Blue Line's New York rates are priced at :15, :30 and :60. |
| Sound | None. | Yes, under passenger control (75-25(d)(1)(v)). |
| Interaction | None on the unit; a QR code is read from the sidewalk at best. | Touch screen by rule; Curb states companion banners and QR codes, and CMT a companion static banner beside every video ad. |
| Lead time | Static print two to three weeks before start, digital three business days, per Blue Line Media. | CMT states turnaround can be under two hours from receipt of creative. |
The specs are the resellers' and the operators' own statements, read 2026-09-14; the operator that runs your cabs or screens will send its own template, and that template governs. Send the brief with dates and the audience named, and the format answer follows from it.
Frequently asked questions
- What is Taxi TV advertising?
- Taxi TV is the trade name for video advertising on the passenger-facing screen inside a New York yellow cab. In the TLC rulebook that screen is the Passenger Information Monitor, part of the Technology System every taxicab must carry (35 RCNY 67-15), and 35 RCNY 75-25(d)(2)(iv) allows the technology provider to display commercial advertising on it. In the TLC trip records for August 2026, Curb and CMT filed 98.6% of yellow trips between them; they and their resellers sell the spots, usually as a share of the whole fleet rather than per cab.
- How many people see a taxi top in New York each day?
- No city dataset says. The TLC publishes 8,494 yellow taxis on the road per day, 8.1 hours each (NYC TLC monthly indicators, July 2026); that is the number of roofs, not of eyes. Vendor figures for eyes are published without a method: Blue Line Media states 10,900 impressions per taxi per day on its New York page and 9,000 to 12,000 for a static top against 1,000 to 5,000 for a digital top on its national page (read 2026-09-14). Geopath, the OOH measurement body, counts impressions as the number of times people passing a display are likely to notice it, reported weekly, and does not accept raw circulation as a buying currency.
- How long does a passenger sit in front of a Taxi TV screen?
- The average yellow-taxi trip in July 2026 was 17.2 minutes (NYC TLC monthly indicators), and the median metered trip in the August 2026 trip records was 14.35 minutes, computed on this desk; those are the honest dwell figures. Vendors publish shorter and wider numbers: CMT describes a 12 to 14 minute taxi trip on its media page, and Alluvit Media and AdQuick both say 10 to 30 minutes. The rulebook also lets the passenger mute the screen and turn it off (35 RCNY 75-25(d)(1)(v) and (vi)), so ride length is a ceiling on exposure, not a measure of it.
- Can passengers turn Taxi TV off?
- Yes. 35 RCNY 75-25(d)(1)(vi) says the Passenger Information Monitor may be turned off by the passenger, provided required content such as the prologue, epilogue and fare notifications stays visible, and the screen must come back on when the meter disengages to process payment. The volume must be passenger-controllable and may be muted after the prologue (75-25(d)(1)(v)). Ask any Taxi TV seller how it counts a play on a screen that has been switched off.
- Can Uber or Lyft cars carry roof ads in NYC?
- Not on the roof. 35 RCNY 59A-29(e)(2) says the Commission will not approve any exterior advertising on a For-Hire Vehicle that consists in whole or in part of roof top advertising. Inside, 59A-29(e)(3) allows interior advertising only through an Interior Advertising Provider licensed under Sub-Chapter 59E. Rooftop fixtures are a yellow-medallion format under 35 RCNY 67-16, which is why every roof figure on this site is counted against the 8,494 yellow taxis on the road, not against the 61,044 high-volume for-hire vehicles.
- Is a taxi top or Taxi TV better for a New York campaign?
- They are different products, not a better and a worse one. A roof unit reaches people outside the cab, is counted against street traffic, and is priced per cab per four-week period (published ranges $100 – $200 to $500 – $1,000 for a static top). Taxi TV reaches the rider already inside, is counted against trips, and is priced as fleet-wide spots or per screen (Blue Line Media publishes $10,000 – $30,000 for a :15 spot across the New York fleet). A brief that names the audience answers the question; one that names the vehicle does not.
Sources read for this page
- 35 RCNY Chapter 67, Rules for Taxicab Hack-up and Maintenance, TLC rulebook PDF updated October 24, 2025 · 67-03(b), 67-15, 67-16 · read 2026-09-14
- 35 RCNY Chapter 75, Taxicab Technology Service Providers, TLC rulebook PDF · 75-25(d) Passenger Information Monitor · read 2026-09-14
- 35 RCNY Chapter 59, For-Hire Vehicles, TLC rulebook PDF updated February 27, 2026 · 59A-29(e) · read 2026-09-14
- 35 RCNY Chapter 58, Medallion Taxicab Owners, TLC rulebook PDF · 58-32(c) · read 2026-09-14
- NYC TLC monthly indicators CSV · vehicles per day, trips per day, hours, days and minutes per trip, July 2026 · read 2026-10-24
- NYC TLC 2025 Annual Report · medallions authorized · read 2026-10-24
- Geopath glossary · impressions, circulation, transit displays · read 2026-09-14
- Blue Line Media, NYC Taxi Ads and national taxi page · rates, impressions claims, specs · read 2026-09-14
- Curb, Advertise on Taxi TV · network claims · read 2026-09-14
- Curb and Newsmax Drive the Future of Digital-Out-Of-Home, Curb release on PR Newswire, September 30, 2025 · read 2026-10-24
- New York Post, January 30, 2026 · the Borough President's letter, Curb's statement and the TLC statement · read 2026-10-24
- CMT Media Network and SOMO and CMT partnership announcement, DPAA, September 3, 2025 · read 2026-09-14
- SOMO, Products and Solutions · read 2026-09-14
- Alluvit Media, AdQuick, DASH TWO, OOH Today · ride-length and per-screen claims · read 2026-09-14