NYC Taxi Limousine Commission Honors Safest Drivers, Bases Across City With Gracie Mansion Ceremony; Record Electric Vehicle Gains Announced For Climate Week
TLC Recognizes City’s Safest Drivers and Bases
11th Vision Zero Safety Honor Roll Ceremony Celebrates Drivers and Businesses with Glowing Safety Records
Editor’s note: Staten Islander News covered this event last year, where 211 drivers honored who lived on Staten Island, and the safest base in the City in 2023 was Matamoros, which is also on Staten Island. View a video featuring interviews with several of the honorees, followed by a slideshow of photos from the event below. According to the TLC, this year, a higher percentage of drivers honored overall were from Staten Island than last year (3.9% vs. 2.49%). The total number was 41, along with one base: “There were 41 drivers from Staten Island and one base (JAROCHO CAR SERVICE CORP).” Regarding the higher number of drivers honored last year (though the percentage was lower, 211 SI drivers were honored vs 41 this time) : “last year we honored 8,425 total drivers because it was the 10th anniversary.”
FLUSHING, NEW YORK – The Vision Zero Honor Roll – which celebrates TLC drivers and bases for their outstanding commitment to safety and impeccable driving records – today recognized over 1,000 drivers who have gone five years without any serious crashes, have no traffic violations, and have no violations of TLC’s safety-related rules.
“TLC-licensed drivers complete approximately 1 million trips a day and embody our city’s critical street safety mission. They all deserve our praise and admiration, but the drivers in the TLC Honor Roll are the best of the best,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “Today, we honor these 1,000 drivers in the World’s Borough as they continue to set a world-class standard for driving excellence and keeping New Yorkers, and visitors, safe.”
“When Vision Zero began in 2014, TLC licensees made a commitment to share the road safely with cyclists and pedestrians,” said Deputy Mayor Jeffrey Roth. “With 2025 poised to be among the safest years on record for our streets, that commitment is paying off — proving that sustained focus and partnership can save lives.”
“The TLC Honor Roll is a collection of the most proficient professional drivers from all our different sectors,” said TLC Chair and Commissioner David Do. “Full-time, expert driving in NYC requires a special type of skillset, and these drivers are role models for all TLC licensees – me included. Every trip, every block, and every minute that Honor Roll drivers are on the road, they set a standard for all to follow. I am proud of them, and they deserve adulation from all New Yorkers.”
“These drivers are Vision Zero heroes. NYC DOT is proud to partner with TLC on educational programming to promote safe driving and we congratulate this year’s honor roll,” said New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. “Every driver on the streets of New York should strive to uphold the standard this year’s honorees have set for safe driving.”
“Maintaining a perfect safety record in a city like ours is remarkable,” said NYPD Deputy Chief Brian O’Sullivan. “The TLC Safety Honor Roll recipients truly embody our city’s Vision Zero goals.”
This year’s six Featured Vision Zero Honorees include four drivers from Queens, one from Long Island, one from Manhattan, and 20 safest bases. The top base was CarLux Limo Inc., located in Floral Park. Owned and operated by Raman Bhardwaj and Rajbir Bali, both former TLC drivers, CarLux Limo had zero violations or summons in the past year.
This year’s Safest Driver Honoree is Sarabjot Singh, who has been driving an electric vehicle since 2022 and has completed almost 10,000 trips without a violation or summons over the last two years.
“It feels rewarding to be recognized as one of TLC’s safest drivers,” Singh said. “Driving safely is something I prioritize every day, so receiving acknowledgment for it motivates me to continue maintaining a high standard on the road. For me, safety means being attentive, respectful, and responsible—not just for myself but for my passengers, other drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians. It’s about staying calm, making good decisions under pressure, and ensuring everyone gets to their destination safely.”
Singh hails from a family of TLC-licensed drivers. His father, Jatinder Pal Singh, drives for a high-volume base, and his brother, Param Sukhpal Singh, drives a yellow taxi. Being TLC drivers is a family affair for this trio and helps them provide for their families while keeping New Yorkers moving.
“We often share experiences and safety tips with each other, especially about handling different road conditions or challenging situations,” Singh added. “There’s definitely a sense of pride in knowing that driving responsibly is something our family takes seriously.”
The full list of honorees celebrated at Queens Theatre included 1,069 drivers and safest bases. The drivers have all gone five years without any crashes involving injury or death and have no traffic violations or violations of TLC safety rules. They are not only the city’s safest drivers and bases, but represent a diverse group that spans the city and the industry:
2025 Vision Zero Safety Honorees by the Numbers:
- 200 are EV drivers
- 200 are Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) drivers
- 200 drive yellow taxis, 49 drive green taxis
- 25 drivers are female
- 77 different countries of origin are represented
- 20 bases were honored for their exceptional safety records
- In the past 12 months, honorees have:
- driven over 17 million combined miles
- completed 761,089 EV trips
- completed 865,152 WAV trips
Driver residences:
- Bronx: 21.2%
- Brooklyn: 28.5%
- Manhattan: 6.9%
- Staten Island: 3.9%
- Queens: 30.9%
- Outside the City: 8.3%
About the NYC TLC
Created in 1971, NYC TLC is the agency responsible for licensing and regulating New York City’s medallion (yellow) taxi cabs, for-hire vehicles (community-based liveries, black cars, and luxury limousines), commuter vans, and paratransit vehicles, along with the businesses that operate them. It is recognized as the largest and most active taxi and for-hire vehicle regulatory body in the United States.
Almost 180,000 TLC licensees complete approximately 1,000,000 trips each day. To operate for hire, drivers must first undergo a background check, have a safe driving record, and complete 24 hours of driver training. TLC-licensed vehicles are inspected for safety and emissions at TLC’s Woodside Inspection Facility.
To find out more about the TLC, or to review its rules, regulations, and procedures, we encourage you to visit our official website at www.nyc.gov/taxi or contact 311/311 Online.
TLC’s 10th Anniversary Vision Zero Safety Honor Roll Ceremony To Be Held at Gracie Mansion
TLC Celebrates Climate Week NYC With Record Electrification Gains
EV Rideshare Trips Set New Record as Green Rides Initiative Goals Remain Ahead of Schedule
NEW YORK – The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission’s rideshare fleet recently set a record for electric vehicle trips, pushing sustainability benchmarks to new heights nearly two years after the city became the nation’s first to mandate that all rideshare vehicles be either zero-emission or wheelchair accessible by 2030.
TLC’s latest data showed that a record 2.46 million Uber and Lyft EV trips were completed in July 2025 – a new monthly high that was also the third consecutive month with at least 2.3 million EV trips. As of July 2025, 21% of rideshare trips were conducted in either an EV or a wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV), which is 6% above this year’s Green Rides Initiative requirement and a new milestone. Since the start of 2024, TLC-licensed for-hire EVs have driven about 222 million trip-miles and have curbed over 55,000 metric tons of carbon emissions. That is the equivalent of almost 6.2 million gallons of gasoline consumed, or just over 61 million pounds of burned coal.
TLC fleet’s transition has also led to a surge in EV charging development. According to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), 136 fast charger ports have been installed in New York City since July 2024, bringing the city’s total to about 360. This is a 207% increase from 2020, when there were only 117 fast charger ports.
“New York City made history with the Green Rides Initiative, and we continue to reap the rewards of innovation, not stagnation,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “With more electric vehicle trips than ever before in our city’s history, our air is becoming more breathable and our city more livable. These sustainability gains are delivering a city that all New Yorkers deserve.”
“This ‘Climate Week NYC,’ we are reminded that New York is a beacon for other cities, exemplifying how to meet and exceed sustainability and accessibility goals,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Jeffrey Roth. “With over 7,400 accessible rideshare vehicles, this fleet is also the most accessible in the nation, and we will keep building on that momentum.”
“TLC drivers provide safe, sustainable, and accessible transportation options to all New Yorkers,” said TLC Commissioner David Do. “We’ve seen a surge in charging infrastructure since Green Rides began, with more chargers in development. TLC will work with our partners to ensure that even more plugs come to the neighborhoods where licensees live.”
TLC’s rideshare fleet has undergone a historic transformation since October 2023, when the Green Rides Initiative implemented annual benchmarks for Uber and Lyft’s transition to completely zero-emission or wheelchair-accessible trips by 2030. The TLC electric rideshare fleet quickly evolved from just over a thousand vehicles to almost 13,000. While the transformation of the fleet has mostly involved new EV licenses that TLC issued in March, April, and October and November of 2023, individual drivers have also taken to swapping their older gas-powered and hybrid vehicles for EVs. Since Nov. 1, 2023, 694 individual owners have made that switch.
TLC licensee Chris Garcia, who has been driving since March 2019, previously had a Toyota Camry before switching to a Tesla Model 3 in 2021, and said, “The EV is a great experience. Passengers like it, it has very good safety features, and I like it better than the car I had before.”
Garcia, who was honored as one of TLC’s safest drivers in 2024, has noticed an improvement in the city’s charging infrastructure over the past couple of years, and added: “I feel like I’m really playing a big role. The apps (Uber and Lyft) show me the emissions I’m saving. I feel pretty good. I’m not damaging the air and doing well for the environment.”
Sarabjot Singh, who has been a TLC licensee since 2022, said: “Driving an EV is smooth and very convenient in the city. Features like regenerative braking make it easier to maintain smooth control, and I also appreciate that these cars require less maintenance overall. It feels good knowing that I’m doing my part for the environment. Driving an EV makes me feel like I’m contributing to reducing emissions and helping make New York City healthier and cleaner for everyone.”
Bases and leasing companies have also incorporated Green Rides into their mission. One prominent example is American Lease, which has about 5,000 TLC-licensed vehicles that drivers can rent on a short-term basis, including over 2,100 EVs that replaced what were previously gas-powered vehicles.
“American Lease is proud to be the leader in commercial fleet sustainability in the city,” said American Lease Executive Vice President Josh Bleiberg. “The Green Rides Initiative will ensure a healthier, cleaner New York City for all of us. Our valued customers and their passengers overwhelmingly share positive feedback on the efficiency and comfort of going Electric! We are committed and look forward to continued work with the Taxi and Limousine Commission and the City of New York to reach our goal of a Zero Emissions for-hire fleet by 2030.”
Last September, the TLC released Electrification in Motion: An Update on New York City’s Electric For-Hire Vehicle Fleet, which detailed the numerous areas of growth regarding the city’s electrification goals. It provided an update to TLC’s firstreport, Charged Up!, and showed the demand and usage of charging locations and development, thanks in large part to TLC vehicles.
New York City continues to develop charging infrastructure, and this past year saw some notable announcements. In July, the Queens Borough Board approved an electric vehicle charging station in Springfield Gardens, which supports at least 65 EV charging ports and 12 fast chargers. In June, the Brooklyn Navy Yard issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to install and operate up to 30 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, with 10 being publicly available. In February, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that an additional 267 fast-charging stations will be operational across the city by 2027.
Additionally, the Green Rides Initiative has made the TLC fleet more accessible than ever before. With more than 7,400 accessible for-hire vehicles (and over 12,800 overall when including yellow taxis), the TLC’s overall fleet is the most accessible in the nation, with 90% of passengers waiting 10 minutes or less for a WAV.
Green Rides’ annual requirements for the percentage of EV and WAV rideshare trips are designed to ensure a smooth and efficient transition to a cleaner, more accessible fleet by 2030. The goals of 5% in 2024 and 15% in 2025 have been met, and the remaining targets are 25% in 2026 and 40% in 2027, with annual 20% increases from 2028 to 2030. More resources about EVs and charging can be found at nyc.gov/charging and at nyc.gov/greenrides, and more information about the TLC fleet can be found at the Factbook page.
About the NYC TLC
Created in 1971, NYC TLC is the agency responsible for licensing and regulating New York City’s medallion (yellow) taxi cabs, for-hire vehicles (community-based liveries, black cars, and luxury limousines), commuter vans, and paratransit vehicles, along with the businesses that operate them. It is recognized as the largest and most active taxi and for-hire vehicle regulatory body in the United States. Almost 180,000 TLC licensees complete approximately 1,000,000 trips each day. To operate for hire, drivers must first undergo a background check, have a safe driving record, and complete 24 hours of driver training. TLC-licensed vehicles are inspected for safety and emissions at TLC’s Woodside Inspection Facility.
To find out more about the TLC, or to review its rules, regulations, and procedures, we encourage you to visit our official website at www.nyc.gov/taxi or contact 311/311 Online.
Banner Image: NYC TLC drivers honored for safety. Image Credit – NYC TLC
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