This column originally appeared in On the way, A weekly newsletter with everything you need to know about traffic in the New York area.

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When a seasoned New Yorker jumps into a yellow cab, his first reaction is usually not to fasten his seatbelt but to mute the advertisements blaring on the digital screen mounted on the back of the passenger seat.

These screens have been found in the city’s 13,500 yellow taxi fleet for years. Uber and Lyft drivers may have forgotten about the pesky devices, but not for long. Under new rules currently being drafted by the Taxi and Limousine Commission, they will soon be allowed to be installed in the more than 83,000 app-based cars registered in the five boroughs.

The screens may be a nuisance for passengers, but for drivers of rental cars, they’re a way to supplement their income. The City Council passed a law in December requiring TLCs to allow them in Ubers and Lyfts. The measure requires that 25% of revenue from advertising displayed on an in-car screen must go directly to the vehicle’s driver.

During a TLC hearing on Wednesday, rental car driver Sonam Lama said he could use the extra money, noting that his income has taken a hit in recent months as Uber and Lyft have begun locking drivers out of their apps for short periods of time to comply with city-mandated limits on how long they can drive around town without passengers.

Lama, who says he has been driving for the app-based companies since 2016, is calling for an expansion of TLC rules to allow the installation of two tablets – instead of just one – in Uber and Lyft vehicles.

“The money I would earn from one pill is so little that I can’t even go out for a proper meal with my girlfriend,” Lama complained.

The TLC plans to create a timeline for the rollout once the regulations are finalized later this year. The commission’s latest proposal would require the city’s Office of Technology and Innovation to approve and develop all tablets, which would also set content standards for the ads.

The TLC’s proposed rules for the screens would not allow riders to tip on the tablets, a feature currently only available on Uber and Lyft’s smartphone apps. This omission drew criticism from supporters of the bill.

“Why are you making this the only place in America where people can’t get tips via tablets?” asked Andrew Greenplatt, political director of the Independent Drivers Guild.

TLC Commissioner David Do promised his team would “go back to the drawing board” before finalizing the rules for the screens. After the hearing, TLC spokesman Jason Kersten said the agency would work to “create a way to tip through the screen without having to install credit card readers in rental vehicles.”

Correction: An earlier version of this post misspelled the name of TLC announcer Jason Kersten.

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Question from Elena from Manhattan

The MTA is increasing fare enforcement on select bus routes and it is now possible to pay on the bus using a physical credit card or Apple Pay (for the first swipe and transfer) via OMNY Tap without issuing a physical receipt. How can I then prove to an officer when boarding that I paid the fare?

Answer:

MTA inspectors use a device officially called an “onboard validation device” to check proof of payment. The devices scan credit cards or smartphones to see if they were used to pay fares on the bus. The technology has been used by the agency’s fare inspectors on Select Bus Service buses since 2021, when OMNY was introduced on all buses in the city. Fare inspectors can anger riders if they stop an entire bus to check that everyone has paid.

“Passengers must present the same contactless card or smart device that they tap on the OMNY reader and tap it on the inspector’s device to prove they paid the fare,” said MTA spokeswoman Kayla Shults.

There are reports of cases where passengers paid and the validators didn’t work, but Shults described these cases as “rare.” However, if the validator doesn’t show that you’ve paid, the inspector will kick you out and possibly fine you $100.