The Port Authority plans to flood the city's airports with police officers ahead of the World Cup to flush out unlicensed taxi scammers who notoriously overcharge tourists for illegal cab rides.
The agency’s leaders announced a new $100 million initiative called “Operation Legal Ride” on Tuesday morning, four days before MetLife Stadium hosts its first of eight World Cup matches.
Illegal taxi drivers, often known as “hustlers,” have for decades preyed on unsuspecting tourists at the city’s transportation hubs, primarily the airports. In many cases, they lure travelers into their cars, and charge them hundreds of dollars more than what is legally allowed.
Port Authority data shows the problem has been growing in recent years. The agency’s police department issued 2,602 summons for illegal taxi solicitation in 2025, almost double from the previous year.
Hustling at the city’s airports has grown more sophisticated in recent years, with scammers coordinating at terminals in a system that uses illegal dispatchers carrying walkie-talkies to funnel tourists into fake cabs waiting outside.
Gothamist highlighted the problem in a series of stories earlier this year. Now, Port Authority officials say they have a plan to aggressively solve the issue.
The agency plans to deploy 50 more police officers alongside 20 additional Taxi and Limousine Commission employees to Newark, LaGuardia and JFK airports. Police officers will pilot new technology that detects persistent hustlers and track their license plates to coordinate faster enforcement, agency officials said.
The Port Authority plans to work with the state's Department of Motor Vehicles to ensure scammers busted driving illegal cabs also get points added to their license, which could lead to them losing their driving privileges.
“Taxi hustlers target vulnerable travelers, first-time visitors, and non-English speakers, by taking advantage of unfamiliar surroundings for those who are new to our region or country,” Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia said in a statement. “This multijurisdictional problem requires a multipronged solution.”
The number of taxi scammers at the airports threatens to embarrass local officials ahead of the World Cup, when thousands of international tourists are expected to visit New York City for the first time.
Taxi drivers, JFK employees and even the hustlers themselves have estimated there are around 500 illegal drivers in JFK Airport’s terminals.
The Port Authority said an analysis of “millions of vehicle arrival records across the agency’s regional airports” found that illegal solicitation is taking place overwhelmingly by a similar group of drivers. The City Council also released a report on Monday highlighting the issue of scam taxis.
The Port Authority’s new policy will direct the agency’s police officers to immediately arrest a hustler if they’re operating a vehicle at the airports with a suspended license, rather than give them a summons. Hustlers who get their cars impounded for solicitation will have to pay a new increased fee of $594.90 to retrieve their vehicle.
The Port Authority announced plans to increase its collaboration with the Taxi and Limousine Commission to ensure fines against taxi summonses are enforced in the city’s administrative court, rather than in civil court.
The Port Authority has also launched in-flight announcements on inbound planes warning passengers of taxi scams and distributed signs at the airport terminals in more than 10 languages reminding passengers how to get a legal, licensed cab ride.
