The commission chairman, Jack S. Lusk, said the rationale was to better compensate drivers for the cost of sitting in traffic jams and to reduce the incentive for drivers to refuse short trips while looking for airport-bound passengers.

In 1995, the department issued a citation against Pepsi Bottling, accusing the company of failing to compensate drivers who worked more than 40 hours a week and not giving the workers adequate compensation when they were required to work on Saturdays.

It is usually available at a premium of $25 to $50 a year, and it can go a long way toward compensating drivers and members of their households who are injured as a result of an automobile accident.

The commission said each company would work out a different way of compensating owners and drivers.

Base rates either compensate drivers by the mile or by the load.

Jack S. Lusk, the chairman of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, said the new increase is intended to reduce the incentive for drivers to refuse short trips while looking for airport-bound passengers, to better compensate drivers for sitting in traffic and to help drivers cope with the increased costs.

"Fare increase or not, we still have to keep the 50 cents in order to lure in and compensate drivers who work at night," says Christopher R. Lynn, the commission's chairman.

I note therefore the reports that the French authorities have said that they will take steps to compensate foreign drivers and that local préfectures can provide compensation claim forms.

The centralized system also helps to compensate drivers who end up with low-fare trips to nearby neighborhoods, giving them the right to enter a special "shorty" section where they do not have to wait as long for another try at the $45 flat fare to Manhattan.