For the second time since 2004, the board of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission has voted to raise fares for yellow taxis. The commission also will instate a $45 flat fare between anywhere in Manhattan and John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The fare hike will double the waiting time rate to $24 an hour from $12, placing New York’s idle-time fares on par with other cities throughout the country. The new fares will take effect in mid-December.

The current system doesn’t properly reward drivers during periods of heavy traffic, advocates of the fare hike claim. Instead, it promotes dangerous driving and discourages cabbies from working during rush hours.

At yesterday’s meeting, members of the commission’s board heralded the fair hike. “More cabs with experienced drivers will be available during the busiest hours of the day” the chairman of the commission, Matthew Daus, said.

According to the commission, the $45 flat fare between Manhattan and JFK will make yellow cabs more desirable to tourists and business travelers. Taxi drivers and their advocates also applauded the move. “This will make for less doormen hiring gypsy cabs,” a veteran taxicab driver and owner, Erhan Tuncel, said.

However, a member of the commission’s board, Noach Dear, raised concerns that the flat fare may be too low and that riders could carpool, making airport trips less lucrative for cab drivers.

Also yesterday, a representative of the New York City Department of Transportation asked the commission to raise awareness among cab drivers about a new plan, called the “Times Square Shuffle,” designed to make Time Square more pedestrian-friendly. Under the plan, vehicles moving south on Seventh Avenue will have to turn north on 45th Street in order to merge onto Broadway. Its implementation will begin October 30.