Hailing a cab in New York is so entwined with New York City’s identity that tourists put it on “to do” lists. But the iconic yellow cab, which has been around in one form or another since the 1960s, is long overdue for a face lift.

Now – just in time for the centennial of the gasoline-powered taxi next year – designers, automobile manufacturers, and representatives of the Taxi and Limousine Commission have come together on an ambitious undertaking called Taxi ’07 to chart the future of the New York taxicab.The project kicked off yesterday with a conference at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.

The goals for the redesign are ambitious: a partition with passenger services such as a on-board navigation system, various payment options, including credit cards, and an AC power outlet; a roof light with improved illumination; integrated child seats, and a skylight.

Other features on the wish list include hybrid or alternative fuel engines, air filters, wheel-chair accessibility, larger interior compartments, and alternatives to the standard four-passenger sedan. In addition, the project will propose improvements to the technologies, regulations, and public spaces that support the taxi system.

Taxis have come a long way, and not just in total miles driven. A decade ago, springs and shocks were practically nonexistent, and too often cabs wouldn’t go to Harlem or Brooklyn. The TLC now has 3,300 rules that are mandated for the 13,000 yellow cabs and 47,000 other vehicles it governs. The mainstay of the fleet is the Ford Crown Victoria, an older design with low mileage.

New York might not even be having this discussion if once-ubiquitous Checker Cabs were still around. Ed Cole, the chief engineer of Chevrolet and president of General Motors from the 1950s to the 1970s, became CEO of Checker Motors after he retired from GM. Cole went to the family-owned company to turn Checker around. But before he had a chance to improve Checker, he was killed in a plane crash in May 1977, and the roomy Checkers gradually disappeared from New York City’s streets.

Cabbies and TLC officials agree that a new, improved taxi is an idea whose time has come.

“The idea is wonderful,” said driver Erhan Tuncel, who owns both his own medallion and his vehicle, and has been driving for eight years. “But looking for an ideal taxi for everyone is a difficult task because you’re trying to please more than the average person. There are so many factors associated with the cost of operating a cab and it is difficult as it is to pay your bills.If our costs go up the cost of the ride goes up and then it isn’t affordable for many New Yorkers.”

Mr. Tuncel just put a 2006 Toyota Sienna on the road because his 1999 Honda Odyssey cab had reached the age limit allowed by the TLC – about six years. “Taxis should be allocated certain avenues at certain hours and have more access to the roads so we can get the consumer to where they are going faster,” Mr. Tuncel said.

The commissioner of the TLC, Matthew Daus, said the city is taking the redesign seriously. “There have been exercises in the past, but this is the first time we are being proactive and progressive,” he said.

“In the past we have been beholden to what the manufacturers would give us. Ford did develop a taxi package for the Crown Vic, and when we approached Ford to increase the legroom in the rear they extended the chassis, added six inches and put in a factory-installed rear air-conditioner. We’ve been successful in working with them.

“What is significant about what happened today is that we have moved to the second phase of the program. In the first phase we developed the ideas. Now we will take the ideas and be more pragmatic about them. We don’t have a straphangers group like the Transit Authority does, so we use our 311 line and groups like the Center for Public Trust to get input and feedback from the passengers.

“We are making manufacturers and the people involved part of our process. For the first time, the manufacturers have sent people to sit at the table with us. And the idea is, let us build something that is purpose-built from the ground up.”

Auto companies have until March 31 to express their interest in participating. They’ve been asked to include at least five of the features on the project’s wish list in their entries; those who participate will have their prototype taxi designs displayed at the New York Auto Show in 2007.

Chuck Compagnoni, who works on fleet and commercial operations at General Motors, is tweaking the front-wheel-drive Chevrolet Impala. “It will be a flexible fuel vehicle with a special heavier police chassis,” he said. “And we can fit it with a roof light and other taxi features.”

Don’t expect to see futuristic taxis on city streets any time soon, though. Because no auto company can afford to create and build just 13,000 cars, the taxicab of the near future will sport a recognizable nameplate from Ford, GM, or another major manufacturer.

One thing that won’t change is the color. “Yellow is not a color worn or used for a calming effect,” the museum’s president, Paul Herzan, said.”It is an intense color often used to capture people’s attention, as with taxicabs and warning labels.”