The D.C. Taxicab Commission this week released a new zone-fare map for the roughly 7,000 District cab drivers to place in their vehicles, satisfying an early goal of Mayor Adrian Fenty’s 100 Day plan.

The map was sent to the commission in February but only recently was revised and approved for use. It is ready for pickup by taxi drivers and their affiliated companies, as is a new version of the “Passenger Rights” document.

Both papers, which should be attached to the window or backseat of every D.C. cab, include spaces for drivers’ identifying information, such as their tag number.

“We’ve gotten it out to them today,” said Doreen Thompson, the commission’s general counsel. “Within the next 30 days, we’re pushing to make sure everybody’s in compliance.”

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Zones, major streets, points of interest, fares and extra fees are clearly delineated on the new map. Perhaps most importantly, it is oriented north-south rather than the confounding past version, in which north faced west.

But the new map might be for naught if Fenty chooses to go the route of meters.

The mayor has until mid-October to decide whether to comply with a federal law requiring the District to convert from zone fares to meters within one year. The statute, passed by Congress in late 2006, gives the mayor the option to opt out of the provision.

mneibauer@dcexaminer.com