Would you want all of the District’s taxicabs to be a single color, say white? That’s amongst the ideas to be presented today by Councilmember Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) as part of a broader bill to modernize the city’s large fleet of taxicabs.

The Post’s Mike DeBonis got a preview of the legislation, which is set to be announced at a press conference this afternoon with Cheh and Mayor Vince Gray. Along with a uniform color, the bill would require credit-card payment options, GPS tracking, more fuel-efficient vehicles and training requirements for drivers. The improvements would be phased in over a year.

Last week the D.C. Taxicab Commission voted on a proposal that would see fares rise slightly, from $1.50 to $2.16 per mile, with many existing surcharges being scrapped. As part of the proposal, commission Chairman Ron Linton said that he was hoping to see credit-card readers in cabs by fall of 2012, one in a number of improvements he has pledged to oversee in the industry. The commission also voted to phase out older vehicles, after having partially lifted a moratorium on cab licenses for environmentally friendly cabs in October.

Still, Cheh told the Post that she wants to see more specific improvements tied to the fare increase, a request made by rider advocates and the hospitality industry at recent hearings. But as Linton warned a few months ago, those improvements won’t be free — in fact, they might come with a 50-cent surcharge on every ride.

A hearing on the bill could happen as early as January.