The Taxi and Limousine Commission’s decision to expand the standard map of New York City that appears in all taxis is welcome indeed, and no doubt businesses in the newly included neighborhoods are ecstatic about the change. However, the update of the map is a reminder of how silly it is to have a standard map for all 12,187 of the city’s taxis in the first place.

This time around, Morningside Heights, Harlem, and Spanish Harlem were added to the map. But all three of these previously neglected neighborhoods could have been on the map years ago if cabbies were allowed to purchase from a free market in maps, instead of having their map selected for them by a government agency. What would be the problem with allowing them to choose among any number of maps they might wish to post in their vehicles?

Maybe some taxi operators would like to add Washington Heights and Inwood, excluded from the new maps, which only go up to 125th street. And it’s great that the Apollo Theater and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine are on the new maps, but maybe some operators would like to highlight cultural attractions in Brooklyn, such as the Brooklyn Museum and the Brooklyn Academy of Music, which Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz pointed out to the Sun have been shortchanged.

One of the big constituencies of the taxi industry is tourists. The best approach would be to let cab drivers find the best way to inform tourists about the city and encourage them to see more of it. To look at the current maps, important parts of the city are off-limits, and the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn are vast expanses as barren as the Antarctic tundra. Give cabbies some room to be creative and let the cartographers go wild.