The taxicab roof light, the occasionally head-scratching system that can befuddle out-of-towners and facilitate fare refusals, may be ready for a makeover.

The Taxi and Limousine Commission is considering a plan that would eliminate taxis’ smaller “off-duty” lights in favor of a single, central beacon: it would be illuminated if the cab is available, and dark if it is not.

The current two-tiered roof light, which indicates when a cab is free, filled, or off duty, is one of the last parts of the taxi experience untouched by the Bloomberg administration, which has mandated a television in the backseat, a GPS device in the front and, coming soon, laptop chargers and reading lights.

The city’s light proposal, modeled after the cabs in London, would simplify a setup that officials said could lead to “misunderstandings between drivers and passengers.”