Starting this Sunday, an extra 50-cent surcharge will be added on all taxi rides.

The fare hike was passed by the state Legislature back in May as part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s $2.3 billion bailout plan.

The money collected will help fund mass transit.

Starting at 12:01 Sunday, all cab fares will include a 50-cent tax – increasing the base taxi fare from $2.50 to $3.

All cabs are required to have a sticker posted on the passenger doors alerting riders of the fare increase.

And although the fare hike was not supposed to take effect until this weekend, the Taxi and Limousine Commission says some cabs mistakenly charged the extra fee on a couple of days last week.

Meters from two suppliers accidentally put the 50-cent surcharge into effect a week early.

The mixup affected 288 meters, and about 4,000 trips were overcharged.

The errors were discovered in time to limit the number of affected cabs to about two percent.

The TLC says it’s made arrangements for the companies who make the meters to refund the overcharges.

If you believe you were overcharged, you can call 311 or submit a claim at nyc.gov/tlc.

Meanwhile, it’s not only taxi riders who will be paying more. Business owners are also sharing the burden.

Monday is the deadline for businesses to file their first quarterly payment of the state’s new .34 percent payroll tax.

The tax applies to businesses within the MTA’s 12 ridership counties, including all of the five boroughs.

Business owners with quarterly payrolls of at least $2,500 are required to pay up.

The MTA is planning another fare hike in 2011 as part of the deal approved by state lawmakers.

(Source: NY1)