Dispatched To Hollywood

By Rebecca Winters

Somebody hail Travis Bickle. Sports-car chase scenes must be running out of gas: the humble cab is stealing all the great vehicular roles.

In this summer's The Bourne Supremacy, ex--CIA agent MATT DAMON steals a Volga taxi and is pursued through the streets of Moscow. It's almost as hair raising as a rush-hour trip to the airport.

Gray-haired assassin TOM CRUISE takes JAMIE FOXX'S cab on an ever worsening ride through Los Angeles in the newly opened Collateral. Maybe now hacks will start steering clear of white guys in suits.

In October's Taxi, a remake of a French film, lead-foot cabbie QUEEN LATIFAH will help green cop JIMMY FALLON solve a series of bank robberies. Just how much do you tip hip-hop royalty, anyway?