NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) – What's a cab fare cost? On the first day of the New York City transit strike, nobody's really sure.

To cope with the strike, New York City is letting yellow cab drivers pick up more than one party at a time, up to four passengers. It has divided Manhattan into zones and is allowing drivers to charge up to $10 per person for the initial pick-up and then up to $5 per additional zone. Fares are normally set by meters.

But in CNNMoney.com's conversations with 10 riders getting off around Columbus Circle on Tuesday morning, there was a wide range of fares charged within those guidelines. And one CNNMoney.com staffer encountered a cab driver who was flouting the city's rules.

Some riders lucked out and got deals on rides that normally would have cost them more; others paid the maximum allowable for short rides that normally cost less; and others paid about what the ride would have cost them on a typical day.

According to a spokesman for the city's Office of Emergency Management's joint information center, the caps set by the city are just that – caps. Drivers may choose to charge less, and riders may negotiate a lower fare.

"We're hearing for short hops drivers are charging less," he said.

That certainly seemed to be the case for Raheel Baig, a commuter from Brooklyn. Normally a ride from Brooklyn to Columbus Circle could cost $20 or more, and even under the new city limits the driver could have charged him $20. But Baig only paid a flat $10 with no tip. So did the other three passengers in his cab.

For the same amount and no tip, a woman named Fadwa got a ride from 42nd Street to 58th Street -- a mere 16 blocks. She made a point of expressing her support for the strikers and said her fellow taxi passengers felt the same way.

One commuter, an artist who has a booth set up at an outdoor holiday market at Columbus Circle, said there seemed to be a greater sense of community among commuters and cab drivers as a result of the strike. Her driver used his meter and charged her the normal fare for her ride from 14th Street.

Terry Walker, who hailed a ride from lower Manhattan said he just chose to give the driver $20 and expressed his support both for the transit strikers and the cab drivers. Under the city's zoning rules, he would have only been charged $15.

Meanwhile, a Time Warner employee said he paid $5 for a 10-block ride, less than the $10 the taxi driver was allowed to charge him.

Steel Stillman, on his way to pick up his car, said he was charged $10 flat for a 37-block cab ride to pick up his car. He didn't tip on top of that, figuring that with three other passengers, the driver made $40 in 10 minutes. "Cab drivers are making a lot of money today," said Stillman.

Some drivers probably will if they continue to charge a flat $10 for every pickup, even though most cab riders CNNMoney.com spoke to didn't tip on top of their fares.

According to a study by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, the normal average income of a cab driver after paying for gas and other expenses is about $162 a day.

And the potential for profit is certainly there if a driver chooses to ignore the city's caps on fares to and from airports. Normally a yellow-cab ride between Manhattan and JFK Airport is $45 plus tolls and tip, no matter how many people are in your party. Under the guidelines effective during the strike, a driver may charge up to $30 per person plus tolls. When a CNNMoney.com staffer asked one driver how much it would cost to take two people to JFK on Wednesday, he was told $90. When the stafffer started to walk away, the driver said, "Okay, $70."

Economic impact of the strike

New York merchants worried