§ 31.252. Taxicab vehicle license; vehicle requirements.  


Latest version.
  • (a)

    License Required. No taxicab vehicle shall be operated upon the streets and ways of the City unless there shall first have been obtained for each such vehicle a taxicab vehicle license. The requirements of this Section shall be in addition to those of Section 31.251 of this Chapter, relating to taxicab company licenses.

    (b)

    Application and Issuance of License. Applications shall be made to the City Clerk on forms reasonably required and approved by the City Manager. A license fee of twenty five dollars ($25.00) per vehicle shall be submitted with the application. The following information for each taxicab to be licensed shall be provided:

    (1)

    The year, make, color and vehicle identification number;

    (2)

    Name, address and telephone number of the owner;

    (3)

    Written certification that required safety inspections of the taxicab and inspection of the taximeter have been completed not more than thirty (30) days prior to the date of application and that such inspections find the taxicab to be safe and the taximeter to be in proper working order and accurate.

    During the term of any license issued to a taxicab company, if the company substitutes another taxicab for any taxicab licensed with the City pursuant to this Section, or adds any additional taxicab to the list of licensed taxicabs, the company shall license such substitute or additional taxicab with the City pursuant to this Section.

    (c)

    Identification Required. Every taxicab operated by a taxicab company licensed by the City hereunder shall have displayed thereon, in the locations specified below, the following identification materials:

    (1)

    On the center of the exterior main panel of the front or rear doors of each such taxicab, there shall appear the cab number assigned by the taxicab company and the taxicab company's name and telephone number;

    (2)

    On the back of the front seat, clearly visible to passengers in the rear seat of the vehicle, there shall be affixed a copy of the taxicab business and taxicab operator's permit in plainly legible print, the telephone number of the cab company, and the rates charged for trips inside and outside of the City.

    All taxicabs owned and/or operated by or on behalf of a taxicab business licensee shall be identically painted so that they are readily identifiable. However, no coloring scheme or name shall be similar to that of any other taxicab business license previously issued by the City.

    (d)

    Condition of Taxicabs.

    (1)

    Every taxicab operated in the City by a taxicab company licensed by the City shall be maintained in a safe condition at all times. If any taxicab shall become unsafe for operation or if its body or seating facilities shall be so damaged as to render the taxicab unfit for public use, the Mayor may suspend the license issued to the taxicab company operating that vehicle, or suspend that taxicab vehicle license, until the vehicle is made safe for use by the public or replaced with a vehicle that complies with this Article.

    (2)

    All doors of every taxicab shall have functional interior door handles and latches.

    (3)

    In addition to the requirements in subsection (f) of this Section, every taxicab operated by a taxicab licensed in the City shall meet the following standards while in service in the City:

    (A)

    The vehicle's exterior appearance, including paint, lettering and chrome shall be in good condition and free from excessive rust; and

    (B)

    The vehicle's interior shall be clean, sanitary and the upholstery shall be in good repair.

    (e)

    Seatbelts; Exits. Each taxicab operated by a licensed taxicab company within the City shall provide seat belts for each passenger, provide entrances and exits free of interior barriers and have a sufficient number of exits to permit every passenger and the driver to exit from the vehicle in the event that one side is rendered impassible as the result of an accident, safety conditions or otherwise.

    (f)

    Taximeters. Every taxicab operated by a taxicab company licensed by the City shall be equipped with a taximeter, in good working order, connected with and operating from the transmission of the taxicab. No taxicab license shall be issued for any taxicab until the taximeter attached thereto shall have been inspected, as provided by this Article and found to be accurate.

    (1)

    Taximeters shall have a lighted dial or dials to register the fare in accordance with lawful rates, as set forth herein, and the dial shall at all times be maintained by the taxicab company in plain view and readable by the passenger. Such taximeter shall also properly and accurately register, indicate and display the time consumed by the taxicab while in waiting, the distance traveled and the amount of fare to be determined and charged therefor.

    (2)

    Each taxicab shall, during the period between sunset and sunrise, be equipped with a light which shall enable the passenger engaging and using such taxicab to read the figures indicated thereon. Every taximeter placed on a taxicab shall be so arranged that the dial thereof is in plain view of the passenger while riding in such taxicab, or upon alighting from the same.

    (3)

    Inspections.

    (A)

    No taximeter shall be attached to a taxicab unless it has been inspected by an inspector approved by the Chief of Police and found to be accurate and sealed by such inspector. The taxicab company shall keep certificates of accuracy issued by the inspector for each taximeter in each taxicab and provide the same for inspection by a passenger or any police officer upon request. The expense for such inspections shall be that of the licensee.

    (B)

    Each taximeter shall be inspected annually not more than thirty (30) days prior to December 31, or such other date set by the Police Chief or his designee, and a certificate of accuracy, as provided above, shall be submitted by the cab company to the City Clerk prior to the renewal of the taxicab company license. In the event a complaint is made that any taximeter registers improperly or inaccurately, the Police Chief or his designee shall immediately examine and inspect or cause such examination and inspection of such taximeter complained of. Upon request by the Chief of Police, the taxicab company shall submit any taximeter installed on a taxicab to an inspection to determine its accuracy.

    (C)

    Every taximeter shall be tested by running the taxicab to which it is attached over a course of standard mile-in-length or by a mechanical test to prove the accuracy of the register thereof. Either of the foregoing tests may be selected at the discretion of the Chief of Police. In order to determine whether such taximeter correctly registers "waiting time," it shall be the duty of the Chief of Police, his designee or a testing firm approved by him to test such taximeter by comparing the time recorded, as shown by the fare computed on the dial thereof with the standard time. Such tests shall ensure that the taximeter correctly registers those rates and fares authorized by this Article.

    (D)

    It shall be the duty of any person owning, controlling or operating a taxicab to deliver either the taxicab together with the taximeter, or the taximeter detached therefrom, as directed by the Police Chief or his designee, for the purpose of making the aforesaid test upon demand; such person may, if desired, be present at the time such test is made.

    (E)

    No person shall detach any certified or inspected taximeter from any taxicab and attach the same to any other taxicab, the front wheels of which are of different diameter from those with reference to which the taximeter was originally tested, unless a new inspection of certification is done on such taximeter.

    (4)

    No taxicab driver or taxicab company shall operate a taxicab with a taximeter that is inaccurate, that has not been inspected, as provided herein, or that is otherwise not in compliance with the provisions of this Article.

    (5)

    It shall be unlawful for any person to tamper with a taximeter or to break any seal thereon.

    (6)

    No driver of a taxicab equipped with a taximeter while carrying passengers or under employment, shall display the signal affixed to such taximeter or other similar device in such a position as to denote that he is employed at a rate of fare different from that to which he is entitled under the provisions of this Article.

    (7)

    The City Clerk shall from time to time issue a list of private firms authorized to perform taximeter inspections.

    (g)

    Mechanical Inspection. Every taxicab operated by a taxicab company shall pass mechanical inspection tests, as specified by the City. The inspections must take place not more than thirty (30) days prior to application for a taxicab license or the renewal of such license. The inspections will take place at a firm or firms designated from time to time by the City. The expense for such inspection shall be that of the licensee. No license shall be issued for any taxicab that fails to meet these inspection requirements. The City Clerk shall from time to time issue a list of private firms which are authorized to perform vehicle safety (mechanical) inspections.

    (h)

    Requirements as to Taxicab Business License Cards and Identification Symbols. The taxicab company license to be issued by the City Clerk, as provided in Section 31.251 of this Chapter shall be in the form of a card which shall contain the official license number of the taxicab, together with the date of the inspection. Such card shall be signed by the City Clerk and shall contain a blank space upon which an entry shall be made of the date of inspection of the taxicab by the inspector, as designated by the Police Chief. License cards shall be of a distinctly different color each year, and the license number assigned thereto shall in each case be the same as that issued to the vehicle for the year pursuant to law. Such cards shall be affixed to a conspicuous and indispensable part of each taxicab. In addition, the City Clerk, upon issuance of a taxicab license, as provided in this Section shall supply a taxicab license decal. Such decal shall be affixed to the inside surface of the rear window of each taxicab, in the lower left corner thereof, in such a manner as to provide a clear view of such decal from the exterior of the taxicab vehicle, the purpose of such decal being to provide clear and obvious evidence of the current and proper licensure of each taxicab vehicle. It shall be unlawful to operate a taxicab without first complying with this Section.

(Ord. 11-2005 § 2 (part))