HomeMy WebLinkAbout0287 Taxi Regulation and Licensing 1986ORDINANCE NO. 287
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF CHUBBUCK, IDAHO,
ENACTING A NEW CHAPTER 5.07 OF THE CHUBBUCK
MUNICIPAL CODE TO PROVIDE FOR THE REGULATION AND
LICENSING OF TAXICABS AND TAXICAB OPERATORS;
REPEALING CONFLICTING ORDINANCES; PROVIDING FOR
SEVERABILITY; AND PROVIDING WHEN THIS ORDINANCE
SHALL BECOME EFFECTIVE.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
CHUBBUCK, IDAHO:
Section 1. Regulation and Licensing of Taxicabs.
5 of the Chubbuck Municipal Code is hereby amended by
enacting a new Chapter 5.07, to read as follows:
Title
Section 5.07.010. License Required. It shall be
unlawful to engage in the business of operating a
taxicab in the City of Chubbuck in violation of this
Chapter and without first having secured a license
therefor. Applications for such licenses shall be made
in writing to the City Clerk, and shall state thereon
the name of the applicant, the intended place of
business and the number of cabs to be operated. If the
application is a corporation, the names and addresses of
the President and Secretary thereof shall be given.
Section 5.07.020. Definition. The term "taxicab"
as used in this ordinance shall mean and include any
vehicle used to carry passengers for hire but not
operating upon a fixed route.
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Section 5.07.030. Character of Applicant. No such
license shall be issued to or held by any person who is
not a person of good character or who has been convicted
of a felony; nor shall such license be issued to or held
by any corporation if any officer thereof would be
ineligible for a license under the foregoing conditions.
Section 5.07.040. Fee. The annual fee, payable in
advance, for such license shall be $5.00 for each
taxicab operated. Whenever the number of cabs so
operated shall be increased during the license year, the
licensee shall notify the City Clerk of such change and
shall pay the additional fee. Such fee shall be in
lieu of any other vehicle fee required by ordinance, and
the Clerk shall issue suitable certificates for the
number of cabs covered by each license. Such
certificates shall be displayed in a prominent place on
each taxicab while it is in use and may be transferred
to any taxicab put into service to replace one withdrawn
from service. The licensee shall notify the City Clerk
of the motor number and state license number of each cab
operated and of the corresponding city certificate.
Section 5.07.050. Vehicles. No taxicab shall be
operated unless it bears a state motor vehicle license
duly issued; and no such taxicab shall be operated
unless it is equipped with proper brakes, lights, tires,
horn, muffler, rear vision mirror, and windshield wiper
in good condition. The Chief of Police is empowered to
inspect each taxicab licensed or subject to being
licensed under this Chapter so as to ensure that such
taxicab complies with the provisions of this section.
Each taxicab, while operated, shall have on each side,
in letters readable from a distance of twenty (20) feet,
the name of the licensee operating it.
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If more than one cab is operated by a licensee, each cab
shall be designated by a different number, and such
number also shall so appear on each side of each side.
Section 5.07.060. Drivers. No person shall drive
a taxicab, or be hired or permitted to do so, unless he
is duly licensed as a chauffeur. It shall be unlawful
for any driver of a taxicab while on duty to drink any
intoxicating liqueur, or to use any profane or obscene
language, to shout or call to prospective passengers, or
to disturb the peace in any way.
Section 5.07.070. Insurance. No taxicab shall be
operated unless it is covered by a bond or public
liability policy with a combined single limit of
$300,000 covering bodily injury and property damage
liability. Said insurance shall be kept in full force
and effect during the term of any license issued
hereunder, shall be issued by a casualty insurance
company authorized to do business in the state, and
shall be evidenced by a current certificate of insurance
kept on file with the City Clerk's office throughout the
term of any license issued hereunder.
Section 5.07.080. Traffic Rules. It shall be the
duty of every driver of a taxicab to obey all traffic
rules established by statute or ordinance.
Section 5.07.090. Unlawful Use. It shall be
unlawful to knowingly permit any taxicab to be used in
the perpetration of a crime or misdemeanor.
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Section 5.07.100. Passengers. It shall be the
duty of the driver of any taxicab to accept as a
passenger any person who seeks to so use the taxicab,
provided such person conducts himself in an orderly
manner. No person shall be admitted to a taxicab
occupied by a passenger without the consent of the
passenger. The driver shall take his passenger to his
destination by the most direct available route from the
place where the passenger enters the cab.
Section 5.07.110. Rates of Fares. Upon paying his
fare, each passenger shall be provided upon request, a
receipt showing the amount so paid and the name of the
company or person operating the cab, together with the
number of the cab if such company or person operates
more than one taxicab in the city. It shall be unlawful
for a passenger to fail or refuse to pay the lawful fare
at the termination of a trip. The charges for taxicab
service shall be subject to review and approval by the
City Council. Any amendment to or change in such
charges shall be filed in writing with the City Clerk.
If no action is taken by the City Council to modify or
reject the proposed amendment or change within thirty
(30) days after the same are filed with the Clerk's
office, the requested amendment or change shall
thereafter take effect without further action by the
City Council. No action to modify or reject the
proposed amendment or change shall be taken until a
public hearing thereon has been held by the City
Council. The charges for taxicab service, as reviewed
and approved by the City Council, shall be displayed in
a prominent place in each taxicab while it is in use,
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and shall be fully disclosed to any person rquesting
information regarding such charges, whether such request
is made by telephone, in person, or in writing. It
shall be unlawful to make or impose any charge in
addition to or in excess of the charges displayed or
disclosed in compliance with this section.
Section 5.07.120. Limitations on Licenses; Minimum
Number of Taxicabs. Any license which may hereafter be
issued to engage in the business of operating taxicabs
on or over the streets and public ways shall mean and be
construed to be only a license or privilege to use the
streets and public ways for the business of operating
taxicabs thereon. Any person or entity holding a
license under this chapter shall maintain in operation a
minimum of two (2) serviceable taxicabs providing
continuous 24-hour service within the city.
Section 5.07.130. Application for Taxicab License.
In addition to the other requirements set forth in this
chapter, the application for a license shall be
submitted to the City Clerk, shall be in writing,
verified by the affidavit of the applicant or its duly
authorized agent or officer shall be accompanied by the
certificate of insurance required by Section 5.07.070
and shall state the following facts: the full name and
address of the applicant; if a partnership, the name and
address of each partner; if a corporation, the names and
addresses of the officers and directors thereof; and
what, if any, previous experience he or it has had in
such business; the number of taxicabs desired; the
seating capacity of each taxicab, according to
manufacturer's ratings; name of manufacturer; the state
license number; and the length of time the said taxicab
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has been in use; together with the full and complete
statement of the applicant's financial standing, showing
assets and liabilities; the names and addresses of
owners; names and addresses of partners; together with a
statement of method of operation, the rate of fares to
be charged by the applicant, and the method of computing
the same.
Section 5.07.140. Requirements for Operation of
Taxicab. It shall be unlawful for any person to drive
or operate a licensed taxicab without first complying
with the following requirements:
A. be of the age of twenty-five (25) years
or over;
B. possess a valid chauffeur's license issued
by the State of Idaho as required hereinabove;
C. be of sound physique, with good eyesight,
and no subject to epilepsy, vertigo, ear trouble,
or any other infirmity of body or mind which might
render him unfit for the safe operation of a
taxicab;
D. be able to read and write in the English
language;
E. be clean in dress and person and not be
addicted to the use of intoxicating liquors or drugs;
F. possess a valid taxicab driver's license
issued by the City, pursuant to the following procedures
and requirements:
1. provide the City Clerk, on a form to be
provided by the City, a statement giving the
applicant's full name, residence, place of
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residence for one year previous to moving to the
present address, age, color, height, color of eyes
and hair, place of birth, length of time he has
resided in the City, whether a citizen of the
United States, places of previous employment,
whether married or single, whether he has ever been
convicted of a felony, a misdemeanor involving
moral turpitude or possession or sale of narcotics,
whether he has previously been licensed as a driver
or chauffeur and, if so, whether his license has
ever been revoked and for what cause, that he will
read and familiarize himself with all traffic
laws and regulations relative to the operation of a
motor vehicle on the public streets and highways,
which statement shall be signed and sworn to by the
applicant and filed by the police department as a
permanent record.
2. Upon examination by the Chief of Police of
the applicant and upon all facts disclosed by the
requirements hereinabove, the Chief of Police may
issue such applicant a taxicab driver's license, or
if said Chief of Police is not satisfied that the
applicant is a suitable and proper person to
operate a taxicab upon the streets of the City, he
may reject the applicant his license to so operate.
If the application is rejected by the Chief of
Police, the applicant may request a hearing before
the City Council to offer evidence why his
application should be considered. A majority vote
of the governing body is sufficient to issue or
reject said applicant a license after said hearing.
The City Council's decision shall be governed by
the standards set forth in this ordinance.
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Section 5.07.140. Photograph and Fingerprints of
Driver. Each applicant for a driver's license must file
with his application two (2) recent photographs and
fingerprints of himself, those pictures to be taken by
the City Police Department, of a size which may be
easily attached to his license, one of which may be
attached to the license when issued, the other shall be
filed with the application. The photograph and
fingerprints shall be so attached to the license that it
cannot be removed nor another photograph substituted
without detection. The Chief of Police may, in his
discretion, elect to have such driver's license issued
jointly with other cities.
Section 5.07.150. Form and Term of Driver's
License. On satisfactorily fulfillment of the foregoing
requirements, there shall be issued to the applicant a
license, which shall be in such form as to contain the
photograph and signature of the licensee and blank
spaces upon which a record may be made of any arrest or
serious complaint against him. Any licensee who
defaces, removes or obliterates any official entry made
upon his license, shall be punished by the revocation of
this license. Driver's license shall be issued as of
the date of issuance and shall be valid to and including
December 31, next succeeding, unless sooner revoked.
The driver of a taxicab shall display in a conspicuous
manner within such taxicab his driver's license with
photograph attached.
Section 5.07.160. Renewal of Driver's License.
The City Clerk may renew a driver's license from year to
year by appropriate endorsement thereon. A driver in
applying for the renewal of his license shall make
application upon a form to be furnished, which shall be
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filled out with the full name and address of the
applicant, together with the statement of the date upon
which his original license was granted and the number
thereof. The license fee and the license renewal fee in
an amount of $2.00 shall be paid for driver's licenses.
Section 5.07.170. Revocation Notice. Licenses
issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter may be
revoked or suspended by the City Council whenever it
shall find that the licensee or an agent, servant or
employee of such licensee has violated the provisions of
this chapter, or permitted the same to be violated;
provided, however, that no such license shall be revoked
or suspended unless charges in writing shall first have
been filed with the City Clerk setting forth with
reasonable certainty the nature of such charges against
such licensee. Upon the filing of charges as aforesaid,
the City Council shall fix a time and place for the
hearing of said charges, and a copy of the charges as
filed, together with the notice of the time and place of
hearing shall be served upon the licensee at least five
(5) days prior to the date fixed by the City Council for
the hearing.
Section 2. Repeal. Ail prior ordinances or provisions
thereof which conflict with this ordinance are hereby
repealed to the extent of such conflict.
Section 3. Severability. If any section or provision
of this ordinance or of the Chubbuck Municipal Code as herein
amended, is held invalid by any Court of competent
jurisdiction, such holding shall not affect the validity of
the remaining sections or provisions.
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Section 4. Effective Date. The rule requiring
ordinances to be read on three (3) separate days is hereby
dispensed with, and this ordinance shall become effective
upon its passage, approval and publication as provided by
law ·
PASSED BY THE COUNCIL AND APPROVED BY THE MAYOR OF THE
CITY OF CHUBBUCK, IDAHO, THIS 12th DAY OF AII~IJST
1986.
MAYOR
ATTEST:
CITY CLERK
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