The Commissioner may issue licenses for motor vehicles to operate as taxicabs according to the following:
(a) Vehicles having a manufacturer's rated seating capacity of ten or more persons, including the driver, may not be licensed as taxicabs.
(b) A vehicle must meet applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards for vehicles of its size, type and proposed use, in order to be licensed as a taxicab.
(c) Vehicle age. A licensee may not operate a vehicle as a licensed taxicab beyond the following vehicle age:
(1) Ten years for vehicles that are not designated pursuant to the Department's list of authorized vehicles as wheelchair accessible or fuel efficient.
(2) Fifteen years for vehicles that are designated pursuant to the Department's list of authorized vehicles as fuel efficient.
(3) Fifteen years for vehicles that are designated pursuant to the Department's list of authorized vehicles as wheelchair accessible.
(d) A licensee cannot place a vehicle with an odometer reading of 150,000 miles or greater in operation for the first time as a licensed taxicab.
(e) Any vehicle which has ever been issued the title class of either "salvage," "rebuilt," "junk," "total loss," or any equivalent classification in any jurisdiction is not eligible for operation as a taxicab.
(i) It is the affirmative duty of the licensee to ascertain that the taxicab vehicle is in compliance with this subsection.
(ii) Any vehicle placed in operation by a licensee as a taxicab in violation of this subsection is unsafe for purposes of Section 9-112-050 of this Code.
(iii) Any licensee that places a vehicle in operation as a taxicab in violation of this subsection is subject to immediate license suspension or revocation.
(iv) The Commissioner may by rule require licensees to submit a car history report at the licensee's expense.
(f) The Commissioner may by rule assert additional vehicle specifications that motor vehicles must meet before they can be approved as a taxicab and may by rule in conjunction with the Mayor's Office of People with Disabilities extend the amount of time that a wheelchair accessible vehicle may be in service.
(Added Coun. J. 1-18-12, p. 19118, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 5-28-14, p. 82771, § 4; Amend Coun. J. 12-10-14, p. 101074, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 11-21-17, p. 61755, Art. IX, § 10; Amend Coun. J. 6-25-21, p. 31925, Art. VI, § 6)