(a) License Required. No person shall drive a taxicab, or be hired or permitted to do so, on the streets of the City, and no person who owns or controls a taxicab shall permit it to be so driven, and no taxicab licensed by the City shall be so driven at any time for hire, unless the driver of such taxicab shall have first obtained a valid and current taxi driver's license issued in his or her name from the City.
(b) License Qualifications. Every applicant for a taxi driver's license shall:
(1) Meet each and every qualification provided in Chapter 802;
(2) Be at least eighteen years of age and have issued in his or her name a current and valid driver's license from the officer of the Secretary of State;
(3) Have good eyesight and hearing, be in generally good health and be physically fit to drive a taxicab;
(4) Not be addicted to intoxicating liquors or to narcotics;
(5) Be of good moral character;
(6) Not have been convicted of a violation of any ordinance or regulation of the City or any Federal or State statute, regulation or other form of law, the violation of which reflects unfavorably upon his or her fitness to drive a taxicab;
(7) Be competent to operate a motor vehicle;
(8) Be familiar with the traffic laws and ordinances;
(9) Successfully pass an examination to be administered by the License Officer as to his or her knowledge of the City; and
(10) Submit to and successfully pass a drug test administered by an approved health facility, at the sole expense of the applicant or his or her employer.
(c) Application. Every applicant for a taxi driver’s license shall, in addition to supplying the information required by the terms of this chapter and Chapter 802
, at the time of the filing of the one copy of the application, deliver to the office of the City Clerk one color photograph of the applicant or email to the office of the City Clerk one digital color photograph of the applicant, taken within thirty days of the date of the filing of the application. The photograph shall be no less than two inches by two inches square. The photograph and application shall remain the sole property of the City and shall not be returned to the applicant. The application shall include, in addition to that information required by Chapter 802
, the following information:
(1) The names and addresses of four personal references who are residents of the City, who have each known the applicant for a period of not less than two years and who will vouch for the sobriety, honesty and general good character of the applicant;
(2) The experience of the applicant in the transportation of passengers;
(3) The educational history of the applicant;
(4) A concise history of the applicant's employment history;
(5) Copies of the required lease or leases between the driver and the holder of any and all taxicab licenses; and
(6) Any further information as may be reasonably required by the License Officer.
(d) License Fee. If the application is approved, each applicant shall pay an additional annual fee of twenty dollars ($20.00) prior to the issuance or reissuance of such license. Each taxi driver’s license shall be renewed by July 1 of each year. All applications shall be submitted thirty days prior to renewal in order to allow sufficient time to process each application.
(1977 Code § 9-1803(a) to (d); Ord. 89-67. Passed 11-20-89; Ord. 91-45. Passed 8-19-91; Ord. 98-32. Passed 7-6-98; Ord. 2001-48. Passed 11-5-01; Ord. 2013-35. Passed 8-5-13; Ord. 2016- 11. Passed 2-16-16.)