347.08 REGULATIONS GOVERNING CARRIAGES AND CARRIAGE BUSINESSES.

   (a)   No carriage may operate in or upon the public rights-of-way of the City without displaying its carriage license and its carriage business license, unless exempt under division (c) of Section 347.02 from the license requirements.

   (b)   No carriage operator may operate a carriage without having the carriage operator's license issued pursuant to division (d) of Section 347.07 upon his or her person, unless exempt under division (c) of Section 347.02 from the license requirements. When passengers are being picked up or discharged by a horse-drawn carriage, a carriage operator's assistant shall assist the carriage operator so that the carriage operator may devote his or her attention entirely to operating the carriage and keeping the horse and carriage under secure control.

   (c)   Every carriage business shall provide each of its carriages with rate cards which set forth the rates and charges filed with the Finance Department pursuant to division (a)(3) of Section 347.03 unless exempt under division (c) of Section 347.02 from the license requirements. Rate cards shall be prominently displayed within each carriage, and each carriage operator shall acquaint all prospective passengers with current rates and charges prior to taking on said passengers. Rates shall not be changed without ten (10) days prior written notice to the Finance Department.

   (d)   No carriage operator or carriage operator's assistant shall solicit passengers in a loud voice or in such a manner as to annoy or obstruct the movement of any person; nor shall any carriage operator pursue any person for purposes of soliciting patronage.

   (e)   No carriage operator or carriage operator's assistant shall smoke while operating a carriage that is carrying passengers.

   (f)   No carriage operator shall permit the occupancy of the carriage which he or she is operating to exceed the rated seating capacity of that carriage.

   (g)   Each carriage operator shall ensure that all of his or her passengers are seated inside the carriage when the carriage is in motion.

   (h)   Carriages shall be operated as near to the right side of the roadway as practicable, shall obey all traffic laws, rules and regulations applicable to motor vehicles, and shall exercise due care when passing a standing vehicle or a vehicle which is proceeding in the same direction.

   (i)   Horse-drawn carriages shall pick up and discharge passengers only while legally parked at the curb in zones established by the Director of Public Safety after consultation with the Engineering Department. All other carriages may pick up and discharge passengers anywhere along their approved routes, provided that they are legally parked at the curb when doing so.

   (j)   All horse-drawn carriage business owners and horse-drawn carriage operators shall maintain their horses in accordance with the following standards of animal husbandry:

      (1)   No person shall operate a horse-drawn carriage when the temperature, as reported by the National Weather Service exceeds eighty-five degrees Fahrenheit (85°F).

      (2)   No person shall work any one (1) horse more than six (6) hours per day.

      (3)   Every horse-drawn carriage owner shall properly fit or cause to be fitted each of his or her horses with rubber shoes.

      (4)   Every horse-drawn carriage business owner and every horse-drawn carriage operator shall ensure that his or her horses are properly watered and given a ten (10) minute rest period for every hour of use, are in good health and at a proper body weight, are not more than fifteen (15) years old, and are properly fitted with harness and tack.

      (5)   Every horse-drawn carriage business owner shall ensure that emergency veterinary treatment is available for his or her horse.

   (k)   Every six (6) months, commencing with the date of the application submitted pursuant to division (b) of Section 347.03, a carriage license holder shall submit to the Chief of Police, or his or her designee, a medical certificate for each horse used by the carriage license holder in the operation of horse-drawn carriages. The medical certificate shall be signed b
y a registered veterinarian and shall indicate that the horse is medically fit, in good health both physically and by temperament, sufficient to pull a horse-drawn carriage, and has received all those inoculations which are determined to be usual and customary according to generally-accepted principles of animal husbandry.

   (l)   Every horse-drawn carriage operator shall ensure that, whenever his or her horses are upon the public rights-of-way, each of them is fitted with a device which prevents the horse's feces from dropping to the ground.

(Ord. 2017-8-92. Passed 8-23-17.)