The council finds that the public health, safety, and welfare require safe vehicles, trustworthy drivers, and insurance on vehicles involved in commercial transportation. The public is justifiably concerned about, and requires protection from, pricing that is arbitrary, unfair, or imposed under inequality of bargaining power or duress. The council further finds that opportunities for passenger transport within the city are increasing, and hereby declares that commercial ventures attempting to enter this market should not be restrained or overregulated except to afford basic protections to the public and ensure a level playing field with respect to government regulation.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms, phrases, words, and derivations shall have the meanings given herein. When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present tense include the future, words in the plural number include the singular number, and words in the singular number include the plural number. The word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory.
The following terms as used in this chapter mean:
APPLICANT: A person making an application for a license or the renewal thereof under this chapter.
BUS: A motor vehicle used for the purpose of transporting people with a minimum capacity of sixteen (16) passengers which is hired to provide services for a passenger or group of passengers traveling from one location to another for a common purpose or which provides regular route service from one location to another and which is subject to the federal motor carrier safety regulations under the jurisdiction of the Idaho state police and Idaho transportation department.
COMMERCIAL TRANSPORTATION SERVICES BUSINESS DRIVER'S LICENSE: A license to drive, operate, or have charge of a commercial transportation vehicle pursuant to and in conjunction with a valid commercial transportation service business license.
COMMERCIAL TRANSPORTATION SERVICES BUSINESS LICENSE: A license to engage in a business operating one or more commercial transportation vehicles for the purpose of a limousine service, shuttle service, touring vehicle service, or any other service for the purpose of transporting passengers between specified points on either a regular route or at the direction of the passenger at fares agreed upon by the passenger and business. Such a service does not include taxicabs, which are regulated separately under this chapter. Such service does not include buses or courtesy vehicle services as defined herein. Such service does not include horsedrawn vehicles, which are regulated separately.
COMMERCIAL TRANSPORTATION VEHICLE: Any vehicle, powered by gasoline engine, electric motor, human powered, or by any other means, used to transport passengers for hire or any other consideration. This definition includes vehicles used by a limousine service, touring vehicle service, shuttle service, pedicab, rickshaw, and any other vehicle other than taxicabs, buses, and those operated by a courtesy vehicle service which transports passengers. This definition does not include the use of taxicabs operated pursuant to this chapter, courtesy vehicles, service vehicles, or vehicles operated as part of a governmentally sponsored program. A commercial transportation vehicle shall only be operated by a driver possessing a commercial transportation service driver's license pursuant to a commercial transportation service business license.
COURTESY VEHICLES SERVICE: Any service operating one or more commercial transportation vehicles on behalf of a business such as a hotel, convention center, or other business entity for the purpose of transporting passengers who are patronizing that business, to or from the business. Such vehicles are not for hire by the general public at any time and shall be clearly marked with the business' name or logo, owned by, leased by, or contracted for by the business, and exclusively dedicated to serve the business and patrons of the business, at no charge to the patron. Courtesy vehicles may not provide transportation to any passenger for a charge. Tips or gratuities may be offered to the driver at the conclusion of the service, at the sole discretion of the passenger, but may not be solicited or negotiated by the driver at any time.
DRIVER: Any person who drives or who is in actual physical control of any taxicab or commercial transportation vehicle. "Actual physical control" as used in this chapter shall be defined as being in the driver's position of the taxicab or commercial transportation vehicle with the motor running or with the vehicle moving, if no motor exists in the vehicle.
FARE: Money or other value given in exchange for transporting a person or passenger pursuant to a taxi or commercial transportation business license, based upon agreement between the passenger and business.
LICENSING OFFICE: The city clerk or his/her designee.
LIMOUSINE SERVICE: Any business operating one or more commercial transportation vehicles for hire by prearranged appointment only at hourly, daily, or weekly rates as agreed upon between the passenger and business, which is conducted or maintained for the purpose of providing luxury transportation with services carrying passengers for hire, and which transports passengers between points and over such routes as may be directed by a passenger, and not a fixed route. Such vehicles include, but are not limited to, limousines, luxury town cars, "party buses", and stretch sport utility vehicles.
PERSONS: Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company, or any organization of any kind.
PREARRANGED APPOINTMENT: Transportation for a passenger, or group of passengers, that is arranged in advance, or pursuant to a regular route between specified points, and is provided in a commercial transportation vehicle.
SCHEDULE OF FLAT RATE FARES: A posting inside of a taxicab clearly indicating the amount to be charged one-way, per passenger, from the point of origin to the destination. A taximeter is the alternative to a schedule of flat rate fares.
SHUTTLE SERVICES: Any business operating one or more commercial transportation vehicles for hire by prearranged appointment and not on a regular route and charged on a per passenger basis, which may make multiple stops, picking up one or more fare paying passengers on the way to one or more destinations.
TAXICAB: Any motor vehicle regularly used for the purpose of transporting persons for hire, which receives or discharges passengers within the city limits, or advertises for such use, whether or not such vehicle or vehicles are engaged in carrying passengers entirely within the city limits; providing that "taxicab" as defined in this section does not include a school bus or other motor vehicle used exclusively for the transportation of children to and from school, nor a motor bus operated by a public transit system, nor a motor bus with a seating capacity of over seven (7) passengers operated on a regular schedule over regularly designated streets, nor courtesy cars provided free of charge to the hotel/motel guests for transport to and from the airport, nor vehicles operating for the purpose of carrying United States mail or other United States property.
TAXIMETER: An instrument attached to a taxicab by means of which the charge authorized for hire of such vehicle is mechanically calculated in dollars and cents either on a basis of distance traveled or for waiting time, or a combination thereof. A schedule of flat rate fares is the alternative to a taximeter.
TOURING VEHICLE SERVICES: Any business operating one or more commercial transportation vehicles, other than one rented without a driver, or a taxicab, bus, or limousine, or incident to a governmentally sponsored program, used for the transportation of more than four (4) passengers for hire for sightseeing, educational tours or other such similar excursions; the charges for which are determined by the length of time for which the vehicle is engaged, the distance traveled, a fixed fee, or any combination of such methods of determining such charges. (Ord. 938, 12-17-2015)