A. The taxicab permit shall be in the form of a vehicle sticker. Every taxicab shall have a sticker affixed to the upper left section of the vehicle's rear window, indicating that the taxicab permit application therefore has been approved by the city and all fees required by resolution of the city council in relation thereto have been paid in full. No taxicab permit vehicle sticker shall be issued each renewal period unless annual renewal fees have been paid in full, written proof of passing an annual vehicle inspection conducted within thirty (30) previous days by a certified mechanic has been presented, the taximeter has a valid seal, and proof of valid insurance is presented.
B. Registration of Vehicles. Each permitted taxicab shall have a valid and current registration issued to the taxicab permit holder by the department of motor vehicles of the state of California. A copy of such registration shall be kept in each taxicab and available for inspection by any law enforcement officer or code enforcement officer.
C. Identification—Color Scheme. Each permitted taxicab shall be uniformly painted in accordance with a color scheme described in the taxicab business application and approved by the chief of police, or his or her designee, which approval may not be withheld except for consideration of safety or duplication of another permittee's color scheme. On each taxicab there may be painted a monogram or insignia for identification purposes that has also been approved in writing by the chief of police, or his or her designee.
D. Name, Lettering and Designs.
1. The name or fictitious business name of the taxicab business permit holder of the taxicab shall be printed on the outside of each front or rear side door of every taxicab operated in the city.
2. The number of each taxicab, as designated by the taxicab business, shall be painted on each side and on the rear of such vehicle in conspicuous locations approved by the chief of police, or his or her designee. A separate number shall be used for each vehicle. All required numbering and lettering shall be assigned by the chief of police, or his or her designee, and posted on the taxicab vehicle, not less than three and one-half inches in height and not less than one-half inch in width.
3. All lettering and designs on each taxicab shall be clean and legible and shall be of a substance that will weather the elements. The lettering and identifying design on all vehicles operating within the city and owned and/or operated by the same taxicab business permittee shall be of the same wording, color scheme, size and be located at the same places on each vehicle, as has been approved by the Chief of Police, or his or her designee, for the parent business.
4. Taxicabs shall not be utilized for advertising purposes. No advertising device, such as a display sign, shall be placed on or in a taxicab operated pursuant to this chapter. Advertising, for the taxicab business only, may be painted on the taxicab itself, provided that the identifying numbers and designs required by this chapter shall not be obscured thereby.
E. Taxicab Signs.
1. The following information shall be posted in taxicabs. In every taxicab there shall be a sign of heavy material, not smaller than six inches by four inches (or such other specified by the chief of police, or his or her designee), securely attached and clearly displayed in view of the passenger at all times, providing in letters as large as the size of the sign will reasonably allow, all of the following information:
a. Name of the owner, or the fictitious business name under which the owner operates;
b. The business address and telephone number of the business;
c. The identifying number of such vehicle;
d. The approved rates of fare to be charged for the hire of such vehicle;
e. The name, address, telephone number of the city business licensing office, and police department dispatch number;
f. At the request of any person, the driver of a taxicab shall give the number of his or her vehicle.
2. In the event more than one local regulatory agency has jurisdiction over the operation of the taxicab, the required notice shall provide the name, address and telephone number of the agency having jurisdiction in the area where the taxicab operator conducts its greatest volume of business; or, if this cannot readily be ascertained, the name, address and telephone number of the agency having jurisdiction in the area where the taxicab operator maintains its offices or primary place of business, provided that the operator conducts a substantial volume of business in such area; or, if neither of the foregoing provisions apply, any agency having jurisdiction of an area where the taxicab operator conducts a substantial volume of business.
3. All names, trademarks and other identifying marks and designs for companies no longer in business, no longer operating with the same name, or no longer operating under the same operating authority shall be removed from all affected taxicabs or covered over within sixty (60) days from the change of company ownership or operation.
F. Fasten Seatbelt Sign. In every taxicab, there shall be a sign no smaller than five inches by seven inches, stating that all occupants of the taxicab, including the driver, must wear his or her seatbelt at all times while the vehicle is in motion.
G. Vehicle Requirements.
1. Following the issuance of a taxicab permit, the holder thereof shall cause each vehicle to which the permit applies to be inspected by a licensed mechanic, pursuant to this chapter as often as necessary, but in no case less than once annually. Each taxicab vehicle must comply, at all times, with the California Vehicle Code.
2. All licensed taxicabs shall at all times be maintained by the taxicab business permit holder, in an acceptable appearance and state of repair, in clean and sanitary condition, and in safe operating condition.
3. The taxicab business permit holder must keep and maintain a maintenance log on every taxicab. The maintenance log must include the following information:
a. A record of brake inspection, the name and address of the garage that performed the inspection, the date of the inspection; and
b. Any other inspection or maintenance performed on the taxicab vehicle.
The garage mechanic must sign and date the maintenance log after each appointment. The maintenance log must be kept at the taxicab business principal office and be available for review by the police department/code enforcement department for at least three years after the date of the last entry in the log book or other form of log. A taxicab permit for the inspected vehicle may be revoked or suspended if the holder fails to comply with the provisions of this section after being given ten days written notice to so comply.
H. Necessary Equipment. Taxicabs shall have the following equipment in addition to such equipment as may be required by the California Vehicle Code or by reasonable safety considerations:
1. A properly inflated spare tire; unless towing and road service is maintained.
2. A set of tools for changing tires; unless towing and road service is maintained.
3. Three operable safety flares.
4. A fully operable fire extinguisher.
5. A taximeter.
6. A radio transmitter and receiver capable of two-way communication with a dispatcher.
I. Whenever a vehicle licensed as a taxicab pursuant to the provisions of this chapter is replaced with another vehicle, all requirements of this chapter must be first met, and a fee as established by city council resolution shall be paid by the owner of the vehicle to the business licensing officer. The previously issued vehicle permit sticker shall be removed at the time the replacement sticker is applied to the new vehicle.
(Ord. 344 § 11, 2005)