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Within ten (10) calendar days after receipt of the decision of the chief of police, or his or her designee, the applicant may file with the city clerk a written request for a hearing before the city council. Fees for appeal shall be established by resolution of the city council. Upon the filing of such a request and payment of fees, the city clerk shall set the matter for a hearing and shall notify the appellant of the date, time and place of such hearing at least five days before the hearing date. At the hearing, any person may present evidence in opposition to, or in support of, the appellant's case. At the conclusion of the hearing, the city council shall either grant or deny the appeal, and the decision of the city council shall be final.
(Ord. 344 § 9, 2005)
The taxicab permit holder shall maintain a legible, written record of all service maintenance and repairs performed on the vehicle, the dates the work was done, the mechanic doing the work, and the location of the facility where the work was done. Such records shall be retained by the taxicab permit holder and shall be made available for inspection by the police department for a period of at least three years.
(Ord. 344 § 10, 2005)
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)
A. Testing and Sealing of Taximeter. Prior to placing any taxi vehicle into service, it shall be the duty of every taxicab business permit holder to present its licensed taxicabs at a designated reasonable place and at such reasonable time as may be specified by the weights and measures division of the county of Riverside or by other appropriate regulatory authority for the purpose of testing, checking and sealing taximeters. Failure to produce a taxicab for such purpose will be sufficient grounds for the city to deny a sticker and/or to require that the vehicle be taken out of service until the taximeter has been checked, tested and sealed by such regulatory authority in accordance with the provisions of law. The cost of all such tests, checks and seals shall be borne by the holder of the permit. Proof of completion of this requirement shall be presented to the chief of police, or his or her designee, prior to any issuance or renewal of a taxicab permit.
B. Rates—To be Filed. Every holder of a taxicab business permit shall file with the city clerk a true and correct statement of the rates proposed to be charged for the transportation of passengers in all taxicabs operated by the holder pursuant to this chapter. The company shall submit, not less than sixty (60) days in advance of changing rates, a formal request to the city council for approval of the proposed rates. At the discretion of the city council, a public hearing may be set to consider the proposed rates. The city council may require justification for the proposed rates. If the council does not hold a public hearing within sixty (60) days after the submittal, the proposed rates will be deemed to have been approved.
C. Taximeter—Operation.
1. No holder of a taxicab business permit or of a taxicab permit or of a drivers permit shall operate,
drive, cause or permit to be driven or operated, any taxicab in the city unless and until the taximeter for such taxicab shall have been approved by the appropriate regulatory authority, and it shall be the duty of such permit holder to keep the taximeter operating at all times within such standards of accuracy as may be prescribed from time to time by the appropriate regulatory authority and consistent with the approved rates on file with the city.
2. No passenger shall be carried in any taxicab unless the taximeter shall be in operation. This provision shall apply regardless of whether a taxicab is engaged for a trip entirely within the boundaries of the city or partially outside thereof, and the taximeter shall be kept operating continuously during the entire time that it is engaged in the transportation of passengers, regardless of the point of destination.
3. Within one month prior to submitting an application for issuance or renewal of a taxicab permit, the taximeter of such taxicab must be tested and sealed by the appropriate regulatory authority.
4. A taximeter shall be placed in each taxicab so that the reading dial showing the amount to be charged will be well lighted and readily discernible to a passenger riding in the taxicab.
5. Every taximeter used in the operation of taxicabs shall be subject to inspection at any time by a duly authorized representative of the city, or by other appropriate authority, including a police officer. Upon the discovery of any material inaccuracy of a taximeter or inconsistent with approved rates, the operator thereof shall remove, or cause to be removed from service, the vehicle equipped with the inaccurate or inconsistent taximeter until such taximeter shall have been replaced or repaired, and tested and resealed.
D. Flag Drop Charges. The driver of any taxicab, while carrying passengers, must immediately activate the meter once the vehicle is in motion and is actively transporting passengers, and must be deactivated by the driver once the passengers have reached the desired destination, or the passenger verbally communicates the cancellation of the service, and/or at the termination of the service.
E. Charges to be Registered. All charges for taxicab service shall be calculated and indicated by taximeter, and at all times while the taxicab is engaged, the taximeter shall be activated to register the charges.
No taximeter shall be so operated as to cause any charge to be registered thereon except during the time when the taxicab is engaged by a passenger or passengers.
F. Receipt for Charges. No driver of any taxicab, upon receiving full payment for a fare as indicated by the taximeter, shall refuse to give a receipt when requested. The receipt shall show the name of the taxi company, name of the driver, date of service, and taxicab number, total amount of fare, origin of fare and destination.
G. Charges Must be Indicated. Charges for transportation of passengers in a taxicab operated in the city shall not exceed the amount shown on the taximeter installed in the taxicab and is verified by the county of Riverside Weights and Measures. It is unlawful for any owner or driver of any taxicab to charge any passenger or passengers any sum in excess of the sum indicated on the taximeter.
(Ord. 344 § 12, 2005)
A. Rates to be Displayed in Vehicle. Every taxicab shall have conspicuously displayed in full view for the passenger or passengers a sign not less than six inches by four inches in size, which shall have printed thereon the following information:
1. Name of the owner or the fictitious business name under which the owner operates;
2. The business address and telephone number of the business;
3. The identifying number of such vehicle;
4. The approved rates of fare to be charged for the hire of such vehicle;
5. The name, address, telephone number of the city business licensing office and police department dispatch number;
6. At the request of any person, the driver of a taxicab shall give the number of his or her vehicle.
B. Deduction for Time While Disabled. In the event any taxicab shall, while under hire, become disabled or break down without fault of the passenger, the time stopped for such cause shall be deducted from the charge made.
(Ord. 344 § 13, 2005)
Before any permit is issued or renewed by the business licensing officer, or any permit is issued by the chief of police, the applicant shall deliver to the chief of police, or his or her designee, a policy of automobile liability insurance executed by a company duly authorized under the laws of this state to sell commercial automobile liability, and be an admitted carrier member of the California Insurance Guarantee Fund, or maintain an AM Best rating of “A” or better for non-admitted carriers (with proof of licensing or rating to be provided by applicant), which insurance business, through the provisions of the policy, promises and undertakes to pay in full all legal liability incurred by the insured for damages to persons or property resulting from the operation of the taxicabs referred to in the application or subsequently replaced; and, that the insurance policy complies with the minimum total coverage of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) per vehicle, per accident, for any liability for any injuries, death, or destruction of property, with an amount specified of no less than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) for individual bodily injury to any person and fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) for any property damage.
(Ord. 344 § 14, 2005)
The taxicab business permit holder or taxicab permit holder shall maintain for a period of three years and disclose to any duly authorized representative of the city, or other appropriate authority, including a police officer or code enforcement officer upon request, the following records:
A. Driver's trip records;
B. Receipts and disbursements from vehicle-for- hire operations;
C. Payments to drivers;
D. Mileage record of each vehicle;
E. Workers' compensation coverage, if required;
F. Liability insurance coverage;
G. All financial statements;
H. Copies of all citations issued by a California law enforcement officer or copies of the department of motor vehicles printout;
I. Federal and state tax returns, and such other information as the city may require.
(Ord. 344 § 15, 2005)
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