(a) A current horse drawn cab license plate shall be permanently and conspicuously affixed to the side of each vehicle and shall be sealed thereon by the Commissioner or his designee.
(b) (1) A schedule of permitted rates shall be conspicuously displayed at all times upon two signs, which shall be permanently affixed to the vehicle. These signs shall be at least six (6) inches by eight (8) inches and shall be attached to or painted on each exterior side of the vehicle. Signs must read as follows:
"MAXIMUM RATE
$50 first 20 minutes or fraction thereof;
$20.00 each additional 10 minutes.
Rates per trip – not per person.
Licensed by New York City Department of Consumer Affairs
(Insert the Department's current address and CALL 311)"
(2) The words "MAXIMUM RATE" and the dollar amounts must be written with characters at least 3/4 inch in height. The words "CALL 311" shall be written in letters at least 1/2 inch in height. All other characters must be a minimum of 1/4 inch in height. Signs shall be obtained by the licensee. The design of the signs must be submitted for approval to the Department of Consumer Affairs prior to attachment to or painting on the vehicle. The signs shall not be defaced or obscured in any manner, including complete or partial concealment by a horse blanket or otherwise. No direct or indirect charge of any kind shall be made to a passenger for any reason other than the charges permitted by law.
(3) The maximum rate authorized to be charged shall be adjusted April 30 every third year following April 2010 to reflect the change in the seasonally adjusted consumer price index published by the U.S. Department of Labor for all urban consumers for December of the year that the maximum rate is to be adjusted. The Department shall publish the adjusted rate on its web site within 15 days thereafter.
(c) A card frame shall be permanently and conspicuously affixed to the vehicle at the forward part of the passenger compartment facing the passenger's seat. Such card frame shall contain, at all times, the current horse drawn cab driver's license and Departmental inspection card.
(d) Each horse drawn cab, its harness and traces shall be clean, in good working condition, and shall be inspected at least once daily by the licensee.
(e) Each vehicle shall be available for inspection by the Department of Consumer Affairs as required by § 20-378 of the Administrative Code.
(f) Each licensee shall make repairs and alterations to the horse drawn cab as may be required by the Department of Consumer Affairs or as is necessary to maintain proper standards of comfort and safety.
(g) Each carriage horse shall be plainly and conspicuously marked by a different number, 3/4 of an inch high, permanently branded onto its left front hoof.
(h) All carriage horses shall be treated in a humane manner. An owner shall be responsible for the humane care and treatment of his carriage horses when they are under his direct supervision and control. At all other times, the owner is required to take all necessary and reasonable steps to ensure the humane care and treatment of his horses while under the direct supervision and control of a licensed driver.
(i) Each owner shall maintain complete, accurate and permanent, consecutive daily records in a bound volume, which volume shall be kept at the owner's premises. Such records shall be available at all times for inspection at the Department by the Commissioner or his designee, and shall contain the following information:
(1) Receipts from drivers;
(2) Payments to drivers;
(3) Corporation tax;
(4) Disbursements and receipts;
(5) A record of accidents incurred and public liability claims paid;
(6) Any additional information that the Department of Consumer Affairs may require by written notification to the owner relating to his horse drawn cab.
(j) Each owner shall maintain a record, in type or ink, of the identification number branded on each horse together with a description of the horse. Such record shall be available at all times for inspection at the Department by the Commissioner or his designee.
(k) Each owner shall maintain for inspection at the Department, a consecutive daily record, in a bound volume, in type or in ink, of the movements of each horse drawn cab and horse, as follows:
(1) Driver's name;
(2) Driver's identification;
(3) Horse's identification number;
(4) Vehicle license plate number;
(5) Exact time of leaving the stable;
(6) Exact time of return to the stable.
(l) No owner shall permit any one horse to be in harness more than 10 hours in any continuous 24 hour period. If more than one driver is assigned to the same horse in any continuous 24 hour period, the records shall indicate the time each driver and horse left and returned to the stable.
(m) Each applicant for a horse drawn cab driver's license must meet the following requirements:
(1) Be at least 18 years of age;
(2) Have good eyesight, be in good physical condition and not be subject to any infirmity of body or mind which might render him unfit for the safe operation of the vehicle; (3) Be able to sufficiently speak and write the English language to carry out the duties required of a licensed horse drawn cab driver;
(4) Be clean in dress and not addicted to the use of drugs or intoxicating liquors;
(5) Be a person of good character.
(n) Each applicant for a horse drawn cab driver's license shall be required to satisfactorily establish that he knows:
(1) The applicable Department of Consumer Affairs regulations:
(2) The applicable traffic regulations;
(3) The geography of Central Park and its ingress and egress routes;
(4) And has mastered the proper care, handling and driving of carriage horses.
(o) Each applicant for a horse drawn cab driver's license must apprentice himself to a fully-qualified, licensed horse drawn cab driver for five days. Such apprenticeship requires the applicant to:
(1) Learn the proper method of fitting a harness to a horse and hitching and unhitching a properly harnessed horse to a carriage;
(2) Ride with a licensed driver for the first three days to observe proper handling and driving of a horse drawn cab; and
(3) Drive the horse drawn cab under the licensed driver's supervision for the last two days of the apprenticeship. Upon completion of such apprenticeship, each applicant shall file with the Department a sworn statement from the licensed horse drawn cab driver that the applicant has satisfactorily completed his apprenticeship.
(p) Each horse drawn cab driver shall:
(1) Keep the interior of the vehicle clean;
(2) Inspect the vehicle and its equipment at least once daily to determine that it is mechanically fit and in good working order;
(3) Report all accidents as required by the Vehicle and Traffic Law and report each accident to the owner;
(4) Conspicuously post his current license in the card frame attached to the vehicle;
(5) Upon request of any passenger, after payment of fare, deliver a written receipt indicating the amount of fare paid. This receipt shall become the property of the passenger and shall not be collected or taken from him;
(6) Thoroughly search the interior of the vehicle after termination of each trip for any article left or lost in the vehicle. Any such property shall be immediately taken to the stationhouse in the police precinct where the passenger or passengers were discharged;
(7) At all times be responsible for the proper and humane care and treatment of the horse under his direct supervision and control.
(q) No horse drawn cab driver shall:
(1) Solicit or recommend patronage for restaurants, nightclubs, cabarets, dance halls, hotels, or similar places, nor solicit for or recommend any place maintained in violation of law;
(2) Sell or offer for sale articles or merchandise or literature to the passengers in his vehicle;
(3) Operate the vehicle for more than 12 hours within any 20 hour period.
(4) After leaving the starting point, receive additional passengers between such starting point and the ultimate destination, or operate on any route other than the prescribed route, when such a route is designated;
(5) Abandon his vehicle, permit another to drive it for him, except an apprentice, or permit any passenger to ride on the driver's seat;
(6) Operate the vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquors or drugs;
(7) Carry more than four passengers in the vehicle at any one time.
(r) Each horse drawn cab driver shall maintain a daily log listing the time each fare commenced, the route travelled, the number of passengers, the time each fare ended and the amount charged. At the end of each day, the log shall be given to the owner to be retained and made available at all times for inspection at the Department by the Commissioner or his designee.
(s) Each horse drawn cab that is driven upon a public highway, path or street from one half hour after sunset to one half hour before sunrise and at such other times as visibility for a distance of three hundred fifty feet ahead of such vehicle is not clear, shall display:
(1) at least two lighted lamps on the front of the vehicle, one on each side, having light sources of equal power and visible from the front for a distance of at least three hundred fifty feet;
(2) at least one lighted lamp on the rear, located between the center and the left side of the vehicle, which shall display a red or amber fixed or flashing light visible from the rear for a distance of at least five hundred feet, and at least one lighted lamp affixed on the rear axle near where the horse drawn cab license is affixed; and
(3) reflective material upon the shafts of the vehicle or other parts thereof which shall normally parallel the body, head or legs of the horse pulling such vehicle.