(a) No driver shall solicit passengers for a taxicab except when sitting in the driver's compartment of such taxicab or while standing immediately adjacent to the curb side thereof. The driver of any taxicab shall remain in the driver's compartment or immediately adjacent to his vehicle at all times when such vehicle is upon the public street, except that when necessary, a driver may be absent from his taxicab for not more than thirty consecutive minutes. However, nothing herein contained shall be held to prohibit any driver from alighting to the street or sidewalk for the purpose of assisting passengers into or out of such vehicle.
(b) No driver shall solicit patronage in a loud or annoying tone of voice or by sign or in any manner annoy any person or obstruct the movement of any persons, or follow any person for the purpose of soliciting patronage.
(c) Drivers of taxicabs shall not receive or discharge passengers in the roadway but shall pull up to the right-hand sidewalk as nearly as possible or in the absence of a sidewalk, to the extreme right-hand side of the road and there receive or discharge passengers, except upon one-way streets, where passengers may be discharged at either the right or left-hand sidewalk, or side of the roadway in the absence of a sidewalk.
(d) No driver shall cruise in search of passengers except in such areas and at such times as shall be designated bg the Mayor or his designee. Such areas and times shall only be designated when the Mayor or his designee finds that taxicab cruising would not congest traffic or be dangerous to pedestrians or other vehicles.
(e) No driver licensed by the City shall permit any other person to occupy or ride in the taxicab, unless the person or persons first employing the taxicab consent to the acceptance of additional passengers. No charge shall be made for an additional passenger except when the additional passenger rides beyond the previous passenger's destination and then only for the additional distance so traveled.
(f) No driver shall permit more persons to be carried in a taxicab as passengers than the rated seating capacity of his taxicab. A child in arms shall not be counted as a passenger.
(g) No driver shall refuse or neglect to convey any orderly person upon request, unless previously engaged or unable or forbidden by the provisions of this chapter to do so.
(h) It shall be a violation of this chapter for any driver of a taxicab to solicit business for any lodging or business establishment or to attempt to divert patronage from one such lodging or business establishment to another. Neither shall any driver engage in selling intoxicating liquors or solicit business for any house of ill repute or use his vehicle for any purpose other than the transportation of passengers.
(Ord. 70-1964. Passed 5-19-64; Ord. 61-1985. Passed 5-28-85.)