(a) An application for a permit to operate one or more PTVs shall be submitted in accordance with Section 1203 of this Article 1200.
(b) Communication Requirements for Permittees Operating PTVs.
(1) Permittees shall establish a designated point of contact who is available during hours of operation and provide the SFMTA with her or his contact information. The designated point of contact shall respond to communications from SFMTA personnel within two business days;
(2) Permittees shall have in place an easily accessible mechanism for receiving and addressing customer complaints;
(3) Permittees shall make their fare structure and methods of fare payment publicly available on their website; and
(4) Permittee shall provide prompt notice to SFMTA of any labor dispute in which it is involved that has the potential to cause a disruption of service.
(c) Licensing and Insurance Requirements for Permittees Operating PTVs.
(1) Permittees shall comply with State law requirements governing registration with, and inspections by, the California Highway Patrol;
(2) Each Permittee shall provide and thereafter continue in effect, so long as it may engage in conducting PTV operations, adequate protection against liability imposed by law upon such carriers for the payment of damages for personal bodily injuries (including death resulting therefrom) and for damage to or destruction of property, other than property being transported by such carrier for any shipper or consignee, whether the property of one or more than one claimant, in amounts not less than the amounts set forth in the following schedule:
(A) Any vehicle with a seating capacity of 16 passengers or more: $5,000,000;
(B) Any vehicle with a seating capacity of eight passengers through 15 passengers, inclusive: $1,500,000; and
(C) Any vehicle with a seating capacity of seven passengers or less: $1,000,000; and
(3) Each Permittee shall possess a current San Francisco Business Registration Certificate.
(d) Vehicle Requirements for PTVs.
(1) Each vehicle operated by a Permittee as a PTV shall display a permit authorization sticker and/or identifying markings in accordance with standards issued by the SFMTA;
(2) SFMTA will evaluate the vehicles listed on a Permittee’s application, and may issue permit authorization stickers and/or identifying markings upon determining that the following requirements are met:
(A) Each PTV must have a current California registration and bear valid license plates unless such plates have yet to be received for the vehicle;
(B) Each PTV shall be no more than eight Model Years old or be equipped with a power source that complies with emissions standards applicable to the same class of vehicle eight Model Years prior to the current Model Year at the time of permit issuance;
(C) No vehicle permitted as a PTV shall be more than 25 feet in length, excluding space taken by bicycle racks or other auxiliary attachments, provided that the total vehicle length including bicycle racks or other auxiliary attachments does not exceed 30 feet;
(D) Each vehicle shall be able to transmit GPS location data in accordance with subsection (h) of this Section 1207; and
(E) No vehicle shall be approved for PTV service unless all outstanding past-due SFMTA traffic citations (excluding those under protest) associated with such vehicle, including citations for violation of this Article 1200, have been paid in full;
(3) Permittees shall notify the SFMTA at least 15 days prior to introducing a new vehicle into PTV service. The SFMTA will evaluate such vehicles and may issue permit authorization stickers and/or identifying markings for such vehicles after considering the factors listed in subsection (d)(2); and
(4) Permittees shall notify the SFMTA prior to operating autonomous vehicles in PTV service. Such vehicles shall comply with any regulations issued by the Director consistent with State law.
(e) Requirements for PTV Drivers.
(1) Permittees shall ensure that all drivers operating vehicles being used in PTV service possess a valid California driver’s license of the class required under State law to operate such vehicles;
(2) Permittees shall certify that all PTV drivers have viewed the SFMTA Large Vehicle Urban Driving Safety Video and have completed any other safety training required by the SFMTA at the time of permit issuance, with the following qualifications:
(A) Permittees shall ensure that all PTV drivers hired after permit issuance view the SFMTA Large Vehicle Urban Driving Safety Video and complete any other safety training required by the SFMTA at the time of permit issuance, within 30 days of being hired; and
(B) Under no circumstances shall the training requirements under subsections (e)(2) and (e)(2)(A) exceed eight hours of training per year;
(3) Permittees shall comply with all applicable state and federal labor standards, including but not limited to those relating to shift lengths and workers’ compensation;
(4) Permittees shall comply with all applicable laws and regulations governing driver background checks and drug and alcohol testing; and
(5) Permittees shall be responsible for ensuring that PTV drivers comply with all applicable state and local laws, including the conditions imposed by this Article, whether such drivers are direct employees of the Permittee or independent contractors.
(f) Routes.
(1) PTV routes shall not operate in a manner that the Director of Transportation determines substantially duplicates SFMTA public transit service. The Director of Transportation shall develop criteria for making this determination in accordance with the following procedure:
(A) The criteria shall be set forth in writing by the Director of Transportation, and the SFMTA Board of Directors shall have the opportunity to review the initial criteria at a duly noticed public hearing prior to the Director’s adoption of the criteria;
(B) Following initial adoption, the Director of Transportation may amend the criteria only after providing at least 30 days’ notice by U.S. Mail and email to Permittees and to the public on the SFMTA website of the proposed amendments and the opportunity for a hearing on those amendments before the Director, after which hearing the Director shall have discretion to adopt the amendments as proposed or as reasonably modified in light of the scope of the proposed amendments; and
(C) The Director of Transportation is authorized to promulgate procedures for conducting public hearings on proposed amendments to the criteria established under this Subsection (f)(1).
(2) PTVs shall comply with the restrictions in Section 501 of the Transportation Code except in case of emergency or when directed to do so by authorized personnel, including police or other law enforcement officers or SFMTA parking control officers.
(3) Notwithstanding Subsection (f)(1) of this Section 1207 or the street restrictions set forth in Section 503 of the Transportation Code, where an Applicant seeks to continue operating a route or routes already being operated by the Applicant as of August 1, 2017, and provides documentation of the operation of the route(s) as of that date, the Applicant shall be permitted to continue operating such route or routes.
(4) PTVs shall not travel in lanes designated as “Muni Only” or “Transit Only” by an Official Traffic Control Device.
(5) Permittees shall notify the SFMTA of any changes to the Permittee’s service plan provided as part of the application, not less than five business days prior to implementing such changes.
(g) PTV Stops.
(1) Except in cases of emergency or when directed to do so by authorized personnel, including police or other law enforcement officers or SFMTA parking control officers, PTVs shall not stop in any location where stopping is prohibited, including but not limited to bus zones, crosswalks, unauthorized driveways, red zones, or bike lanes;
(2) Except in cases of emergency or when directed to do so by authorized personnel, including police or other law enforcement officers or SFMTA parking control officers, PTVs shall pick up or discharge passengers only in authorized locations. These locations include but are not limited to white passenger loading zones of sufficient length and availability to accommodate PTV service, and other locations where stopping to pick up or discharge passengers is not prohibited;
(3) PTVs shall only stop in authorized loading zones while actively loading and unloading passengers; and
(4) Permittees shall notify the SFMTA of any changes to the list of stops provided as part of Permittee’s service plan at least five business days prior to implementing such changes.
(h) Data Requirements for PTVs.
(1) Permittees shall provide aggregate GPS data to the SFMTA in accordance with API specifications issued by the SFMTA and in effect at the time of permit issuance;
(2) Permittees shall provide other data, including but not limited to schedule, ridership, and routing data, to the SFMTA within five business days of any data request from SFMTA where such data is reasonably available and accessible; and
(3) Notwithstanding subsection (h)(2), Permittees shall not be required to provide SFMTA with data identifying individual riders or drivers or other data that would enable the SFMTA or a third party to ascertain information pertaining to individual riders or drivers, including but not limited to personal identifying information, or individualized information concerning trips, locations, routes, or usage.
(i) Accessibility and Equity for PTVs.
(1) Permittees shall provide equal access to persons with disabilities. When considering whether a Permittee’s service provides equal access, the SFMTA shall consider whether the service provided to persons with disabilities is comparable to the service provided to the general public in the following areas:
(A) Response time;
(B) Travel time;
(C) Fare;
(D) Origins and destinations served;
(E) On-time performance;
(F) Vehicle accessibility; and
(G) Such other factors as established by the Director relating to the provision of equal access to persons with disabilities;
(2) Permittees must comply with the requirements imposed on federal departments and agencies by Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794d) regarding the accessibility of Information and Communications Technology, including any smartphone applications and websites; and
(3) Permittees shall not deny service to any customer on the basis of race, color, ancestry, national origin, place of birth, sex, age, religion, creed, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, weight, or height.
(j) PTV Fees.
(2) Permit Fees shall be due and payable within 30 days of the date of invoice.
(3) Permit Fees remaining unpaid 30 days from the date of invoice, or payment plan installments remaining unpaid after the dates agreed upon in the payment plan, shall be subject to a 10% penalty plus interest at the rate of 1% per month on the outstanding balance, which shall be added to the fee amount from the date that payment is due.
(4) If a Permittee adds vehicles to its fleet such that it becomes subject to a higher Permit Fee as listed in the fee schedule in Section 322, the Permittee shall pay the difference between the Permit Fee paid to the SFMTA at the time of permit issuance and the Permit Fee that would apply to their service given the new size of their fleet. The amount due shall be prorated based on the amount of time remaining under the permit term. Any such supplemental Permit Fee shall be due and payable to the SFMTA within 30 days of the date of invoice.
(5) Permit Fees are not refundable.
(6) The SFMTA may reduce annual PTV permit fees by up to 20% of the unadjusted permit fee amount for any Permittee that operates vehicles equipped with a zero-emission power source. Such reductions shall be determined as follows: A Permittee shall receive a 2% reduction in its permit fee for each tenth of the operating fleet consisting of zero-emission vehicles. Accordingly, an operating fleet consisting of at least 10% but less than 20% zero-emission vehicles would entitle the Permittee to a 2% reduction in the unadjusted permit fee amount; an operating fleet consisting of at least 20% but less than 30% zero-emission vehicles would entitle the Permittee to a 4% reduction in the unadjusted permit fee amount; and so forth. An operating fleet consisting of 100% zero-emission vehicles would entitle the Permittee to a 20% reduction in the unadjusted fee amount.
(7) In addition to any reduction in the annual permit fee made pursuant to subsection (j)(6), the SFMTA may also reduce annual PTV permit fees by up to another 20% of the unadjusted permit fee amount for any Permittee that serves stops within Qualified Communities of Concern. Such reductions shall be determined as follows: For each route operated with 15-minute-or-less headways during normal service hours, there will be a 5% reduction in the permit fee for each 25% increment of stops located in Qualified Communities of Concern. Accordingly, a Permittee would receive a 5% reduction in the permit fee for each route operated with 15-minute-or-less headways during normal service hours where at least 25% but less than 50% of stops are located in Qualified Communities of Concern; a Permittee operating a route with 15-minute-or-less headways on which at least 50% but less than 75% of the stops are located in Qualified Communities of Concern would receive a 10% fee reduction; a Permittee operating a route with 15-minute-or-less headways on which at least 75% but less than 100% of the stops are located in Qualified Communities of Concern would receive a 15% fee reduction; and a Permittee operating a route with 15-minute-or-less headways on which 100% of stops are located in Qualified Communities of Concern would receive a 20% reduction.
(Added by SFMTA Bd. Res. No. 171017-133, Ad. 10/17/2017, Eff. 11/17/2017)