(a) No person shall operate a vehicle for public hire, except as provided in Section 1131.01, and no owner or person in control thereof shall permit such vehicle to be so operated, and no license therefor shall be issued hereunder, unless the applicant for such license shall deposit with the Director of Finance, and keep in full force and effect the following:
(1) A bond of the applicant, with a solvent and responsible surety company authorized to do business under the laws of the State, as surety thereof. Such bond and surety shall be acceptable to the Director of Public Safety and the Director of Law, and the bond shall be conditioned that the applicant shall pay all final judgments recovered against the applicant for injury to one person in the sum of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) and one million dollars ($1,000,000) for injury to more than one person, and fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) for property damage in any one accident through the operation of the public vehicles of the applicant. Such bond shall contain a further provision obligating the surety company to give ten days' written notice before cancellation or change of the bond to the Director of Public Safety. The license shall expire on the lapse or termination of the bond, or
(2) A policy or certificate of liability insurance for each public vehicle for which a license is sought, acceptable to the Director of Public Safety and the Director of Law, indemnifying the applicant in the sum of at least five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) for injury to one person and one million dollars ($1,000,000) for injury to more than one person and fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) for property damage in any one accident through the operation of the public vehicles of the applicant. The policy shall further contain a clause obligating the insurance company to give ten days' written notice to the Director of Public Safety before cancellation or change of the policy. The license shall expire upon the lapse or termination of the policy of insurance .
(b) Such bond, policy or certificate of liability insurance shall also contain a provision for a continuing liability thereunder to the full amount thereof notwithstanding any recovery thereon. If at any time in the judgment of the Director of Public Safety such bond, policy or certificate of insurance is not sufficient for any cause, the Director of Public Safety may order the licensee to replace such bond, policy or certificate of liability insurance with another approved by the Director of Public Safety and the Director of Law. Failure to furnish such replacement bond, policy or certificate of liability insurance within the time specified in such order shall operate as a revocation of the license to operate the particular vehicle or vehicles covered by such bond, policy or certificate of liability insurance ordered and replaced.
(c) In cases where public vehicles are already licensed by a municipality abutting the City and for which a bond, policy or certificate of liability insurance has been furnished, as per subsections (a) and (b) hereof respectively, to the municipality issuing such license, it shall be sufficient for the owner or operator of such public vehicle to file a copy of such bond, policy or certificate of insurance with the Director of Finance, provided, however, that such bond, policy or certificate of insurance is approved by the Director of Public Safety and the Director of Law. Such approval shall not be given unless the terms of such bond, policy or certificate of insurance are such as will, in the opinion of the Director of Public Safety and the Director of Law, protect passengers, persons and property injured or damaged by the operation of such public vehicle within the City or while carrying passengers to or from the City.
(Ord. 28-82. Passed 10-11-82.)