Chapter 5.108
TAXICABS
Sections:
5.108.080 Inspection of taximeter.
5.108.090 Revocation of license.
5.108.120 Penalty for overcharge.
5.108.140 Refusal to carry passenger.
5.108.010 License required.
No person, firm or corporation shall conduct the business of hackman, cabman or of operating a public passenger vehicle for hire, other than a bus operating on a fixed route, without having first obtained a license therefor, as is provided in this chapter; and every person, firm or corporation conducting such business shall conform to the provisions contained in this chapter.
5.108.020 Application – Fee.
Applications for a license to conduct such business shall be made to the village clerk and shall specify the number of vehicles owned and operated by the applicant. A fee of one hundred dollars for the first vehicle and thirty-five dollars for each additional vehicle shall accompany the application. (Ord. 2002-07 § 52, 2002; Ord. 89-5 § 50, 1989; Ord. 84-5 § 43, 1984)
5.108.030 Cab stands.
No vehicle of any kind shall stand upon or be parked upon or make use of any public taxi or hack stand in the village unless the owner thereof has obtained a license as provided in RMC 5.108.020.
5.108.040 Bond.
No such license shall be issued to any person, firm or corporation unless the applicant has secured the bond provided by statute.
5.108.050 Age of applicant.
No such vehicle license shall be issued to any person under twenty-one years of age.
5.108.060 Register.
It shall be the duty of the village clerk to keep a register of the names of persons to whom such license is granted or transferred, the date when issued or transferred, the number of the license and the description of the vehicle or vehicles licensed.
5.108.070 Taximeters.
It shall be the duty of every person, firm or corporation owning, controlling or operating any taxicab to equip and maintain on every taxicab an approved taximeter, which should be in use at times when passengers are being carried for hire in said taxicabs.
5.108.080 Inspection of taximeter.
It shall be the duty of the chief of police to test or cause to be tested, at such intervals as he deems necessary, all taxicabs licensed under this chapter; and it shall be the duty of every owner, operator or person in control of such taxicab to permit such inspection at any reasonable time. Each taximeter so tested shall be tested to determine the accuracy of its recording mechanism with respect to distance traveled either by running the taxicab with its attached meter over a course a standard mile in length or by a mechanical test of the taximeter. In the event that the taximeter is found defective or inaccurate the same cannot be used until it has been repaired and the accuracy of its recording system restored.
5.108.090 Revocation of license.
A. The village board may revoke any license issued under this chapter for violation of or failure to comply with any of the provisions of this chapter or for a violation of any state or village traffic ordinance. In such an event the fee paid for the unexpired term of such license shall not be refunded.
B. If any taxicab licensed under this chapter becomes unsafe for the transportation of passengers or unsightly in appearance, the license for the taxicab may be suspended by the chief of police until the vehicle is put in fit condition for public use.
C. It shall be the duty of the chief of police to inspect every vehicle licensed under this chapter a sufficient number of times each year to insure compliance with the provisions of this section.
5.108.100 Name of vehicle.
Every vehicle licensed as provided in this chapter shall bear on the outside thereof, in a conspicuous place, the name of the owner thereof, in letters not less than two inches high, which letters shall be of a color in contrast to the color of the vehicle and shall be properly proportioned and legible.
5.108.110 Rates of fare.
A. The price or rates of fare to be asked or demanded by the operator or owner of any such vehicle shall not exceed the maximum that may be set by ordinance.
B. The distance to which the above rates apply shall be determined by the nearest traveled route from the point where the passenger enters the vehicle to the point where the passenger shall alight therefrom.
C. There shall be affixed on the inside of each vehicle, in a conspicuous place and in such manner that the same may be easily read by any person riding in such vehicle, a card upon which shall be printed in plain, legible type, the rates of fare provided for in this chapter.
D. Any passenger shall be allowed to have conveyed upon any of the vehicles aforesaid, without charge, his ordinary traveling baggage; provided, that ordinary hand baggage shall not be construed to mean trunks or sample cases.
E. Upon request of any passenger, the driver of such vehicle shall give the person requesting the same a receipt for the amount of the fare demanded and paid.
5.108.120 Penalty for overcharge.
The owner, driver or operator of any vehicle licensed as provided in this chapter, who may have demanded and received any fare in excess of what is provided for in this chapter, shall return the excess received, and, in addition, may have his license revoked.
5.108.130 Advance payment.
Every such owner, operator or driver shall have the right to demand in advance his fare of the person or persons so employing him or entering his vehicle, and may refuse to convey any person who shall not comply with said command.
5.108.140 Refusal to carry passenger.
No owner, operator or driver of any vehicle licensed as provided in this chapter shall refuse to convey in the village any person with or without hand baggage as aforesaid, when applied to for that purpose; or having undertaken to convey such person, shall omit or neglect to do so.
5.108.150 Parking on streets.
No person in charge of any public taxi or vehicle carrying passengers for hire shall permit the same, except when receiving or discharging passengers or when instructed by their passengers to do so, to stand on any street, avenue or alley in the village for any period longer than five minutes, except as otherwise provided by ordinance.
5.108.160 Soliciting trade.
It is unlawful for the owner, operator or driver of any such vehicle, licensed under this chapter, to solicit by word, gesture or otherwise, the patronage of any person at any railroad station, or upon any public street in the village; and it is unlawful to stand or be upon the platform of any railway until the expiration of three minutes after the departure of such train, except to assist persons who have indicated a desire to patronize the vehicle in his charge.