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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd1954-240 r- ,. . . "',t-.'" . ... ORDINANCE NO. 240 AN ORDINANCE r:vc:orABLlSHlNG RmtJLATIONS FOR THE LICENSING AND OPERATION OF TAXI- CABS, BUSES, SIGHTSEEING AND AIRLINE SERVICE VEHICLES, VEHICLES FOR HIRE AND WI'ImUT DRIVERS, AND OPERATORS AND DRIVERS OF THE FOREGOING, AND REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES OR PARTS OF ORDINANCES IN OJNFLICT HERflrlITH. BE IT ORDAINED BY: THE COMMJN CX>UNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEWARD: 1. TAXICABS AND DRIVERLESS VEHICLES FOR HIRE (a) DEFINITION. The term .public vehicle. as used in this and the following sections shall mean taxicabs and driverless vehicles for hire. (b) LICENSES FOR VEllICLE. No person shall operate a public vehicle unless an Alaska Business License for the operation of said vehicle or vehicles has first been obtained from the Territory of Alaska, and a non-transferable pennit has been obtained from the City Clerk of the City of Seward for the operation of said vehicle or vehicles. No vehicle upon which a permit has been issued shall be out of service for more than thirty (30) consecutive days, provided however, an operator may file a request with the City Manager for an extension of time if unusual circumstances prevent the operator from being able to comply with the provisions of this paragraph, The City Manager shall immediately conduct an investigation and shall either deny or approve said request within 5 calendar days. (c) PUBLIC VEHICLE PERMIT ISOOANCE. The application for a public vehicle permit shall not be approved if the applicant is in arrears in the payment of any .urns due to the City for taxes, utilities, or otherwise. No such permit will be granted except upon certification of the Chief of Police that the vehicle or vehicles for which application for a public vehicle permit has been made comply with the provisions of this ordinance. Appeal to the City Manager may be had if the Chief of Police denies such certification, Appeal to the City Council may be had, there- after, if written notice thereof is furnished the City Clerk within five (5) days of the City Manager's decision. (d) INSURANCE REQUIRED. Before any such permit is issued, the a~licant therefor ahall furnish one or more policies of insurance, prepaid for the period of the permi t, issued by a responsible insurance company providing indellD\i ty for the insured in the amounts speoified herein and agreeing to pay, within the limits of said aIlk>unts, to any judgement creditor who shall have filed his suitor filed notice of a claim tor such loss with the City Clerk during the permi t year in which the injury or damage occmrred, or within six months thereafter, any final judgement rendered against the insured for damages to others for bodily injuries, inclUding death at any time resulting therefrom, or for damages to property, or both, sustained by any person other than employe8s of the insured and resulting from negligent oper- ation, maintenance or use of such public vehicle, The extent of said insurance liability as to anyone public vehicle shall be: (1) On account of injury to. or death of, any person in anyone accident - 820,000.00 (2) On account of anyone aocident resulting in injury to, or death of, more than one person - $40,000.00 (3) On account of damage to property in anyone acoident - 85,000.00 Said policy or policies of liability insurance shall be approved as to substance by the City Clerk and as to form by the City Attorney and shall be filed with the City Clerk. (e) BOND MAY REPLACE INSURANCE. In lieu of insurance required by this ordinance, one or more corporate surety bonds may be furnished in the same amounts, said bonds to be approved as to sufficiency by the City Clerk. -1- I' (f) NOTICE OF CANChLLATION OF INSlJRANCB OR BOND. E'Iuy such insurance policy or bond shall contain a clause obliging the insurer or surety to give the City Clerk, by registered mail, at least five (5) days' written notice before the cancellation, expiration, lapse or other termination of such insurance or bond or the withdrawal of surety from any such bond. (g) POSTED NOTICE OF INSURANCE <XNERAGE REQUIRED. A placard of a type approved by the City Clerk stating the limits of insurance liability in effect and the area within which such liability applies shall be posted at all times in a conspicuous place in each taxicab. (h) REGULATIONS OF FARES AND ChARGES. The City Council may regUlate the fares and charges for us~ of taxicabs and vehicles for hire following a public hearing and after notice to all taxicab operators and other vehicles for hire. Whether regulated or not, cab fares shall at all times be conspicuously posted in the cabs, filed with the City Clerk (rates between points within the City and between points within City and outside City) and shall be non-discriminatory. Receipts must be given passengers when requested. (i) NUMBER OF TAXICAB OPE.IMTOR AND TAXI~AB PERHITS: RillULATION THEREOF. The City Manager, with Council approval, shall have the power to determine from time to time the maximum number of taxicabs required. No public vehicle permits in excess of the total number authorized by the City Manager and approved by the City Council may be granted. The City Manager and the City Council shall consider the public necessity and convenience and shall arrive at their decision by consideration of the following: 1. The demand for such service as shown by records of the taxicab oper- ator(s) requesting additional public vehicle permit(s). ~. The effect on traffic congestion. 3. Whether the safe use of streets for vehicular and pedestrian traffic will be impaired. 4. Any other facts which the City Manager and City Council may deem relevant. (j) PUBLIC VEHICLE INSPECTION. Periodically, not less than twice a year and more frequently if desired, the Police Department shall inspect all vehicles for hire for compliance with safety standards. No public vehicle shall be issued a permit until it has been thoroughly and carefully inspected by the Chief of Police or such other officer as he may direct, and found to be in a safe, satisfactory and sanitary condition for the transportation of passengers, and found to be neat and orderly in appearanc~, both within and without. If any vehicle for hire is involved in a collision or accident, notice thereof shall be given to the Police Chief and an inspection shall be made of said vehicle before it can be again used in service. The report of such examination shall be filed with the City Chrk. Private automobile mechanics may be employed at the expense of for-hire vehicle owners for inspection purposes. (k) VEHICLFS: FIRM NAME, RATES, INSlRANCE DATE, DRIVER'S PHaro TO BE DISPLAYED. All vehicles for hire must conform to the following requirements prior to the issuance of a permit therefor: (1) Bear in letters not less than two (2) inches high on each side of the taxicab the firm name of the operator. Detachable signs will not be permitted. Bear a vehicle number assigned by the Police Chief and placed in a designated location on the taxicab. (2) Display at all times in a place visible to all fares, a fr~ned plat covered with transparent material, containing a fare rate card, the insurance data required by section 1 (d) and the photograph, name and chauffeur's license number of driver required by section 3 (c) of this ordinance. (3) Every taxicab shall at all times be equipped with a light of not less than two (2) candlepower within such taxicab, so arranged as to illuminate the entire passenger compartment, which light shall be kept constantly lighted at all times while any passengers are being loaded into or unloaded from any such vehicle, from one-half -2- r hour before s~rise of the next day, and no shades or blinds shall be drawn over the windows of any such vehicle while same is occupied. (4) All persons other than the driver shall ride in the rear passenger compartment of the taxicab except when there are more passengers than can be acco- modated in such compartment, when the front passenger compartment may be used. (5) No taxicab shall haul more passengers than the manufacturer~ rated capacity or more passengers than approved for in the policy of insurance on the vehicle. (1) CHARACTERIsrIC MARKING: REIDVAL THERIDF. In the event the taxicab is for any reason disqualified from operating as such, or ceases operation as such for any other reason, all signs as herein set out above, any other device or insurance indicating that such automobile is a taxicab shall be removed by the operator prior to utilization of such vehicle for any other,purpose. (m) CITY l1ANAGER MAY MAKE RULES. The City ~fanager is hereby empowered to promulgate rules and regulations, and to make determinations as to the existence of facts, in order to carry out the purpose, and the enforcement of this ordinance. 2. TA."{ICAB OPERATORS. (a) OPERATOR'S LICENSE REQUIRED. No person shalloperate taxicabs or vehicles for hire under a business name or style or individual name without first obtaining and Alaska Business License and a non-transferable permit therefor. The permit shall be issued, upon certification of the Police Chief that all of the provisions of this ordinance pertaining to public vehicles have been complied with, except as provided in section 1 (1). (b) TERMINALS AND ZONES. No taxicab operator shall conduct his business unless from a terminal or zones, or both. A terminal is defined as a privately owned station or depot from which taxicabs or vehicles for hire shall operate. A zone i. defined as a single parking space on a city street designated by the City Manager, as a cab zone and approved by resolution of the Council. (c) ZONE FEES. Taxicab operators who desire to occupy taxicab zones shall pay a license fee therefor equal to one hour's parking meter fee for said space computed on a ten (10) hour per day basis or $100.00 per year per cab, which ever is greater. Persons licensed to occupy zones must at all times comply with the traffic laws. .Cruising-, or the practice of soliciting fares while driving or standing in ot~r than designated zones, is prohibited. Inviting business or customers or attracting attention of the public by word of mouth, signal, nods or other signs from the taxicab while moving or going up to the curb for that purpose is prohibited. (d) PARKING. No taxicab shall park or stand on any street, oth~han at authorized zones or terudnals, except whil actually engaged in the/loading of or discharging passengers. (e) DISP!TCH OFFICE AND RECORDS. Each operator shall maintain a dispatch office with a dispatcher on duty 24 hours a day, provided however, nothing in this paragraph shall prevent all operators, by agreement, to maintain one dispatch office in lieu thereof. The principal business of said dispatch office and dis- patcher or operator, shall be the operation of the taxicab business, such office to be located in a business district. Each operator of a taxicab shall have individual telephone service. Failure to maintain 24 hours a day telephone service shall be grounds for revocation of operators permit. Each taxicab operator shall keep and maintain at all tirees, a complete and accurate record of all drivers em- ployed by him, which record will show in detail the names and addresses and the dates of the beginning and termination of employment of said dri vers,and the hours during each day or night of his employment, as well as a record of all days or nights on which each employee was absent from employment. ~ch records shall be open for inspection to the Police Department at any end all times upon demand and shall not be destroyed for a period of two (2) years. Each operator shall file with the Police Chief at the conclusion of each month's operation a report which shall include the following: 1. Names of drivers now in his employ. -3- 2. Names of all persons beginning or terminahng employment during the month covered by said report. 3. List of all taxicabs operated during the month and the total hours each vehicle was in operation. It shall be the duty of each operator of any taxicab to furnish regularly to the driver of each taxicab, an adequate number of printed trip sheets which shall contain blank spaces in which the operator shall require and it shall be the duty of the driver to fill in his name, his license number, the license number of the taxicab, the date, the time and place at which any passenger engaged the taxicab, the number of such passengers, the time and place at which said passengers were delivered to their destination, the amount of fare received by him. The trip sheets, when filled, shall be returned to the operator who shall file them consecutively by date and retain them as permanent records, for a period of not less than two (2) years. Said trip sheets shall be open for inspection by the Police Department at any and all times and such other additional information as may be required hy the City Manager from time to time shall be included therein. 3. TAXICAB CHAUFFEURS LICENSES. (a) Requirements: No person shall drive a taxicab without first securing a non-transferable chauffeur's license, the requirements for issuance or renewal of chauffeur's licenses shall be as follows: 1. Possession of a current Territorial Driver's License. 2. Citizenship in the United States of America. 3. TWenty-one years of ag3 or over. 4. Physician's certificate as to physical ability to operate taxicab. 5. Ability to read and write Enqlish. 6. Non-addiction to the use of intoxicants or narcotics. 7. Good moral character. 8. No conviction of a felony for 10 years previous to date of application; no conviction at any time of a felony or misdemeanor involving any sex offense or assault with deadly wnapon or use of or traffic in narcotics drugs or traffic in women for immoral purposes. 9. Demonstrated familiarity with traffic laws of City and Territory and demonstrated ability to drive a taxicab. (b) A?PLICATIONS, PHOTOGRAPHS, FEES. All applicants for chauffeur's licenses under the provisions of this section shall make application on blanks furnished by the Police Department and shall submit together with their application the necessary fees, a photograph of applicant and a full set of his fingerprints to be taken by the Police Department. The fae for a chauffeur's license shall be twenty-five (125.00) dollars for the fiscal year and after six (6) months of said fiscal year has elapsed then be tw~lve dollars and fifty cents ($12.50). Renewals shall be five dollars ($5.00) per year. (c) DRIVERS PHOTO TO BE roffi'ED. Any cab operated for hire shall have posted in a conspicuous place therein an identification photograph of the driver of said vehicle with the name and chauffeur's number of said driver. 4. REVOCATION ANDIOR SUSPENSION OF CHAUFFEUR'S, OPERl',TOR'S AND PUBLI::: VEHICLE LICENSES OR PERMITS. (a) Taxicab Chauffeur's Licenses. Taxicab chauffeur's licenses may be revoked or suspended for the following reasons: 1. False statement in application. 2. The City Magistrate shall have the power to suspend or revoke any -4- r chauffeur't" license issued hereunder in the.event the holder thereof shall be found guilty of a violation of any provision of this ordinance, or of any of the provisions of Ordinance No. 212, which violation, in the sound discretion of said official shall be deemed sufficient evidence of the fact that said driver is not a competent person to operate a taxicab. In the event of such revocation or suspension of chauffeur's license, for any CUdse, such license shall be surrendered forthwith by the holder thereof, to the Chief of Police. 3. Chauffeur's licenses may be suspended or revoked at any time by the Chief of Police for good cause shown. (b) OPERATOR'S AND VEHICLE PERMIT. Operator's permit and vehicle permits shall be revoked for cause after a hearing before the City Manager for the following reasons in addition to reasons otherwise set forth in this ordinance: 1. False statement in application; 2. Violation of this ordinance or any provlslon of the Seward General Code or the Laws of the Territory or Alaska, by any taxioab operator. Conduct on the part or any taxicab operator which is not conducive to proper aervice to the public or to proper relationship with any competitor owner or chauffeur, may be considered proper grounds for revocation of taxicab operator's permit or publio vehicle permit, or both~ 5. MIS~ELLANEOUS. (a) No chauffeur shall refuse or neglect to convey any orderly person or persons upon request unless previously engaged or unable or borhidden by the provi- sions of this ordinance to do so, the proper fee being tendered or offered for payment by such person or persons. (b) No chauffeur shall remain in control of any taxicab for a total period of more than twelve (12) consecutive hours and shall not return to work until after another eight (8) hours have elapsed. It shall be the intent of this ordinance that no driver shall have other full time employment. (c) When one party consisting of one or more person3 has engaged or is occu- pying any taxicab, it shall be unlawful for the chauffeur or such taxicab to transport or offer to transport any additional party or parties for separate rare or fares, except with the permission or the original ocoupant. (d) Female chauffeurs shall not be allowed to drive or remain in control of any taxicab between the hour of seven (7) P.M. and seven (7) A.M. ee) It shall be unlawful for any person to refuse to pay the legal fare of the vehicles in this ordinance, after having hired the same, or to hire suoh vehicle unless the person 50 doing actually possesses the money with which to pay his fare, or will be arla to obtain it at the termination of the trip, and any person ixxx~xttxisxktx~xkBx who shall hire any vehicle herein defined with the intent to defraud the person fr~n whom it is hired shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. (f) In order to fulfill the r~quirements of this ordinance, no operator shall by written or oral contract or othenvise divest himself of the right at any time to discharge any chauffeur. (g) As a condition of the issuance or renewal of every taxicab operator's permit, each taxicab operator shall file with the City Clerk a copy of each and every contract between such operator and each chauffeur who is employed to drive a taxicab by such operator, and between such operator and any other operator or association or union of operators or chauffeurs. 6. MJTOR roSSES; SIGHTSEEING AND AIRLINE SERVICE VEEICLES; VEHICLES FOR HIRE l-TITH DRIVERS, DRIVERS OF THE FOREGOING. (a) Definitions. When used in this section the following words and phrases shall have the following meaning: -5- r f: Motor B~~es - Every vehicle operating ov~ established routes or en charter, carrying seven (1 r-.or more passengers. SightseeiDq yehieles - Eyery yehiele u.ed for sight.eeing purposes, oarrying seven (7) or more passengers. Airlines Service vehicles - Every vehicle carrying four (4) or more to and from airports (but not engaged in taxicab operations). For-Hire vehicles - All vehicles not falling under the foregoing def- initions and not taxicab or driverless vehicles for hire which carry passengers for payor hire and including contract or charter carries as well as those that solicit business of the general public. (b) OPERATORS OR' OWNERS LICENSES AND PERMIT. (As is set out in 1. (b). (c) INSURANCE. (As is set out in l.(d), except motor buses which shall,comply with the insurance requirements of their franchise. (d) FARES AND OIARGES. (As set out in 1. (h) . (e) BUS Sl'OPS. Bus stops shall be designated by the Chief of Police, Sight- seeing and Airlines service vehicles and other for-hire vehicles may pick up and discharge passengers in any manner consistent with the traffic laws of the City. (f) INSPECTION OF VEHICLES. (As set out in l.(j). (q) BUS, AIRLINES SERVICE, SI GHTSEEINC, FOR FIRE DRIVERS LICENSES. (As is set out in 3.). (h) REVOCATION OR SUSPENSION OF DRIVER'S OR CHAUFFEUR'S LIemSE. (As is set out in 4.). 7. PERMIT FEES. (a) The following schedule of fees is hereby established: 1. VEHICLE PERMITS. Buses, Airline Service Vehicles, Sightseeing vehicles, Vehicles for Hire with and without driver, and Taxi- cabs, $10.00 per fiscal year per vehicle. 2. TAXICAB OPERATORS AND/OR CMNERS PERMITS. $100.00 per fiscal year for each Operator's and/or Owner's permit. 3. The permit fee shall accompany the application and if said appli- cation is filed after December 31st then the permit fee shall be one- half of the total fee. 4. All permit fees shall be renewed annually and are due and payable July 1st of each year. 8. REPEAL OF ORDINANCES. Ordinances No. 171, 179, 184 and all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict with any of the provisions of this ordinance are hereby repealed. 9. SUSPENSION OF THE RULES. The rules governing the introduction, posting, passage and approval of ordinances are hereby suspended and an emergency is declared, and this ordinance shall be effective immedia~ely upon its introduction and passage this 11th day or January, 1954. C2-d/~~/ Mayor ATI'Esr: ~ . <..... ..lJy;-., A~ City C~ #. ;.....