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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity of Tamarac Ordinance O-1971-038dt� F -,. lf sw CITY OF TAMARAC, FLORIDA ORDINANCE NO. AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR THE ISSUANCE OF CERTIFICATES OF PUBLIC CONVENIENCE AND NEC- ESSITY FOR THE OPERATION OF TAXICABS, LIM- OUSINES AND JITNEY SERVICES; FORBIDDING THE OPERATION OF SUCH BUSINESS WITHOUT SUCH CER- TIFICATES; PROVIDING FOR ANNUAL LICENSE FEES; REQUIRING SPECIAL DRIVER LICENSING AND IDEN- TIFICATION CARDS; REQUIRING AN ANNUAL LICENSE FEE FOR SUCH DRIVERS; PROVIDING FOR THE SUS- PENSION AND REVOCATION OF SUCH LICENSES; ES- TABLISHING STANDARDS FOR VEHICLE EQUIPMENT] MAINTENANCE INSPECTIONS1 SANITATION AND DES- IGNATION; REQUIRING TAXIMETERS; AUTHORIZING THE'ESTABLISHMENT OF RATES BY THE CITY; MAKING IT UNLAWFUL FOR A PASSENGER TO FAIL TO PAY THE LEGAL FARE; FORBIDDING VARIOUS FORMS OF SOLICI- TATION AND CRUISING AND OTHERWISE REGULATING THE OPERATION OF TAXICABS AND TAXICAB BUSINESSES; PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS; CONTAINING A SAVINGS CLAUSE; AND CONTAINING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TAMARAC, FLORIDA: Article I. In General. SECTION 1: Definitions. The following words and phrases when used in this Ordinance have the meanings -as set forth herein: (1) CALL BOX means a place alongsiddea street, or elsewhere, where the city manager has authorized a holder of a certificate of public convenience and necessity to install a telephone or call box for the taking of calls. (2) CERTIFICATE means a certificate of public con- venience and necessity issued by the city council, authorizing the holder thereof to conduct a taxicab business, limousine service or jitney service in the city. (3) CRUISING means the driving of a taxicab on the streets, alleys or public places of the city, in search of or soliciting prospective passengers for hire. rye (4) DRIVER'S LICENSE means the permission granted by the city council to a person to drive a taxicab upon the streets of the city. (5) HOLDER means a person to whom a certificate of public convenience and necessity has been issued. (6) MANIFEST means a daily record prepared by a taxicab driver of all trips made by such driver showing time and place of origin, destination, number of passengers, and the amount of fare of each trip. (7) OPEN STAND means a public place alongside the curb of a street or elsewhere, in the city, which has been designated by the city manager as reserved exclusively for the use of taxicabs. (8) PERSON includes any individual, a corporation., or other legal entity, a partnership, and any unincorporated association. (9) TAXIMETER means a meter, instrument or device at- tached to a taxicab which measures mechanically the distance driven and the waiting time upon which the fare is based. (10) TAXICAB means a motor vehicle regularly engaged in the business of carrying passengers for hire, having a seating capacity of not less than five persons, and not operat- ing on a fixed route. (11) LIMOUSINE means any vehicle not classified as a taxicab or jitney but used to transport persons for hire. (12) JITNEY means a motor vehicle used to carry persons on a per -head basis to and from places of,employment. SECTION 2: Enforcement of Ordinance. }1 (1) The police department of the city is hereby given the authority and is instructed to watch and observe the conduct of holders and drivers under this Ordinance. (2) Upon discovering a violation of the provisions of this Ordinance, the police department shall report the same to :Wz the city manager, who will order or take appropriate action. . SECTION 3: Penalty for violations. Any person violating any of the provisions of this Ordinance shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon a conviction thereof shall be fined not exceeding five hundred dollars or by imprisonment in the city jail not exceeding sixty days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Article II. Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity. SECTION 4: Required. No person shall operate or permit a taxicab or lim- ousine or jitney service, owned or controlled by him, to be operated as a vehicle for hire.upon the streets of the city without first having obtained a certificate of public con- venience and necessity from the city council. SECTION 5: Application; form, fee. (1) An application for a certificate shall be filed with the city clerk upon forms provided by the city; and such application shall be verified under oath and shall furnish the following information: (a) Name and address of applicant. (b) The financial status of the applicant including the amounts of all unpaid udgments against the applicant and the nature o the transaction or acts giving rise to such judgments. (c) The experience of the applicant in the trans- portation of passengers. (d) Any facts which the applicant believes tend to provethat public convenience and necessity require the granting of a certificate. (e) The number of vehicles to be operated or con- trolled by the applicant and the location of the proposed depots and terminals. (f) The color scheme or insignia to be used to designate the vehicle or vehicles of the ap- plicant. (g) Such further information as the city manager may require. (2) A fee of $10.00 shall be paid to the city clerk at time of filing application. -3- SECTION 6: public hearing prior to issuance. Upon the filing of a new application, the city council shall fix a time and place for a hearing thereon. Notice of such hearing shall be given to the applicant and to all persons 1 to whom certificates of public convenience and necessity have j been theretofore issued. Any interested person may file with the city clerk a memorandum in support or opposition to the issuance of a certificate or may appear in person at the time of the public hearing, in support of or opposition to the -is- suance of the certificate. SECTION 7: Reapplication for permit after denial. No application for taxi permit shall be made by any person whose application for taxi permit has been denied9 until the expiration of six months from the date of denial of such application. SECTION 8: Issuance. (1) If the city council finds that further taxicab, limousine or jitney service is required in the city by public convenience and neessity, and that the applicant is fit, will- ing and able to perform such public transportation, and to conform to the provisions of this Ordinance and the rules promulgated by the city council, then the city council shall issue a certificate stating the name and the address of the applicant, the number of vehicles authorized under such certificate, and the date of issuance; otherwise, the applica- tion shall be denied. (2) In making the above findings, the city council shall take into consideration the number of taxicabs, lim- ousines or jitneys already in operation whether existing trans- portation is adequate to meet the public need, the probable ef- 1 feet of increased service on the local traffic conditions, and the character, experience and responsibility of the applicant. -4- 111 SECTION 9: Liability insurance prerequisite to issuance of certificate. No certificate of public convenience and necessity shall be issued or continued in operation until there is in full force and effect an insurance policy for each vehicle authorized in the amounts required by the Florida Public Service Commission governing vehicles used by passengers for hire. SECTION 10: License fee; amount; payment prerequisite. No certificate shall be issued or continued in operation unless the holder thereof has paid an annual fee as follows: Taxicabs and limousines $25.00 .jitneys $'%.()n each year for each vehicle operated under a certificate of public conveyance and necessity. Said license fee shall be for the fiscal year beginning November 1 and shall be in ad- dition to the occupational license fees established by the City of -Tamarac and applicable to said holder for the vehicle or vehicles under his operation and control. SECTION 11: Transfer. No certificate of public convenience and necessity may be sold, assigned, mortgaged or otherwise transferred without the consent of the city council. SECTION 12: Suspension and revocation. (1) A certificate issued under the provisions of this Ordinance may be revoked or suspended by the city council if the holder thereof has: (a) Violated any of the provisions of this Ordinance. (b) Discontinued operation for more than six months. (c) Has violated any Ordinances of the city or the laws of the United States or the laws of the State of Florida the violations of which reflect unfavoraLly on the fitness of the holder to offer public transportation. (2) Prior to suspension or revocation, the holder shall be given notice of the proposed action to be taken -5- and shall have an opportunity to be heard. Article III. Driver's Licenses. SECTION 13: Required. (1) No person shall operate a taxicab for hire, or a limousine, or a jitney, upon the streets of the city, and no person who owns or controls a taxicab, a limousine or a jitney shall permit to be driven, and no taxicab, limousine or jitney licensed by the city shall be driven, at any time, for hire, unless the driver of said taxicab, limousine or jitney shall have first obtained and shall have then in force a taxicab driver's license issued under the provisions of this Ordinance. SECTION 14: Application; form, contents, fee. (1) An application for a taxicab driver's license shall be filed with the city clerk on form provided by the city and such application shall be verified under oath and shall contain the following information: (a) The experience of the applicant in the transportation of passengers. (b) The additional background of the applicant. (c) A concise history of his employment. .(2) At the time the application is filed, the applicant shall pay to the city clerk the sum of Two dollars. SECTION 15: State chauffeur's license prerequisite to issuance. Before any application is finally passed upon by the city manager, the applicant shall exhibit a current motor vehicle chauffeur's license issued by the State of Florida. SECTION 16: Identification cards. } Each applicant having a taxicab driver's license from the city must comply with and abide by the city Ordinances and laws governing issuance of identification cards. SECTION 17: Approval or rejection of application. (1) The city manager shall upon consideration of the - 6 - U)l application and the reports and the certificate required to be attached thereto, shall approve or reject the application. (2) If the application is rejected, the applicant may request a personal appearance before the city council to offer evidence why his application should be reconsidered. SECTION 18: Issuance of license; duration; annual fee. (1) Upon approval of an application for a taxicab driver's license, the city clerk shall issue a license to the applicant which shall bear the name, address, color, age, signature, and photograph of the applicant. (2) Such license shall be in effect for the remainder of the fiscal- year. A license for each fiscal year thereafter shall be issued upon the payment of two dollars unless the license for the preceding year has been revoked. SECTION 19: Display of license in vehicle. Every driver licensed uder this Ordinance shall post his driver's license in such a place as to be in full view of all passengers while such driver is operating the taxicab. SECTION 20: Suspension and revocation of license. The city manager is hereby given authority to suspend any driver's license under this Ordinance for a driver's failure or refusal to comply with the provisions of this Or- dinance, such suspension to last for a period of not more than thirty days. The city manager is also given the authority to revoke any driver's license for failure to comply with the provisions of this Ordinance, however, a license may not be revoked unless the driver has received notice and has had an - opportunity to present evidence in his behalf. SECTION 21: Failure to comply with city, state and federal laws. Each driver licensed under this Ordinance shall comply with all city, state and federal laws. Failure to do so will justify the city manager suspending or revoking his license. -7- Article IV. Vehicles, Equipment and Maintenance. SECTION 22: Vehicles must be licensed; inspection pre- requisite. (1) Prior to the use and operation of any vehicle under the provisions of this chapter, such vehicle shall be thoroughly examined and inspected by the police department and found to n F comply with such reasonable rules and regulations as may be I prescribed by the chief of police. These rules and regulations shall be promulgated to provide safe transportation and shall specify such safety equipment and regulatory devices as the chief of police shall deem necessary therefor. (2) When the police department advises that a vehicle has met the standards established by the chief of police, the department shall issue a license to that effect which shall also state the authorized seating capacity of said vehicle. SECTION 23: Periodic inspections. Each vehicle operated under this Ordinance shall be periodically inspected by the police department at such inter- vals as shall be established by the chief of police to insure the continued maintenance of safe operating conditions. SECTION 24: Vehicles must be kept in clean and sanitary condition. Every vehicle operating under this Ordinance shall be kept in a.clean and sanitary condition according to the rules and regulations promulgated by the chief of police. SECTION 25: Designation of taxicabs, limousines and jitneys, exception. (1) Each taxicab shall bear on the outside of each front or rear door in painted letters not less than three inches nor more than six inches in height, the name of the owner; and in addition, may bear an identifying design approved by the chief of police. No vehicle covered by the terms of this Ordinance shall be licensed whose color scheme, identifying design, monogram, or insignia, to be used thereon, shall in the opinion of the chief of police conflict with or imitate any color scheme, identifying design, monogram, or insignia used on a vehicle or vehicles already operating under the Ordinance, in such a manner as to be misleading or tend to deceive or defraud the public, and provided further, that if after a license has been issued for a taxicab hereunder, the color scheme, identifying design, monogram, or insignia thereof is changed so as to be, in the opinion of the chief of police, in conflict with or imitating any color scheme, identifying design, monogram, or insignia used by any other person, owner, or operator, in such a manner as to be misleading or tending to deceive the public, the license of or certificate issued covering such taxicab or taxicabs shall be suspended or revoked. (2)Each taxicab shall bear the telephone number of such operator and the number of such taxicab shall be conspicu- ously placed on the front or rear doors of each such vehicle. (3) Limousines are exempt from lettering provided for under this Ordinance. The provisions of this section shall not apply to vehicles that may be licensed hereunder and which are being used and/or operated as limousines. In all other respects, the licensing of limousines shall conform to the provisions of this Ordinance. (4) A jitney shall bear on the outside of each front or rear door, in painted letters, "Jitney Service Only", not less than three inches, nor more than six inchesa in height, the name of the owner, and in addition may bear an identifying design approved by the chief of police. No vehicle covered by the terms of this Ordinance shall be licensed whose color scheme, identifying design, monogram, or insignia, to be used thereon, shall in the opinion of the chief of police conflict with or imitate any color scheme, identifying design, monogram, or insignia used on a vehicle or vehicles already operating under 1031 this Ordinance, in such a manner as to be misleading or tend to deceive or defraud the public, and provided further, that if after a license has been issued for a jitney hereunder, the color scheme, identifying design, monogram, or insignia there- of is changed so as to be, in the opinion of the chief of police, in conflict with or imitating any color scheme, identifying design, monogram., or insignia used by any other person, owner or operator, in such a manner as to be misleading or tending to deceive the public, the license of or certificate issued covering such jitney shall be suspended or revoked. Each jitney may bear the telephone number of each operator and the number of such jitney shall be conspicuously placed on the front or rear doors of each such vehicle. SECTION 26: Taximeter ---Required All taxicabs operated under authority of this Ordinance shall be equipped with taximeters fastened in front of passengers, visible to them at all times day and, night; and after sundown, the face of the taximeter shall be il- luminated. Such taximeter shall be operated mechanically by a mechanism of standard design and construction driven either from the transmission or from one of the front wheels by a flexible and permanently attached driving mechanism. They shall be sealed at all points and connections which, if manipulated, would affect their correct reading and recording. Each taximeter shall have thereon a flag to denote when the vehicle is employed and when it is not employed; and it shall be the duty of the driver to throw the flag of such meter into a non - recording position at the termination of each trip. The taximeters shall be subject to inspection from time to time by the department of police. Any inspector or other officer of such department is hereby authorized either on complaint of IK1II any person or without such complaint, to inspect any meter and, upon discovery of any inaccuracy therein, to notify the person operating such taxicab to cease operation, thereupon such taxicab shall be kept off the highways until the taxi- m.eter is repaired and in the required working condition. Article V. Operation of Vehicles. SECTION 27: Meter Rates. (1) Meter rates may be established by the city council from time to time by resolution after public hearing, notice of which shall be advertised in a newspaper of general circu.- lation not less than ten days prior to such hearing. (2) When such rates are established the taximeter shall be set to collect no more nor no less than such rates. (3) Prior to the establishment of rates by the city council the certificate holder shall furnish the city council with copies of the rates it proposes to charge with its ap- plication for certificate of convenience and necessity. The operator shall not charge such rates without first giving the city council thirty days written notice of such proposed change in rates. SECTION 28: Receipts for fares. The driver of any taxicab, limousine or jitney shall, upon demand by the passenger, render to such passenger a receipt for the amount charged, either by a mechanically printed receipt or by a S;)eci.fically prepared receipt upon vhich shall be the name of the owner, license number or motor number of the vehi.cle1 amount of fare or charges, and date of the transaction. SECTION 29: Refusal of passenger to pay legal fare. it shall be unlawful for any person to refuse to pay the legal fare of any of the, vehicles mentioned in this Ordinance after -11- U having hired the same, and it shall be unlawful for any person to hire any vehicle herein defined with the intent to defraud the person from whom it is hired of the value of such service. SECTION 30: Solicitation of passengers by driver. No driver shall solicit passengers for the taxicab except when sitting in the driver's compartment of such taxi- cab or when 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 fifteen consecutive minutes; and provided, further, that 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. SECTION 31: Prohibited solicitation. No driver shall solicit patronage in a loud or annoying tone of voice or by sign or in any manner to annoy any person or obstruct the movements of any person or to follow any person for the, purpose of soliciting patronage. SECTION 32: Solicitation of other common carrier passen- gers prohibited. No driver, pwner, or operator, shall unlawfully solicit passengers in the terminal of any other common carrier -nor at any other intermittent points along any established route of any other common carrier, except as provided for hereinafter. SECTION 33: Solicitation of business from hotels; selling alcoholic beverages; solicitation for pros- titution. It shall be a violation of this Ordinance for any driver of a taxicab to solicit business from any hotel or attempt to divert patronage from one hotel to another. Neither shall such driver engaged in selling intoxicating liquors or solicit business for any house of ill repute. -12- SECTION 34: Receipt and discharge of passengers on side- walk only. Drivers of taxicabs shall not receive or discharge passengers in the roadway but shall pull p to the right-hand sidewalk, as near 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 left or the right- hand sidewalk, or side of the roadway in the absence of a sidewalk. SECTION 35: Cruising. No driver shall cruise in search of passengers except in areas and at such times as may be designated by the city manager.' Such areas and times shall only be designated when the city manager finds that taxicab cruising will not congest traffic and be dangerous to a passenger or other vehicles. SECTION 36: Additional passengers. ^ No driver shall permit any person to occupy or ride in the cab unless the person first employing the taxicab shall consent to the acceptance of an additional passenger. No charge shall be made for an additional passenger except when the ad- ditional passenger rides beyond the previous passenger's destination and then only for the additional distance so traveled. SECTION 37: Restriction on number of passengers. No driver shall permit more persons to be carried in a taxicab as passengers than the rated seating capacity of his taxicab as stated in the license for such vehicle issued by the police department. A child in arms shall not be counted as a passenger. SECTION 38: Refusal to carry orderly passengers prohibited. No driver shall refuse nor neglect to convey any orderly -13- 1 person or persons upon request, unless previously engaged or unable or forbidden by the provisions of this Ordinance so to do. SECTION 39: Riding on unauthorized parts of vehicle. It shall be unlawful for the driver of any taxicab to permit any person to ride in any manner on such vehicle except within the vehicle when the same is in motion. SECTION 40: Open stands ---Establishment. (1) The city manager is hereby authorized and empowered to establish open stands in such place or places upon the streets of the city as he deems necessary for the use of taxi- cabs operating in the city. (2) The city manager shall not create an open stand without taking into consideration the need for such stands by the companies and the convenience to the general public. (3) The city manager shall prescribe the number of cabs that shall occupy such open stands. (4) The city manager shall not create an open stand where such stand would tend to create a traffic hazard. SECTION 41: Same ---Use. (1) Open stands shall be used by the different drivers on a first -come first -served basis. The driver pull onto the open stand from the rear and shall advance forward as the cabs ahead pull away. Drivers shall stand within five feet of their cabs; they shall not solicit passengers' or engage in loud or boisterous talk while at an open stand. (2) Nothing in this Ordinance shall be construed as preventing a passenger from boarding the cab of his choice that is parked at the open stands. SECTION 42: Same ---Use by private vehicles. Private vehicles shall not at any time occupy the space upon the streets that has been established as open stands. -14- 11 SECTION 43: Call boxes ---Establishment, use. (1) The city manager is hereby authorized and empowered to establish a call box upon the authorization of the city council in such places as in his discretion it is deemed proper. (2) A holder, desiring to establish a call box, shall make written application to the city manager. (3) The applicant must attach to the application the written approval of the abutting property owners of such space, consenting to the creation of such call box. (4) Upon .filing of the application, the police depart- ment shall make an investigation of the traffic conditions at such place and shall thereafter file their written recom- mendations to the city manager. The city manager shall then either grant or refuse the application. (5) When a call box has been established as herein provided, it shall be used solely by the holder to whom the same was granted and his agents and servants and no other holder shall be permitted to use the same; provided, however, that no holder shall obtain a permit for more that one such call box within the downtown business area. SECTION 44: Taxicab service. (1) All persons engaged in the taxicab business in the city operating under theprovisions of this Ordinance, shall render an overall service to the public desiring to use taxi- cabs. (2) Holders of more than two certificates of public convenience and necessity shall maintain a central place of business and shall keep the same open twenty-four hours a day for the purpose of receiving calls and dispatching cabs. They shall answer all calls received by them for services inside the corporate limits of the city as soon as they can do so, and if such services cannot be rendered within a reasonable time, they shall then notify the prospective passenger how long it will be before such call can be answered and give the reason -15- therefor. (3) Any holder who shall refuse to accept a call any- where in the corporate Iimits of the city at any time, when such holder has available cabs, or who shall fail or refuse to give over-all service, shall be deemed a violator of this Ordinance and the certificate granted to such holder shall be revoked at the discretion of the city council. SECTION 45: Drivers to keep daily manifest. (1) Every driver shall maintain a daily manifest upon which are recorded all trips made each day, showing time and placeof origin and destination of each trip, and the amount of the fare, and all such completed manifests shall be returned to the owner by the driver at the conclusion of his tour of duty. (2) Forms for such manifests shall be furnished to the driver by the owner and shall be of a character approved by the city manager. (3) Every holder of a certificate of public convenience and necessity shall retain and preserve all driver's manifests in a safe place for at least the calendar year next preceding the current calendar year and such manifests shall be avail- able to the city manager, city council and the police department. SECTION 46: Certificate holders records.and reports. (1) Every holder shall keep accurate records of re- ceipts from operations, operating and. other expenses, capital expenditures, and such other operating i.nforination as may be requested by the city manager or by, the police department. (2) Every holder shall maintain the records containing such information and other data required by this Ordinance at a place readily accessible for examination by the city manager or by the police department-. (3) It shall be mandatory for all holders to file with the city manager written evidence relating to the furnishing of -16- taxicab service to any hotel,, theater or public resort, rail- way station, or other place of public gathering, whether such arrangement is made with the holder or any corporation, firm. or association with which the holder may be interested or connected. Failure to file such copies within seven days shall be sufficient cause for the revocation of a certificate of any offending holder or the cancellation of any cab stand privileges. SECTION 47: Advertising. Subject to the rules and regulations of the city manager, it shall be lawful, for any person owning or operating a taxicab or motor vehicle for hire to permit advertising to be affixed to or installed in or upon such taxicabs, or motor vehicles for hire. SECTION 48: All Ordinances or parts of Ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict. SECTION 49: Should any section or provision of this ordinance or any portion hereof or any paragraph, sentence or word be declared by a Court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remainder hereof as a whole or any part hereof other than the part declared to be invalid. SECTION 50: This ordinance shall become effective immediately upon it final passage. PASSED FIRST READING this;R_2w�day of 1971. PASSED SECOND READING this ` day of ► 2 1971. PASSED THIRD READING this � day of, 1971. t ATTEST: I HERERY CERTIFY tW I " approved the foryn &W C,qrleeklM of this Ordinance RECORD OF COUNCIL VOTE Mayor Seltman lq Vice Mayor Lange Councilman Johnson Councilman Schultz Councilman Zarcone �.,` -17-