[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of
the City of Haverhill as Ch. 34 and Sec. 22-34 of the 1963 City Code
(Ch. 230 of the 1980 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Vehicles and traffic — See Ch. 240.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Every horse-drawn or power-driven hack, stagecoach, omnibus
or other vehicle, whether on wheels or runners, except streetcars,
which shall be used for the conveyance of passengers from place to
place for hire, shall be deemed to be a "taxicab" within the meaning
of this chapter
The City Council may from time to time grant
licenses upon such terms, under such conditions and to such persons
as it may deem expedient to set up, employ or use taxicabs for the
conveyance of persons for hire and may designate the public stand
or stands which the taxis may occupy, and no person shall set up,
employ or use such taxi for the purposes aforesaid without such license.
[Amended 2-24-1970 by Doc. 21-B]
The total number of taxi licenses to be issued
and outstanding at any one time in the City shall be limited to one
taxi license per 2,000 of the population of the City.
[Amended 4-7-1981 by Doc. 63; 4-8-2003 by Doc. 62; 5-26-2015 by Doc. 68]
For every annual license granted under the provisions
of this article, there shall be paid to the City Clerk the sum of
$100 for the use of the City.
[Amended 7-10-2007 by Doc. 76]
All licenses granted under this article shall
expire on the first day of May next after the date of the granting
thereof, and no license shall be sold, assigned or transferred to
another person without the consent of the City Council, endorsed thereon
by the City Clerk or his assistant, and the payment of $50.
No license granted as provided in this article
shall apply to any taxi or other vehicle owner or driver, except the
particular one designated therein by its number or otherwise made
certain.
[Amended 5-26-2015 by Doc. 68]
Any license granted under the provisions of
this article may be revoked for cause after notice to the licensee
and reasonable opportunity for the licensee to be heard.
[Amended 5-26-2015 by Doc. 68]
Every person licensed according to the provisions of §§ 230-2 and 230-24 shall comply with all rules and regulations which the City Council may by order prescribe, and no person so licensed shall behave themselves in a rude or disorderly manner or use any indecent, profane or insulting language towards any person.
[Amended 5-26-2015 by Doc. 68]
Every person licensed under this article shall
cause the taxi or other vehicle to be conspicuously marked with the
license number assigned to it in metallic figures, not less than 1 1/2
inches in size, and of such color as to be readily seen and read,
and the names of the owner and driver and the license number of the
taxi, together with the rates of fare duly established by the City
Council, shall be conspicuously posted on a printed card in every
such taxi.
[Amended 5-26-2015 by Doc. 68]
No owner, driver or other person having charge
of any taxicab shall demand or receive any more than the price or
rate of fare established by the City Council, under penalty of forfeiting
their license in addition to the general penalty provided for any
violation of this Code. For unreasonably refusing to carry any passenger
to any point within the City, the owner, driver or any other person
having charge of such taxi shall be subject to a like penalty.
No owner, driver or other person having charge of any taxi or other vehicle licensed as provided in § 230-2 shall stand or wait for employment with such vehicle in any street, square, lane, court or other public way or place within the City other than the stand assigned to such vehicle by the City Council or by some person by it duly authorized.
All drivers, owners or persons having the care
of any vehicle as are described in this article, while at the stands
designated and assigned to them by the City Council, or by some person
duly authorized, shall place their respective vehicles next to the
sidewalk in a single line, unless otherwise ordered by the City Council,
and so as to leave sufficient space for travelers along the streets
and passageways, and so as not to obstruct or encumber any street
or way or any crossing place thereon. No driver, owner or other person
having charge of such vehicle shall, while standing or waiting at
a stand or in any public place, at any time leave any horse-drawn
carriage or vehicle unattended unless the horse or horses attached
thereto are securely fastened or the wheels thereof are securely locked.
[Amended 7-10-2007 by Doc. 76; 5-26-2015 by Doc. 68]
Every owner, driver or other person having charge of any taxicab or other vehicle licensed as provided in § 230-2 shall, at all times when driving or when waiting for employment, have displayed an identification badge within the taxicab in the meter/dashboard area and visible to all passengers approved by the Chief of Police, or his designee.
Every motor vehicle operating as a taxicab shall
contain a card showing the rate of fare that the particular cab is
operated under. This card shall be displayed on the interior of the
taxicab within clear view of the passenger or passengers. It shall
be so placed and secured in the frame in which it is enclosed that
it may not be easily removed or destroyed.
A.
The rates to be charged shall be as follows:
[Amended 2-24-1970 by Doc. 21-B; 7-24-1973 by Doc. 229; 3-7-1978 by Doc. 51; 2-12-1980 by Doc. 38; 10-24-1989 by Doc. 179; 4-17-2001 by Doc. 56; 12-19-2006 by Doc. 132; 10-4-2011 by Doc. 63; 3-29-2016 by Doc. 41[1]]
(1)
For the first 1/8 mile or fraction thereof: $2.50;
for seniors: $2.25.
(2)
For each additional 1/8 mile or fraction thereof:
$0.30; for seniors: $0.25.
(3)
The rate of $23 an hour for use time; for seniors:
$19.
(4)
All
rates shall be prominently displayed inside the taxi so that all passengers
are able to view them in print no smaller than size 14.
(a)
Standard rates:
|
Trip Length
|
Rate
| |
|---|---|---|
|
First 1/8 mile or fraction thereof
|
$2.50
| |
|
Second 1/8 mile or fraction thereof
|
$2.80
| |
|
Third 1/8 mile or fraction thereof
|
$3.10
| |
|
Fourth 1/8 mile or fraction thereof
|
$3.40
| |
|
Fifth 1/8 mile or fraction thereof
|
$3.70
| |
|
Sixth 1/8 mile or fraction thereof
|
$4.00
| |
|
Seventh 1/8 mile or fraction thereof
|
$4.30
| |
|
First mile or fraction thereof
|
$4.60
| |
|
Second mile or fraction thereof
|
$7.00
| |
|
Third mile or fraction thereof
|
$9.40
| |
|
Fourth mile or fraction thereof
|
$11.80
|
(b)
For those persons who have attained 65 years of age, the rates shall
be:
|
Trip Length
|
Rate
| |
|---|---|---|
|
First 1/8 mile or fraction thereof
|
$2.25
| |
|
Second 1/8 mile or fraction thereof
|
$2.50
| |
|
Third 1/8 mile or fraction thereof
|
$2.75
| |
|
Fourth 1/8 mile or fraction thereof
|
$3.00
| |
|
Fifth 1/8 mile or fraction thereof
|
$3.25
| |
|
Sixth 1/8 mile or fraction thereof
|
$3.50
| |
|
Seventh 1/8 mile or fraction thereof
|
$3.75
| |
|
First mile or fraction thereof
|
$4.00
| |
|
Second mile or fraction thereof
|
$6.00
| |
|
Third mile or fraction thereof
|
$8.00
| |
|
Fourth mile or fraction thereof
|
$10.00
|
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance provided an effective date of
7-1-2016.
B.
Use time shall include all time during which the taxicab
is not in motion, beginning after its arrival at the place to which
it has been called and the party or parties engaging same have been
notified.
[Amended 2-12-1980 by Doc. 38]
C.
No charge will be made for time lost through the inefficiency
of the vehicle or its driver or for the time between premature arrival
in response to a call and the hour for which the vehicle was ordered.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 230-16, Tokens for elderly,
as amended, was repealed 10-4-2011 by Doc. 63.
[Amended 2-24-1970 by Doc. 21-B]
There shall be no additional charge for two
passengers going to the same place and alighting at the same designation.
There shall be an additional charge of $0.25 per passenger for each
passenger over two.
A.
When more than one passenger is picked up and not
discharged at the same destination, the fare charged to the first
passenger will be according to the taximeter at the destination of
the first passenger. After the departure of the first passenger the
taximeter flag will be dropped again, and the second passenger will
then pay the fare according to the taximeter at the destination of
the second passenger.
B.
The first passenger to be let off shall be the one
whose destination is nearest the point of departure. The same process
is to be followed for each passenger in the taxicab.
[Amended 5-26-2015 by Doc. 68; 6-30-2015 by Doc. 81]
Hand luggage may be carried by passengers for
hire, but the carrying of luggage or trunks shall be optional with
the taxicab driver and shall be $0.50 for each trunk.
[Amended 7-10-2007 by Doc. 76; 5-26-2015 by Doc. 68]
No person shall operate a motor vehicle in the
course of taxicab business unless duly licensed by the City Council.
The license fee is to be the sum of $50 per year. No person shall
be qualified to receive a license unless such person is more than
18 years of age and is a licensed operator in the commonwealth. Each
licensed individual is to receive Police Department issued identification
and a number thereon which is to be worn and plainly visible during
the operation of a taxicab by the licensed individual. The Chief of
Police is to have the power to revoke and suspend the license for
cause.
[Amended 5-26-2015 by Doc. 68]
Every motor vehicle licensed as a taxicab under
the terms of this article, operated within the City, except motor
vehicles used for funeral and wedding purposes, shall have affixed
thereto a taximeter of a size and design approved by the Sealer of
Weights and Measures, which shall be so located as to be easily read
by a passenger or passengers seated in the rear seat. After sundown
the face of the taximeter shall be illuminated by a suitable light
so arranged as to throw continuous, steady light thereon or adequately
backlit. No vehicle approved and licensed for student transportation
shall operate as a taxicab without lights and meters, as required
in this chapter.
[Amended 5-26-2015 by Doc. 68]
All taxicabs shall be equipped with lights of
a size and design approved by the Chief of Police or his designee,
which lights shall be located on the top of the taxicabs. These lights
are to be so connected that when the flag of the taximeter is in a
recording position the lights will be off. These lights shall be on
when the taximeter is not recording so that any police officer by
observation may ascertain whether the taximeter is being properly
operated.
No hackney carriage or other vehicle mentioned
in this chapter shall be driven by any person who has not attained
the age of 18 years.
[Amended 5-26-2015 by Doc. 68; 6-30-2015 by Doc. 81]
The Chief of Police or his designee may from
time to time grant licenses to such persons under such conditions
and upon such terms as it may deem expedient to employ or use any
horse-drawn wagon, cart, sleigh, motor or other vehicle for the conveyance
from place to place, for hire, of any goods, wares, furniture, merchandise
or rubbish, and the Chief of Police or his designee may designate
the public stand or stands which such vehicles may occupy, and no
person shall use any of the vehicles mentioned in this section for
the purposes herein specified without a license for each vehicle.
Every person licensed under § 230-24 shall have placed upon the outside and upon each side of the vehicle he may use, the name of the owner and the number of the license, in plain, legible letters and figures not less than 1 1/2 inches in size and so that the same may be distinctly seen and read.
[Amended 7-23-2002 by Doc. 117]
No person shall engage in the business of operating
a motor vehicle, including but not limited to a bus, van or limousine,
so-called, within or into any part of the City for the carriage of
passengers for hire in such a manner as to afford a means of transportation
similar to that afforded by a street railway by indiscriminately receiving
and discharging passengers along the route on which such vehicle is
operated, or in the business of transporting passengers for hire,
without first obtaining a license therefor from the City Council.
[Amended 4-7-1981 by Doc. 63; 7-10-2007 by Doc. 76; 5-26-2015 by Doc. 68]
The fee for the annual license required by § 230-26 shall be $100.
[Amended 7-23-2002 by Doc. 117]
Every applicant for a license under § 230-26 shall file with the City Clerk, if applicable, a written application which shall set forth:
Every license granted by the City Council under § 230-28 shall be granted upon the express condition that the licensee shall comply with all laws of the commonwealth and all rules, terms and conditions for the operation of motor vehicles for the carriage of passengers for hire adopted by the Department of Public Utilities and such amendments and additions thereto as may be made from time to time, so far as the same are applicable.
The licensee shall study the problem of night,
Sunday and holiday service thoroughly and shall initiate whatever
is economically feasible.
The licensee shall cooperate with the City government
and its appropriate officials in locating the bus stops to be used.
The licensee shall observe all traffic rules
and police regulations prescribed by this Code, City ordinances and
the General Laws relating to the operation of motor vehicles, so far
as is consistent with the reasonable use of its buses.
[Added 7-23-2002 by Doc. 117]
Any limousine or van business, company or corporation
who violates the sections of this chapter shall be subject to a fine
of $50 per vehicle per year that the vehicles were not registered
with the City.
