[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of the City of Cortland 8-5-1969 as Ch. 16 of
the 1969 Code of Ordinances; amended in its entirety 5-2-2017 by L.L. No. 5-2017.
Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
When used in this chapter, the following words and terms shall
have the meanings indicated:
- HOLDER
- A person to whom a taxicab business license has been issued.
- INDEPENDENT TRANSPORTATION PROVIDERS
- Drivers who provide peer-to-peer transportation requested through any entity.
- LIVERY OR INDEPENDENT TRANSPORTATION DRIVER'S LICENSE
- The permission granted by the Chief of Police to a person to drive a livery or independent transportation upon the streets of the City.
- TAXICAB
- Any motor vehicle regularly engaged in the business of carrying passengers for hire within the City, except buses which are operating under authorization from the Public Service Commission of the state.
- TAXICAB, LIVERY, OR INDEPENDENT TRANSPORTATION LICENSEE
- Any person who drives a taxicab or contracts with drivers who provide peer-to-peer transportation.
- TAXICAB, LIVERY OR INDEPENDENT TRANSPORTATION PROVIDER'S BUSINESS LICENSE
- The permission granted by the Chief of Police to a person, livery or independent transportation provider, including any entity which contracts with drivers who provide peer-to-peer transportation.
No person shall operate a taxicab or permit a taxicab owned
or controlled by him to be operated as a vehicle for hire upon the
streets of the City without having first obtained a taxicab business
license from the Chief of Police.
An application for a taxicab business license shall be filed
with the Chief of Police upon forms provided by the Chief of Police;
said application shall be verified under oath and shall furnish the
following information:
A.
The name and address of the applicant.
B.
Such information as to the financial status of the applicant as shall
be required by the Chief of Police, including the amounts of all unpaid
judgments against the applicant and the nature of the transactions
or acts giving rise to said judgments.
C.
The experience of the applicant in the transportation of passengers.
D.
The number of vehicles to be operated or controlled by the applicant
and the location of proposed depots and terminals.
E.
Such further information as the Chief of Police or designee may require,
including, but not limited to: current drivers, vehicles, current
telephone contact information, fingerprints of drivers, and up-to-date
criminal history reports.
If the Chief of Police finds that the applicant for a taxicab
business license is fit, willing and able to conform to the provisions
of this chapter and such reasonable rules for the name and address
of the applicant, the number of vehicles authorized under said license
and the date of issuance; otherwise the application shall be denied.
No taxicab business license shall be issued or continued in
operation unless the holder thereof has paid an annual license fee
of $150 and an annual license fee of $20 for each vehicle operated
by the licensee under such license. Said license fees shall be for
one year, which shall be due and payable on March 1 of each year.
Said license fee shall be prorated from the date of issuance to the
start of each year on a monthly basis beginning with the month in
which the license is issued or any other fractional part thereof and
shall be in addition to any other license fees or charges established
by proper authority and applicable to the holder of the vehicle or
vehicles under his operation and control.
A.
A taxicab license issued under the provisions of this chapter may
be revoked or suspended by the Chief of Police if the holder thereof
has:
(1)
Violated any of the provisions of this chapter; or
(2)
Discontinued operations for more than 90 days; or
(3)
Violated any ordinances of the City, or the laws of the United States
or the State of New York, the violations of which reflect unfavorably
on the fitness of the holder to offer public transportation.
B.
Prior to suspension or revocation, the holder shall be given notice
of the proposed action to be taken and shall have an opportunity to
be heard.
No person shall operate a taxicab, livery, or independent transportation
provider, for hire upon the streets of the City, and no person who
owns or controls a taxicab, livery, or independent transportation
provider licensed by the Chief of Police, or his assigns, shall be
so driven at any time for hire, unless the driver of said taxicab,
livery, or independent transportation provider shall have first obtained
and shall have then in force a taxicab, livery, or independent transportation
provider driver's license issued under the provisions of this
chapter. All persons to whom a taxicab, livery, or independent transportation
provider driver's license has been issued shall, before operating
a taxicab, livery, or independent transportation provider within the
City of Cortland, notify the Chief of Police of the City of Cortland
Police Department of the name and address of the taxicab, livery,
or independent transportation provider business licensee for which
the taxicab, livery, or independent transportation provider is being
operated shall be reported to the Chief of Police within five days
thereof.
An application for a taxicab, livery, or independent transportation
provider driver's license shall be filed with the Chief of Police
on forms provided by the Chief of Police; such application shall be
verified under oath and shall contain the following information:
A.
The names and addresses of three residents of the City who know the
applicant and who will vouch for the sobriety, honesty and general
good character of the applicant.
B.
The experience, if any, of the applicant in the transportation of
passengers.
C.
A concise history of his employment for the period of two years prior
to the date of the application.
D.
The date of birth of the applicant, and a statement that the applicant
is over the age of 21 years.
E.
Any other information required by the Chief of Police.
Each application for a taxicab, livery, or independent transportation
provider driver's license shall be accompanied by a certificate
from a reputable physician of the City certifying that, in his opinion,
the applicant is not inflicted with any disease or infirmity which
might make him an unsafe or unsatisfactory driver; and by three unmounted,
unretouched photographs of the applicant taken within 30 days preceding
the filing of the application. The City of Cortland Police Department
may, upon the request of an applicant, take photographs of the applicant
for such license upon the payment of a fee of $10.
The Police Department of the City shall examine each applicant
for a taxicab, livery, or independent transportation provider driver's
license as to his knowledge of state and local traffic laws and ordinances.
Such applicant shall also demonstrate that he is familiar with the
geography of the City. The Police Department shall also investigate
each applicant to determine his traffic and police record, if any.
The Police Department shall then report on its findings from all such
examinations and investigations to the Chief of Police.
A.
Upon consideration of an application for a taxicab, livery, or independent
transportation provider driver's license, the certificate attached
thereto, and the report of the Police Department as to its examination
and investigation of the applicant, the Chief of Police shall approve
or reject the application; however, in no event may the Chief of Police
grant a license if it appears that the applicant is under 21 years
of age.
B.
If the application is rejected, the applicant may request a personal
appearance before the Chief of Police to offer evidence why his application
should be reconsidered. If the application is approved, upon the payment
of a fee of $10, the Chief of Police shall issue to the applicant
a license, in writing, which shall bear the name, address, signature
and photograph of the applicant and the signature of the Chief of
Police.
A taxicab, livery, or independent transportation provider driver's
license shall be in effect for the remainder of the calendar year
in which it is issued. Such license may be renewed for each calendar
year upon payment of a license fee of $10, provided such license was
not revoked during the preceding year.
Every taxicab, livery, or independent transportation provider
driver's license under this chapter shall post his taxicab, livery,
or independent transportation provider driver's license or driver's
identification card in such place to be in full view of all passengers
while such driver is operating a taxicab. Such license shall be kept
clean and shall be in no way defaced.
The Chief of Police is hereby given the authority to revoke
any taxicab, livery, or independent transportation provider driver
license issued under this chapter or to suspend license for a driver's
license for drivers failing or refusing to comply with the provisions
of this chapter, any such suspension to last for a period of not more
than 60 days. The Chief of Police is also given authority to revoke
any taxicab, livery, or independent transportation provider driver's
license or to suspend such license for said period for failure to
comply with any City, state or federal laws, ordinances, rules or
regulations. A taxicab, livery, or independent transportation provider
driver's license may not be revoked unless the driver has received
notice and has had an opportunity to present evidence in his behalf.
Every licensee for the operation of a taxicab business shall
file with the Chief of Police before operating or permitting to be
operated a taxicab in the City a statement, in writing, showing the
serial number and engine number of each vehicle to be so operated.
A.
Every vehicle operating under the provisions of this chapter, and
all the equipment therein, shall be kept and maintained in clean,
safe and sanitary condition.
B.
It shall be the responsibility of the taxicab business licensee,
or any person under whose license such vehicle is being operated,
to inspect or cause to be inspected on a daily basis each taxicab
operated by him. The taxicab business owner or person or dispatcher
under whose license or name said vehicle is being operated shall correct
any defective condition, repair any broken item(s) and clean such
vehicle so as to maintain such vehicle in a safe and sanitary condition
at all times.
C.
Taxicab drivers shall maintain a neat and clean appearance at all
times.
A.
Every taxicab business shall make regular and periodic inspections
of any taxicab owned or operated by him or her at the request of the
City of Cortland Police Department.
B.
The City of Cortland Police Department shall conduct regular and
periodic inspections of all taxicabs licensed to operate in the City
of Cortland. No vehicle shall be licensed as a taxicab until it has
been inspected by the City of Cortland Police Department and found
by it to be in safe and sanitary condition for the transportation
of passengers. The owner or operator of any taxicab that is operated
within the City of Cortland without first having been inspected and
approved shall be in violation of this chapter and subject to the
penalties prescribed therein.
C.
The City of Cortland Police Department may photograph any vehicle
or any part thereof during such inspection.
No owner or driver of a taxicab, livery, or independent transportation
provider shall charge a sum for the use of a taxicab which exceeds
the following rates:
A.
B.
Taxicabs may be rented on an hourly basis but, if rented on such
basis, shall be rented on a basis of $0.12 per minute with a maximum
charge of $7 per hour, and the rate shall be agreed upon by the driver
and passenger or passengers before the use begins.
C.
For every trip for five persons carried between the taxi stand at Jenman Field and the taxi stand in front of the Administration Building at State University College at Cortland, New York, $0.60 per person; in the event that a taxi carries fewer than five persons, the rate set forth in § 258-20A above shall prevail.
D.
Every taxicab business licensee and operator of a taxicab shall keep
a permanent record or log of all trips or deliveries made by its vehicles
on a form to be prescribed by the City of Cortland Police Department.
Entries on such record or log shall be made simultaneously upon the
completion of each trip or delivery. The written record or log shall
be maintained by the owner or operator and shall be made available
to the City of Cortland Police Department upon the demand of any officer
thereof.
E.
At no time shall the owner or operator of a taxicab permit occupation
of the taxicab by more passengers than the vehicle's maximum
seating capacity as determined by the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles
of the State of New York or the manufacturer of such vehicle.
Every owner and driver operating a taxicab, livery or independent
transportation provider under the provisions of this chapter shall
have a rate card setting forth the schedule of rates authorized by
this chapter conspicuously displayed in full view of all passengers
inside said taxicab. Said rate card shall also contain the names of
the owner and driver of said taxicab.
Every taxicab, livery or independent transportation provider
vehicle in the City of Cortland shall be clearly marked on each side
with the business name and its telephone number. Such markings shall
be affixed to the outside of the vehicle so the name and telephone
number may be clearly identified by the public while the vehicle is
being operated.
A.
No taxicab, livery or independent transportation provider business
licensee or taxicab driver shall use or permit the use of electronic
scanning devices if such scanning device has programmed into it or
has the capacity to have programmed into it a frequency or frequencies
utilized by the City of Cortland Police Department.
B.
No taxicab, livery or independent transportation provider business
licensee or taxicab driver shall use or permit to be used a radio
frequency or frequencies utilized by another taxicab business; nor
shall a taxicab business licensee or taxicab driver program or permit
to be programmed into any radio utilized by the taxicab business licensee
or taxicab driver a frequency of another taxicab business operating
in the City of Cortland without first obtaining written permission
from the owner and user of such radio frequency and the approval of
the City of Cortland Chief of Police or his or her designee.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a violation of this Code of Ordinances, punishable as provided in § 1-22 of this Code, and, in addition thereto, shall be subject to having his license suspended or revoked as herein provided.
