[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:
TAXICAB
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 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.
[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.
[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.
[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:
A. 
Name and business address of owner.
B. 
Termini of each route.
C. 
Description of each route in detail by highways.
D. 
A list of all bridges of 10 feet or more clear span over which the bus or buses are to be operated.
E. 
Motor buses to be operated with the description of each as follows:
(1) 
Number of buses.
(2) 
Make and type of buses.
(3) 
Weight of heaviest bus to be operated.
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 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.