GENERAL REFERENCES
Licenses, registrations and permits generally — See Ch. 11.
Motor vehicles and traffic — See Ch. 13.
STATE LAW REFERENCES
Authority of City to regulate carriages and vehicles —
See MGL c. 40, § 22.
[R. O. 1947, ch. 28, § 1]
Every motor vehicle used or to be used for the conveyance of
persons for hire shall be deemed to be a taxicab within the meaning
of this article, except a motor vehicle operated in a manner and for
the purposes stated in chapter 159A of the General Laws.
[R. O. 1947, ch. 28, § 2]
No person shall operate any taxicab upon any public way in the
city without first obtaining a license therefor from the city council
and complying with the applicable terms of this article.
[Ord. No. 523,
§ 1, 10-28-1985]
[Ord. No. 523,
§ 1, 10-28-1985]
The taxicab commission shall regulate the operation of taxicabs
in the city and shall annually on December 1 recommend to the city
council and mayor changes to be made in authorized fees and rates
as established by ordinance.
[R. O. 1947, ch. 28, § 3]
Applications for licenses required by this article shall be
made to the city council on forms furnished by it and shall set forth
such information as the council may require.
[R. O. 1947, ch. 28, § 4]
No license shall be issued under the provisions of this article
unless the applicant therefor shall have presented to the city clerk
in the case of each car, a valid certificate of registration issued
by the registrar of motor vehicles.
[R. O. 1947, ch. 28, § 5; Ord. No. 617, § 1, 10-14-1988]
The fee for each license issued pursuant to the provisions of this article shall be as set out in chapter 24 of this Code, section 24-1, schedule of fees. Said fee shall be charged for each vehicle to be operated thereunder, and no such license shall be issued until such fee has been paid to the taxicab commission.
[R. O. 1947, ch. 28, § 4]
Each license issued under the provisions of this article shall
be signed by the city clerk. It shall set forth the name, residence
and place of business of the licensee, a description of the motor
vehicle to be operated under it, the current registration number and
the engine number of such vehicle, and the number of persons, exclusive
of the operator, which it may carry. Unless sooner revoked or rendered
void, such license shall continue in effect until the first day of
January next after the date thereof. Such licenses shall be numbered
in order as granted and shall set forth upon their face that they
are issued subject to all provisions of law, this Code and other ordinances
of the city.
[R. O. 1947, ch. 28, § 12]
The city clerk shall issue to each licensee under this article
with each such license a card bearing the title, "Taxi Vehicle License,
Pittsfield, Mass.," and setting forth the serial number of the license,
a schedule of rates to be charged, the year of its issue, and the
number of passengers the vehicle therein referred to is permitted
to carry. Such card shall be attached to the interior of such vehicle
so as to be plainly visible to the occupants thereof.
[R. O. 1947, ch. 28, § 17]
No license granted under the provisions of this article shall
apply to any vehicle except the particular one designated therein
by its number or otherwise made certain.
[R. O. 1947, ch. 28, § 18]
No license issued under the provisions of this article shall
be sold, assigned or transferred without the consent of the city council,
endorsed thereon by the city clerk.
[R. O. 1947, ch. 28, §§ 2, 36]
After notice to the licensee and reasonable opportunity to be
heard, the city council may suspend or revoke any license issued under
the provisions of this article for violation of this article or for
other cause.
Any license granted under the provisions of this article may
be revoked or suspended by the city council upon the representation
of the chief of police that the licensee is not a proper person to
operate under such license.
[R. O. 1947, Ch. 28, §§ 6—9]
No license shall be issued under the provisions of this chapter
until the applicant has delivered to the city treasurer a policy of
insurance issued by an insurance company authorized to transact the
business specified in subdivision (b) of the sixth clause of section
47 of chapter 175 of the General Laws covering the motor vehicle to
be operated by the applicant under his license, conforming to the
provisions of sections 112 and 113 of chapter 175, nor until the applicant
has also delivered to the city treasurer a certificate of the insurance
company issuing the policy showing that the policy shall not be cancelled
without giving the city treasurer 15 days' notice thereof.
Such policy shall be a policy of liability insurance which provides
indemnity for or protection to the insured and any person responsible
for the operation of the insured's car with his express or implied
consent, against loss by reason of the liability to pay damages to
others for injury to property or bodily injuries, including death,
at any time resulting therefrom, sustained during the term of such
policy by any person, including passengers, other than employees of
the insured or of such other persons responsible as aforesaid, who
are entitled to payments or benefits under the provisions of chapter
152 of the General Laws and arising out of the ownership, operation,
maintenance, control or use anywhere in the commonwealth of such car,
to the amount or limit of at least $5,000 on account of injury to
or death of one person, or of at least $10,000 on account of any accident
resulting in injury to or the death of more than one person, and to
the amount or limit of at least $1,000 on account of any one accident
resulting in injury to property.
The city treasurer shall, upon the request of any person, furnish
the name of the company issuing such policy covering any particular
car described in a license granted under this article, and shall exhibit
such policy to any such person or his duly authorized representative.
Any such license shall terminate upon the cancelling or the
expiring of such policy of insurance covering the car therein described.
[R. O. 1947, Ch. 28, §§ 14, 15]
Each operator of a taxicab shall file with the chief of police
his photograph, name, age, address and descriptive data on his license
to operate motor vehicles in this commonwealth. Each operator shall
carry a duplicate of that photograph attached to his license when
operating.
No owner or person having the care or management of a taxicab
shall employ or suffer any person to drive the same, and no person
shall drive the same, other than a person who has conformed with the
requirements of this section.
[R. O. 1947, ch. 28, §§ 10, 11; Ord. No. 617, § 2, 10-14-1988]
Before a license to operate a vehicle as a taxicab is granted,
such vehicle shall be thoroughly inspected and examined by the chief
of police, or by some one designated by him, for the purpose of ascertaining
whether the same is in a safe condition for the transportation of
passengers, clean and of good appearance. All taxicabs for which a
license to operate has been granted shall be inspected to meet the
above requirements every six months after the issuance of such licenses.
All taxicabs so inspected and licensed shall be given a sticker to
be issued by the taxicab commission and distributed by the police
department. Said sticker shall indicate the date of inspection, and
be conspicuously displayed on the lower righthand corner of the rear
window of said taxicab.
The city council shall refuse a license to operate, or, if already
issued, revoke or suspend the license to operate, or to cause or allow
to be operated as a taxicab, any motor vehicle found to be unfit or
unsuited for public patronage.
[R. O. 1947, Ch. 28, § 13]
No person operating a taxicab shall establish and maintain therefor
any route between fixed terminals in competition with a person licensed
by the city council to engage in motor bus service.
[R. O. 1947, Ch. 28; 16]
No taxicab driver shall operate more than 12 hours during any
period of 24 consecutive hours.
[R. O. 1947, Ch. 28, § 19]
No taxicab shall carry more passengers than the number designated
as to seating capacity in the license granted for such taxicab.
[R. O. 1947, Ch. 28, § 20; Ord. No. 554, § 1, 9-29-1986]
No driver of a taxicab shall refuse to carry any person as a
passenger therein, unless the person is drunk or disorderly or is
affected with a contagious disease or is distasteful or offensive.
[R. O. 1947, Ch. 28, § 21]
No person having charge of or driving a taxicab shall receive
or permit to be placed therein, or convey in or upon the same, any
person affected with any contagious disease, or the body of any person
deceased from such disease.
[R. O. 1947, Ch. 28, § 22]
No person driving a taxicab shall have in his possession a lighted
cigarette, cigar or pipe while any passenger is being carried therein.
[R. O. 1947, Ch. 28, § 23; Ord. No. 773, § 1, 11-10-1994]
No taxicab shall be stopped to take on or to discharge passengers
at any place on any street except at the curb; nor shall any passenger
be permitted to enter or to leave the vehicle except from the side
nearest the curb; nor shall any person be permitted to sit or ride
upon any fender, dash, step, running board, top or door of any such
vehicle. A driver of a taxicab may require that all passengers ride
in the back seat.
[R. O. 1947, Ch. 28, § 24]
Every person having charge of or driving a taxicab shall deliver
any article left therein by any passenger to the Police Department
not later than 24 hours after finding the same, and shall receive
a receipt therefor; and the Police Department shall take proper steps
to return the same to the owner. All such articles delivered to the
Police Department and not claimed by the owner within 90 days from
such delivery shall be delivered to the licensee of the vehicle in
which they were left.
[R. O. 1947, Ch. 28, §§ 25, 26; Ord. No. 540, § 1, 6-13-1986]
Every motor vehicle used or to be used as a taxicab, except
motor vehicles used as limousines or on a contractual basis, whether
for a single person or a group, and rented on an hourly basis or other
specific time period only, shall be equipped with a mechanical instrument
or device, otherwise known as a taximeter, by which the charge for
hire is mechanically calculated, either for distance traveled or for
waiting time, or for both, and upon which such charge shall be indicated
by means figures.
Such mechanical instrument shall be of standard transmission
type and shall be tested and certified by the Sealer of Weights and
Measures of the city before its use, and thereafter at such times
as he may inspect the same, and, if in any way found to be defective
by him, shall be immediately removed from such taxicab, and thereafter
shall not again be used until tested and approved by him.
No license shall be granted under the provisions of this article
until the taximeter attached to the taxicab therein described shall
have been inspected by the Sealer of Weights and Measures and found
to be accurate in accordance with the provisions of Section 45 of
Chapter 98 of the General Laws and rules and regulations promulgated
thereunder.
[R. O. 1947, Ch. 28, § 27; Ord. No. 336, § 1; Ord. No. 520, § 1; Ord. No. 186, § 1, 4-24-1973; Ord.
No. 187, § 1, 6-27-1973; Ord. No. 265, § 1, 11-12-1976; Ord. No. 354, § 1, 7-17-1979; Ord. No. 543, § 1, 7-1-1986; Ord. No. 784, § 1, 5-9-1995; Ord.
No. 809, § 1, 9-25-1996; Ord. No. 873, § I, 4-25-2000; Ord.
No. 962, § I, 9-28-2005; Ord. No. 1254, § I, 8-9-2022]
No owner or driver of a taxicab shall charge any passenger or
group of passengers taken on and discharged at the same respective
points any higher rate than $3.50 and $0.40 for each additional 1/8
of a mile thereafter.
[R. O. 1947, Ch. 28, § 28; Ord. No. 336, § 1; Ord. No. 520, § 1; Ord. No. 186, § 2, 4-24-1973; Ord.
No. 187, § 2, 6-27-1973; Ord. No. 265, § 2, 11-12-1976; Ord. No. 354, § 2, 7-17-1979; Ord. No. 543, § 1, 7-1-1986]
Waiting time shall include all time during which the vehicle
is not in motion beginning three minutes after its arrival at the
place to which it has been called after having been engaged by a customer;
provided, however, that should a customer request assistance from
the driver of the taxi, either at the beginning of his engagement
or at the place to which he has been directed by the customer, for
the purpose of loading, unloading, or carrying of baggage, groceries
or similar items, waiting time shall be measured without regard to
said three-minute-period, but shall be measured from the time the
said driver begins loading, unloading or carrying, until he has deposited
such items in the place requested by the customer. Waiting time, if
applicable, shall be computed at the rate of $0.30 per minute. No
charge for waiting time shall be made due to the inefficiency of the
driver, defectiveness of the vehicle, or time lost through interruption
of street traffic. There shall be posted on each taxicab a legible
notice, which does not obstruct the view of the operator, but is clearly
visible to passengers entering the vehicle that if the cab driver
assists in loading, unloading or carrying of articles a waiting time
charge of $0.30 per minute is being registered on the meter.
[R. O. 1947, ch. 28, § 29; Ord. No. 186, § 3, 4-24-1973; Ord. No. 265, § 3, 11-12-1976; Ord. No. 354, § 3, 7-17-1979; Ord.
No. 543, § 1, 7-1-1986; Ord. No. 617, § 3, 10-14-1988; Ord. No. 625, § 1, 1-12-1989]
No owner or driver of a taxicab, when hired by the hour for
trips within the City, shall charge any passenger or group of passengers
any lower rate than $18 per hour, and a proportionate part of the
hourly rate charge for each fractional part of an hour after the first
hour. Said rate shall be set with the prior written approval of the
taxicab commission. No hourly rate shall be given for less than one
hour. Hourly rate charges as hereinbefore provided shall be made without
regard to the use of the taximeter. Charges for a taxi not engaged
by the hour shall be as otherwise provided in the Code.
[R. O. 1947, Ch. 28, § 30]
Taxicab rates for funerals, christenings and weddings shall
be agreed upon between the person in charge of the motor vehicle and
passenger.
[Ord. No. 773,
§ 2, 11-10-1994]
A driver of a taxicab may require that all fares be prepaid
between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Any prepaid fare shall
be estimated by the dispatcher. Upon arrival at the destination, the
driver shall charge any additional amount due or refund to the passenger
any overpayment based upon the driver's calculation of the actual
fare.
[R. O. 1947, Ch. 28, § 32]
When a taxicab is hired for a trip in part outside the city,
the person in charge may suspend, with the consent of the passenger,
the use of the taximeter as a means of determining the price to be
paid. In such cases the price shall be agreed upon between the person
in charge of the taxicab and the passenger.
[R. O. 1947, Ch. 28, § 33]
Without the consent of a prior passenger, no driver of a taxicab
shall take in or carry any passenger after the vehicle has been occupied
or engaged; and no prior passenger shall be requested or obliged to
pay an extra fare for such refusal.
[R. O. 1947, Ch. 28, § 34]
Each vehicle described in a license granted under the provision
of this article shall have affixed or attached thereto a placard,
plate or other sign indicating to the public that it is a taxicab.
[R. O. 1947, Ch. 28, § 35]
All owners and drivers of taxicabs shall be subject to such
further rules, orders and regulations as may from time to time be
promulgated by the city council.
[R. O. 1947, Ch. 28, § 37; Ord. No. 187, § 5, 6-27-1973]
No person shall smoke or carry a lighted pipe, cigar or cigarette
on a vehicle operated 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 company, except a chartered private vehicle or
on that part of such vehicle first above referred to where smoking
is permitted by the owner operating the same.
[Ord. No. 186,
§ 5, 4-24-1973; Ord. No. 187, § 6, 6-27-1973]
Notwithstanding the taxi rates established by this article,
elderly or senior citizens, so-called, shall be charged 80% of the
established rate with a minimum charge of $0.50. Said elderly or senior
citizens shall be entitled to such reduced rate by purchasing discount
coupon books from the owner of the taxicab company or from the senior
citizens center, which coupon books shall be furnished by the owner
of the taxicab company and made available to the senior citizens center.
Elderly or senior citizens shall only be entitled to such discount
coupon books upon presentation of an identification card from the
senior citizens center, which identification card shall be nontransferable.
Said discount coupon books shall consist of a minimum of $5 of coupons
for the price of $4 and the coupon book or any coupons thereof shall
be redeemable by the purchaser from the owner of the taxicab company
and nontransferable.
[R. O. 1947, Ch. 29, § 1]
No person shall set up, use or drive any truck, wagon, dray, cart or other vehicle for the conveyance, for hire from place to place within the city, of such articles as are enumerated in section 21-36 without a license therefor from the city council. Licenses granted as aforesaid shall be subject to such conditions as the city council may deem expedient and may be revoked in its discretion. A record of the licenses so granted shall be kept by the city clerk. This section shall not apply to an employee of a person licensed under this article while actually engaged as such employee.
[R. O. 1947, Ch. 29, § 6]
For every license granted under the provisions of this article,
there shall be paid to the city clerk, for the use of the city, the
sum of $1; provided, however, that the owner of a truck, wagon, dray
or other vehicle, who is licensed to set up or use more than one such
vehicle, shall pay $1 for the first and $0.50 for each additional
vehicle so included. All licenses granted as aforesaid shall expire
on the first day of May next after the date thereof unless sooner
revoked.
[R. O. 1947, Ch. 29, § 2]
The person in whose name a license is granted under the provisions
of this article shall, for all the purposes of this article be considered
the owner of the vehicles operated thereunder and shall be liable
to all the forfeitures and penalties herein contained.
[R. O. 1947, Ch. 29, § 3]
Every truck, wagon, dray, cart or other vehicle drawn by one
or more horses or other power, which shall be commonly used for the
conveyance within the city for hire of wood, coal, lumber, stone,
brick, sand, gravel, clay, dirt, goods, wares, furniture, merchandise,
building materials, or any article or thing whatsoever, whose owner
is licensed as required by this article, shall be conspicuously marked
and numbered on the outside, on the right and left sides thereof,
with the number of the license in figures not less than 1 1/2
inches in height. Such figures shall be of a light color on a dark
ground or of a dark color on a light ground and placed either on the
driver's seat or on the sides of the vehicle. Every vehicle whose
owner is licensed under the provisions of this article shall bear
the name of the licensee in plain characters so that the same may
be distinctly seen and read.
[R. O. 1947, ch. 29, § 4]
No owner or driver of any vehicle mentioned in section 21-33 shall use the same or suffer the same to be used with a number thereon other than that designated in the license of the owner thereof.
[R. O. 1947, ch. 29, § 5]
No person under 18 years of age shall drive or have charge of any vehicle mentioned in section 21-33 without special permission from the city council.
[R. O. 1947, ch. 29, § 7]
No person other than the duly licensed owner of any vehicle
mentioned in this article or his employee shall solicit baggage, merchandise
or articles of any kind to be conveyed for hire within the city.
[Ord. No. 674,
§ 16, 5-29-1991]
Any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall
pay the fines as stated below:
First and each subsequent offense $300.
Each day in which any violation exists shall be deemed to constitute
a separate offense. The provisions of this chapter shall be enforced
by buildings inspector's office and the police department.
