[Ord. No. 70-46 §1, 6-3-1970]
Unless it appears that a different meaning is intended, the
following words shall have the meaning given them by the Section:
Any individual, partnership or corporation.
Any street, alley, avenue, boulevard, court, lane or public
place in the City of Bridgeton.
Any motor vehicle engaged in the business of carrying persons
for hire on the streets of the City of Bridgeton whether the same
is operated from a street stand or from a garage, where no regular
or specific route is traveled but passengers are taken to and from
such places as they may designate; whether the to and from such places
as they may designate; whether the charge therefor is made on the
basis of distance traveled as indicated by a taximeter or speedometer
attached thereto, or by any other method of determining distance,
such as by zoning system or otherwise, or the time consumed in traveling,
or on any other basis whatever.
[Ord. No. 70-46 §1, 6-3-1970]
This Chapter shall not apply to any motor vehicle used as a
sight-seeing car, a "sight-seeing car" being defined
as a motor vehicle having a seating capacity in excess of ten (10)
persons and which is used for the purpose of conveying passengers
on sight-seeing tours as the term is generally understood, and where
the basis for charge is the time or circuit route traveled by such
cars in regular trips. Nor shall it apply to "service cars" or "buses",
as those terms are generally understood.
[Ord. No. 70-46 §2, 6-3-1970]
A.
No person
shall engage in the business of operating a taxicab or taxicabs upon
the streets of the City of Bridgeton without first obtaining a license
to do so. Such license shall be issued by the City Clerk after the
application therefor has been approved and the requisite fee paid,
as hereinafter prescribed, and after all other provisions of this
Chapter pertaining to the obtaining or issuing of said licenses have
been complied with.
B.
Application
for a license to engage in the business of operating a taxicab or
taxicabs shall be filed with the City Clerk and referred to the Council
for consideration and action. The application shall be in writing,
verified by the affidavit of the applicants; or, if the applicant
be a corporation or a partnership, by its duly authorized officer
or agent and shall state the following facts:
1.
The
full name and address of the applicant; if a partnership, the name
and addresses of all the partners; if a corporation, the names and
addresses of all the officers and directors thereof.
2.
The
name and address of the owner or owners of the vehicles proposed to
be operated.
3.
A statement
of the previous experience the applicant has had, or if the applicant
be a partnership, the partners thereof have had; or if the applicant
be a corporation, the officers and directors have had, in the taxicab
business.
4.
The
number of taxicabs the applicant desires to operate within the City.
5.
The
seating capacity of each vehicle proposed to be used as a taxicab
according to the manufacturer's rating, which must not be less than
three (3) in the tonneau thereof.
6.
The
type of motor car to be used, horsepower, name of manufacturer, the
length of time such vehicle has been in use, the insurance proposed
to be carried, the amount of same and the name of the company issuing
the policy.
7.
The
color scheme of the taxicab or taxicabs proposed to be used.
C.
The application
shall be accompanied by a certificate of inspection from the Chief
of Police, who shall inspect all taxicabs as hereinafter provided;
such certificate, however, shall not be necessary in case the vehicles
proposed to be operated as taxicabs are new and have not been in use
theretofore.
[1]
State Law Reference — Authority to require licenses,
RSMo., §94.110.
[Ord. No. 70-46 §2, 6-3-1970]
The Council shall have power to approve any such applications
and order a license issued or refuse to do so, as it may deem proper.
In determining whether such application shall be approved and the
license issued, or otherwise, the Council shall take into consideration
whether the demands of the public require such proposed or additional
taxicab service within the City of Bridgeton, the financial responsibility
of the applicant, the number, kind and type of equipment, and the
color scheme proposed to be used, the increased traffic congestion,
and the demand for increased parking space upon the streets of the
City which may result, and whether the safe use of the streets by
the public, both vehicular and pedestrian, will be preserved by the
granting of such license, and such other relevant facts as the Council
may deem advisable or necessary.
[Ord. No. 70-46 §3, 6-3-1970]
If the Council shall approve the application and authorize the
issuance of the license applied for, the City Clerk shall, after payment
by the applicant of the fee prescribed therefor, issue such license
and deliver the same to the applicant. If the Council shall refuse
to approve the application, the City Clerk shall make a memorandum
to that effect thereupon and notify the applicant that his application
has been disapproved. The City Clerk may issue a single combined license
for the taxicab license under this Chapter and the license provided
under the motor vehicle licensing ordinance.
[Ord. No. 70-46 §4, 6-3-1970]
A.
Before
any license shall be issued under this Chapter, the applicant shall
pay to the Clerk of the City the sum of fifteen dollars ($15.00) as
an annual license tax for each taxicab to be operated for the conveyance
of passengers upon, along or over the streets of the City, and in
addition shall pay the fee imposed by the City for the licensing of
motor vehicle to be operated on its streets. When any taxicab license
is issued after June thirtieth (30th) of any year, the fee for the
remaining part of the year shall be seven dollars fifty cents ($7.50)
plus any City auto registration fee which may be due.
B.
Each
license shall expire on December thirty-first (31st) after its issuance.
All such licenses may thereafter be renewed annually effective on
January first (1st.) of each year upon payment of the required fee.
C.
Existing
licenses renewable July 1, 1970, shall be renewed for a period of
six (6) months to December 31, 1970, for a fee of seven dollars fifty
cents ($7.50) plus any motor vehicle registration fee which may be
due.
[Ord. No. 70-46 §5, 6-3-1970]
Every applicant for a license to operate a taxicab as herein
defined, and the owner of the said taxicab, in addition to the requirements
herein mentioned, shall maintain and carry for each taxicab licensed
to be operated liability insurance in the sum of five thousand dollars
($5,000.00) for any one (1) person, and the sum of twenty thousand
dollars ($20,000.00) for any two (2) or more persons who may be injured
in any one (1) accident, and five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) for
any property damage, at any time by reason of the negligence or carelessness
of the driver or operator of such taxicab. Said insurance shall be
carried in a firm or corporation which has been duly licensed or permitted
to carry on such business in the State of Missouri, and shall be kept
and maintained continually in force and effect so long as such applicant
and owner of such taxicab shall be licensed to operate the same on
the streets of this City, provided that any taxicab operator making
an application under the provisions of this Chapter who shall furnish
to the Mayor and Council annually, and at such other times as may
be required, satisfactory proof and evidence of such taxicab operator's
financial ability to properly protect the interest of the public and
pay compensation for injuries to persons and loss or damage to property
on account or arising out of negligent operation of such taxicabs,
shall not be required to furnish liability insurance as herein set
forth.
[Ord. No. 70-46 §6, 6-3-1970]
Every licensee hereunder shall, on or before the fifth (5th)
day of each month, file with the City Clerk a report showing the number
of accidents in which any taxicab owned or operated by him was involved
during the preceding month, the nature of the damage, if any, to person
or property resulting therefrom, the names and addresses of all persons
claiming damage arising from any taxicab accident and the amount,
if any, paid during the preceding month in settlement of such claims,
including those in suit; also list of all pending suits on claims
arising out of accidents with amounts sued for and the status of said
suits. The failure to file such report within the time herein provided
for, or the filing or causing or intentionally permitting the filing
of a false report, shall be a violation of this Chapter and shall
also be grounds for forfeiting the said principal's certificate of
convenience and necessity and for forfeiting his license. It shall
be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation, to operate or drive,
or cause to be operated or driven, any taxicab along or upon any public
street, highway, or other public place in the City of Bridgeton, unless
the policy of insurance required by this Chapter for such taxicab
shall have been filed with the City Clerk, and be in full force and
effect. If any policy of insurance or bond required by this Chapter
and covering any or all of the taxicabs authorized to be operated
under a certificate of convenience and necessity be cancelled, or
for any reason including the expiration of its term be permitted to
lapse, and the holder of such certificate of convenience and necessity
fails to replace same immediately with another policy of insurance
fully complying with the provisions of this Chapter such certificate
of convenience and necessity and the taxicab licenses issued thereunder
shall be ipso facto suspended.
[Ord. No. 70-46 §7, 6-3-1970]
No person shall drive a taxicab licensed under the provisions
of this Chapter who is not a duly licensed chauffeur as required by
the laws of the State of Missouri and who has not submitted and given
his fingerprints to the Police Department of the City of Bridgeton.
Each person, before so operating a taxicab, shall be finger printed
and shall submit to the Chief of Police for inspection his chauffeur's
license and shall have said chauffeur's license at all times available
for the inspection and examination by the Chief of Police or any Police
Officer upon demand.
[Ord. No. 70-46 §8, 6-3-1970]
The Chief of Police shall maintain constant vigilance over all
taxicabs, and shall inspect all such vehicles to ascertain that they
are in a thoroughly safe condition for the transportation of passengers,
clean, fit, of good appearance, well painted and varnished. Such inspection
shall be made annually before the issuance of any license therefor,
and shall be made thereafter from time to time, or at the complaint
of any person, as often as may be necessary to ascertain that such
taxicabs are kept in a condition of continued fitness for public use
and he may forbid the use of any vehicle by the owner thereof found
to be unfit or unsuited for public patronage. He shall also examine
the taximeter, speedometer, or any other measuring device attached
to any taxicab and see that the same is at all times accurate.
[Ord. No. 70-46 §9, 6-3-1970]
The provisions of this Chapter shall apply to any licensee who
desires to increase the number of taxicabs to be operated, and no
person who has been licensed to operate taxicabs may discontinue any
or all of them without first filing with the City Clerk a statement
verified by affidavit of the number of vehicles he desires to discontinue
operating and the reasons therefor. The withdrawal of any vehicle
from operation for the purpose of conditioning, overhauling or repairing
the same shall not be considered discontinued operation under this
Section. Upon complete abandonment of taxicab service for a period
of thirty (30) days by any owner or operator of taxicabs, the Council
may recall or revoke the license issued to such owner or operator.
[Ord. No. 70-46 §10, 6-3-1970]
A.
The City
Council shall designate such stands or stopping places for taxicabs
as they may determine, taking into consideration the public need and
the facilities and qualifications of applicants for such stands. No
taxicab while waiting for time to depart shall stop or stand on any
public street or place, except at such place as shall be designated
by the City Council.
B.
While
a taxicab is on a public street or place, passengers shall be solicited
by no other means than by having a printed sign on the vehicle stating
that the same is for hire and the rate of fare; nor shall any driver
or chauffeur of any such vehicle seek employment by repeatedly and
persistently driving his taxicab in and about a short space; but such
driver or chauffeur, in addition to the sign on such vehicle as herein
provided, may solicit employment by driving through any public street
or place without stops other than those due to obstruction of traffic
thereon, or to temporary traffic signals or rules, may pass and repass
before any theater, hall, hotel, restaurant, place of amusement or
public resort, provided that after passing any such place he shall
not repass the same until he shall have gone a distance of at least
four (4) blocks upon the streets of the City. Five (5) passengers
shall constitute the maximum allowable load to be carried in a taxicab
at any one (1) time.
[Ord. No. 70-46 §11, 6-3-1970]
A.
Before
any such stand or stopping place for taxicabs shall be designated
by the Council, written application for such allocation shall be filed
with the City Clerk and referred to the Chief of Police. The application
shall be in writing, verified by the affidavit of the applicant, or
if the applicant be a corporation or a partnership, by its duly authorized
officer or agent, and shall state the following facts:
1.
The
full name and address of the applicant; if a partnership, the names
and addresses of all the partners; if a corporation, the names and
addresses of all the officers and directors thereof.
2.
The
name and address of the owner or owners of the vehicles proposed to
be operated.
3.
The
number of spaces the applicant desires to have allocated.
[Ord. No. 70-46 §12, 6-3-1970]
Before any space for a taxi stand is allocated by the Council,
the applicant shall pay to the City Clerk of the City of Bridgeton,
the sum of one hundred dollars ($100.00) as an annual fee for the
privilege of using exclusively each space allocated; provided that
such fee shall be due and payable on July first (1st) each year, or
for any portion of any year for which an allocation is made.
[Ord. No. 70-46 §13, 6-3-1970]
The Mayor and Council shall have authority at any time to revoke
any and all licenses granted under this Chapter, after first having
granted the owner or operator of said taxicab or cabs a hearing on
the question of whether or not said license should be revoked. Upon
revocation of any license, no portion of the license fee shall be
refunded.
[Ord. No. 70-46 §14, 6-3-1970]
Any person violating any provision of this Chapter shall, upon
conviction thereof, be fined an amount not exceeding one hundred dollars
($100.00), or by imprisonment in the City or County Jail for a period
of time not exceeding thirty (30) days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
