For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms are to
be deemed and construed to have the meanings indicated in this section:
BUS
An unmetered commercial passenger vehicle which carries more
than 15 persons, including the driver, and operates on a fixed route
for a fare.
BUSINESS LICENSE YEAR
The period of time commencing on the 16th day of May of one
year and expiring on the 15th day of May of the following year.
CITY COUNCIL
The City Council of the City of Bangor as established by
Article II of the Charter of the City of Bangor.
COURTESY VEHICLE
A commercial vehicle service that carries passengers over
a short distance to or from a fixed destination (e.g., the airport)
at no charge to the customer.
DISPATCH CENTER
Any person, firm, association, partnership or corporation
that provides dispatching services, including any form of electronic
dispatch, to owners of taxicabs or liveries, in the City of Bangor.
DRIVER
Any person who is engaged in the driving of a taxicab or
livery for hire.
EMPLOYED BY or EMPLOYEE
Includes, but is not limited to, any employee, independent
contractor, lessee or person permitted to drive a taxicab or livery
of the business licensee.
FOR HIRE
The transportation of passengers for compensation.
LIMOUSINE
Any unmetered luxury vehicle designed to carry no fewer than
five and not more than 14 passengers behind the driver's seat, which
is of a type built or modified for use as a luxury "stretch limousine"
and is used for the transportation of passengers for-hire, solely
by prearrangement, on a reserved hourly or flat-rate basis.
LIVERY
A motor vehicle used for the transportation of passengers
for hire, having the following characteristics:
A.
A seating capacity of at least three and no more than 15 passengers
behind the driver's seat;
B.
Hired by means of a request or contract arranged in advance
of the time transportation is needed;
C.
Charge is by flat fee or by the minute;
D.
A price estimate is provided to the customer in advance of pickup;
and
E.
Does not operate on a fixed route.
OPERATE
The act of driving, attempting to drive, or exercising control
over a vehicle.
OWNER
The person, firm, association, partnership or corporation
to whom or to which a taxicab or livery business license has been
issued.
TAXICAB
A motor vehicle used for the transportation of passengers
for hire, having the following characteristics:
A.
A seating capacity of nine passengers or fewer, including the
driver;
B.
Operated on call and demand;
C.
Operated without fixed routes or terminuses;
D.
The destination and route of which are under the control of
the passenger or passengers being carried therein; and
E.
The fares for which are at rates per mile, or fraction thereof,
or wait time, or both.
TAXIMETER
A mechanical instrument or device by which the fare for hire
of the taxicab is automatically calculated, either for distance traveled
or waiting time or both, and plainly and accurately indicated in figures
that are illuminated and clearly visible to the passenger.
No person shall operate or cause to be operated any vehicle transporting passengers for hire unless the person is operating a licensed taxicab or livery, or a vehicle qualifying as exempt under §
278-2B.
It shall be unlawful for any person to operate any taxicab or
livery for hire without first obtaining a taxicab or livery driver's
license.
A. Fees. If a person has not previously held a City of Bangor taxicab or livery driver's license or if a person is renewing an existing license after the 15th of the month in which such license shall expire, the nonrefundable new/late licensing fee shall be as set forth in Chapter
109, Fees, of this Code. Any person renewing an existing taxicab or livery driver's license between the first and 15th of the month in which such license shall expire shall be charged a nonrefundable renewal fee as set forth in Chapter
109 of this Code.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
B. Application and issuance.
(1) An application for a taxicab or livery driver's license shall be
made upon forms furnished by the City Clerk and shall be signed in
front of the City Clerk by the applicant. The application shall require
the applicant to set out the following information:
(a)
That the applicant is 18 years of age or older.
(b)
That the applicant has held a valid driver's license for more
than two years.
(c)
Current contact information, including home and work address,
and home, work and cell telephone numbers, and email address if available.
(d)
Maine driver's license number.
(e)
List of all states in which the applicant has resided over the
past seven years.
(f)
List of all criminal convictions from any and all jurisdictions,
not including convictions for crimes committed as a juvenile.
(g)
Whether any driver's license held by the applicant is presently
revoked or has been revoked during the three years preceding the application
and the reasons for such revocation(s).
(h)
The applicant's signature certifying that all information provided
is complete and accurate and that the applicant understands the taxicab
and livery driver rules.
(i)
Any other information requested by the City Clerk, Chief of
Police, or City Council.
(2) Before such license shall be issued by the City Clerk, the application
must be approved by the Chief of Police, or their designee, and the
applicant must:
(a)
Present a valid State of Maine driver's license;
(b)
Demonstrate to the City Clerk that they can read, write and
speak the English language;
(c)
Present the taxicab or livery driver's license to be renewed,
if renewal is sought;
(d)
Pay the nonrefundable annual fee for a taxicab driver's license as required under §
278-7A above;
(e)
In the case of a new application, have their photograph taken at a place, time and date designated by the Chief of Police, or their designee, for City photo identification to be displayed as provided in Subsection
C, below. In the case of a renewal application, the applicant must present their City photo identification;
(f)
Demonstrate to the Chief of Police, or their designee, that
the applicant is competent to operate a motor vehicle safely and in
accordance with all applicable traffic laws and ordinances. In determining
whether the applicant is competent to operate a motor vehicle safely
and in accordance with law, the Chief of Police, or their designee,
shall consider factors including but not limited to whether the applicant
has any of the following:
[1]
Three or more convictions for motor vehicle violations within
the past three years.
[2]
One or more major moving violations within the past three years,
including but not limited to attempting to evade the police, reckless
driving or driving on a suspended or revoked license;
(g)
Satisfy the Chief of Police, or their designee, that the applicant
is at present of such good moral character that the applicant can
be trusted with the safe care and custody of taxicab passengers. In
determining whether the applicant is of "good moral character," the
Chief of Police, or their designee, shall consider factors, including,
but not limited to, the following:
[1]
Whether the applicant has been convicted at any time of murder,
manslaughter, or a Class A, B, or C crime against a person;
[2]
Whether the applicant has been convicted within the past seven
years of operating under the influence of drugs or alcohol, fraud,
a sexual offense, use of a motor vehicle to commit a felony, a crime
involving property damage or theft, an act of violence or an act of
terror, a drug-related crime, criminal threatening, or harassment;
and
[3]
Whether the applicant made any false statement or omission on
the application or in the course of the application process;
(h)
No license will be issued until the results of the State Bureau
of Investigation (SBI) criminal background check are received and
found to be acceptable by the Chief of Police, or their designee;
(i)
Have no outstanding warrants of arrest in Maine or any other
jurisdiction; and
(j)
Not be a convicted sex offender who is required to register
as a sex offender within the State of Maine or is on the national
sex offender registry.
(3) Failure to meet any of the requirements in Subsection
B(2)(a) through
(j) shall be grounds for denial of a taxicab or livery driver's license.
C. Identification tag. Upon the issuance of the taxicab or livery driver's
license, the Chief of Police, or their designee, shall also deliver
to the licensee an identification tag containing the applicant's photograph.
The identification tag shall be worn in a conspicuous place on the
licensee's uniform at all times while operating a taxicab within the
City of Bangor. Failure to display the identification tag in a conspicuous
place at all times constitutes ground for license revocation.
D. Expiration of taxicab or livery driver's license. Unless suspended
or revoked under this chapter, all taxicab and livery driver's licenses
shall expire annually on the last day of the month in which the license
was issued. Any license renewed within three months following the
expiration of the license will expire the following year on the last
day of the month in which the license was originally issued. Any license
renewed more than three months after its expiration will be treated
as a first-time license.
E. Record of denial. The City Clerk shall make and keep a written record
of every decision to deny an application for a taxicab driver's license.
Records of denial shall be kept for three years from the date of denial.
The owner or licensed operator of a taxicab or livery shall
keep daily records of all trips made by such vehicle, the beginning
and end time and place of each trip, and the amount of payment received,
not including any tip or gratuity given voluntarily by the customer.
Such records, upon demand, shall be open to inspection by the City
Clerk or any police officer. Said records shall be kept for a period
of not less than three years.
To facilitate the safe, orderly and professional provision of
taxicab and livery services, taxicab and livery drivers are required
to follow these guidelines:
A. Cell phones. Taxicab and livery drivers shall not use their cell
phone while transporting a passenger unless it is an emergency or
to receive calls from dispatch or customers.
B. Appearance. Every taxicab or livery driver operating a taxicab or
livery that is in service shall be suitably and professionally dressed,
and neat and clean in appearance. No clothing which is ripped or torn
or has a large or unsightly stain is permitted. Gym or workout shorts
or pajama pants are not permitted. Footwear must be closed-toe and
clean.
C. Personal hygiene: Taxicab and livery drivers will maintain good personal
hygiene.
A copy of the taxicab or livery business license issued for
a taxicab or livery must be kept inside the vehicle. The taxicab or
livery driver's license issued to the driver of that taxicab or livery
shall be conspicuously displayed on their person.
The Board of Appeals may suspend or revoke a taxicab or livery driver's license or taxicab or livery business license for the grounds listed in §
278-15C or
D according to the following procedure:
A. The Chief of Police, or their designee, shall give notice in writing
of the grounds for suspension or revocation of the license. Said notice
shall be directed to the licensee and the City Clerk.
B. Upon receipt of the notice, the City Clerk shall notify the Chair
of the Board of Appeals, who shall take action to have the matter
heard at a regular or special meeting of the Board of Appeals within
40 days of the City Clerk's receipt of the notice. Before the hearing,
the City Clerk shall notify the licensee, the Board of Appeals members,
the Chief of Police or their designee, and any appropriate members
of City staff of the time and place of the hearing.
C. The hearing shall be conducted in accordance with the following:
(1) The Chief of Police, or their designee, shall be heard first to present
the grounds for suspension or revocation of the license. The licensee
shall then present their position in response.
(2) All parties shall be given the opportunity to be represented by an
attorney or other spokesperson.
(3) Evidentiary and presentation standards shall be as set in 30-A M.R.S.A.
§ 2691, Subdivision 3D.
(4) A hearing shall not be continued to another time except for good
cause.
D. After the hearing, the Board of Appeals may suspend a taxicab or livery driver's license or taxicab or livery business license for a period of up to one year or revoke said license if it finds that the grounds for suspension or revocation presented by the Chief of Police, or their designee, were sufficient to warrant suspension or revocation and were consistent with this chapter, including but not limited to §
278-15. Notice of suspension or revocation of a taxicab or livery driver's license shall be sent to the driver and to the business for which the driver works. Notice of suspension of revocation of a taxicab or livery business license shall be sent to the business.
The driver of any taxicab or livery shall, upon demand by the
passenger, render to such passenger a receipt for the amount paid.
Such receipt shall bear the name of the owner, the name of the driver,
the date of transaction and the amount paid.
The refusal of any passenger to pay the legal fare as shown on the taximeter of a taxicab shall be unlawful, and, upon conviction therefor, shall be subject to such penalties provided for in §
278-20 of this chapter.
Violations of this chapter shall be subject to the penalties
of 30-A M.R.S.A. § 4452. Any such fine may be in addition
to the provisions of this chapter providing for the suspension or
revocation of the taxicab or livery business license and the taxicab
or livery driver's license. In the case of a suspension or revocation,
both the license and the right of the licensee to apply for or renew
a license are suspended or revoked. A licensee whose license is revoked
cannot apply for a new/renewal license for one year. If a license
is denied, the applicant may not reapply for six months thereafter.
Suspensions and revocations issued by the Board of Appeals may last
up to one year from the date of suspension or revocation.