[1]
Editor's Note: As to license to engage in the business of
operating automobiles for hire, see Section 5-1 of this chapter. As
to the amount of license tax, see Section 5-2. As to transporting
persons for immoral purposes, see subsection 8-8.3. Prior ordinance
history: Prior 1958 Code §§28.1, 28.3, 28.5, 28.7-2, 28.8—28.13,
28.15—28.49, Ordinance Nos. 460, 549, 737, 78-017, 84-01.
[Ord. #95-09]
As used in this section:
Shall mean and include every automobile or motor-propelled
vehicle of private appearance, not equipped with a taximeter, used
for the transportation of passengers over the public streets of the
City and not over a defined route, irrespective of whether such operations
extend beyond the boundary limits of the City, charging rates per
mile, per trip, per hour, per day, per week, per month, and such vehicle
being routed under the directions of the passenger or the person hiring
the same.
Shall mean and include every person in charge of driving
or operating any vehicle for hire as herein defined, either as agent,
employee, owner or otherwise.
Shall mean and include every person owning or controlling
the operation of any vehicle for hire.
Shall mean and include every automobile or motor-propelled
vehicle used for the transportation of passengers over the public
streets of the City, and not necessarily over a defined route, irrespective
of whether such operations extend beyond the boundary limits of the
City for the purpose of sight-seeing, or seeing points of interest,
and charging a fee or compensation therefor, or any motor vehicle
used for the purpose of conveying persons to points within or outside
the City to show or exhibit either lands, houses or property, for
the purpose of effecting a sale thereof, and regardless of whether
any fee, compensation or consideration is paid for such transportation.
Shall mean any place commonly used for the purpose of public
travel.
Shall mean and include every automobile or motor-propelled
vehicle by means of which passengers are transported for hire upon
public streets of the City, and not over a regular or defined route,
irrespective of whether the operations extend beyond the boundary
limits of the City where the charge for such transportation, or for
waiting time, or both, is registered or measured by a taximeter, and
such vehicle is routed under the direction of the passenger or person
hiring the same.
Shall mean a mechanical instrument or device by which the
charge for hire of a vehicle for hire is mechanically regulated either
for distance traveled or for waiting time, or for both, and upon which
such charges shall be indicated by means of figures.
Shall mean any automobile for hire, sight-seeing automobile
or taxicab, as those terms are defined in this subsection.
Shall mean and refer to the use of vehicles not licensed
by the City as provided in this section for travelling along the streets
in the City at a slow rate of speed to pick up fares or passengers
for hire.
[Ord. #95-09]
No vehicle for hire shall be operated by anyone but the owner
thereof or an employee of the owner. It shall be unlawful for the
owner or any driver of any such vehicle to enter into any contract,
agreement or understanding between themselves by the terms of which
such driver pays to, or for the account of, such owner a fixed or
determinable sum for the use of such vehicle.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former subsection 5-7.3, Notice Relative to
Employment of Drivers or Cessation of Employment, previously codified
herein and containing portions of Ordinance No. 95-09 was repealed
in its entirety by Ordinance No. 97-08.
[Ord. #95-09]
Each taxicab shall display markings that include at least two
(2") inch high letters identifying the name of the taxi company, shall
possess a dome light, and shall display on its rear bumper an Albany
permit sticker.
[Ord. #95-09]
Every owner operating a taxicab in the City shall adopt a characteristic
color scheme and shall use the same on all vehicles operated by him
or her.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former subsection 5-7.6, Permission Required
for Change in Color Scheme or Other Characteristics, previously codified
herein and containing portions of Ordinance No. 95-09, was repealed
in its entirety by Ordinance No. 97-08.
[Ord. #95-09]
It shall be unlawful for any person soliciting patronage for
any vehicle for hire to represent, by word, sign, insignia or accouterments
that the vehicle for which he is soliciting such patronage is a vehicle
owned or operated by other than the actual owner.
[Ord. #95-09]
No vehicle for hire shall remain standing upon any portion of
any public street within the City, except for loading and unloading
passengers, and then for a period not exceeding five (5) minutes.
This subsection shall not apply to any automobile for hire or taxicab
while the same is engaged by and being paid for by a passenger.
[Ord. #95-09]
It shall be the duty of the driver of any taxicab to accept
as a passenger any person who seeks to do so use the taxicab, provided
such person is not intoxicated and conducts himself or herself in
a normal manner. When a taxicab or automobile for hire is engaged,
the occupant engaging the same shall have the exclusive right to the
full and free use of the passenger compartment and the whole thereof,
and it shall be unlawful for the owner or operator of the vehicle
to solicit or carry passengers therein.
[Ord. #95-09]
The operator of any automobile for hire or taxicab employed
to carry passengers to a definite point shall take the most direct
route possible that will carry the passenger safely, lawfully, and
expeditiously to the destination.
[Ord. #95-09]
No owner or operator of an automobile for hire or taxicab shall
solicit patronage from the vehicle or within one hundred (100) yards
therefrom upon any public street, except at railroad and interurban
depots within the City and except within any area designated by the
Chief of Police for such purpose.
[Ord. #95-09]
Every vehicle for hire shall at all times be equipped with a
light of not less than two (2) candle power within such vehicle, so
arranged as to illuminate the entire passenger compartment, which
light shall be constantly lighted at all times while any passenger
is in such vehicle, except when such vehicle is in motion, from one-half
(1/2) hour after sunset of any day until one-half (1/2) hour before
sunrise of the next day, and no shades or blinds shall be drawn over
the windows of any such vehicle while the same is occupied, unless
the occupant requests the same to be drawn.
[Ord. #95-09]
Each person holding a permit under this section for the operation
of an automobile for hire or taxicab, or other vehicle for the use
of which a charge or fee is made, shall at all times keep on file
with the Finance and Administrative Services Department an up-to-date
schedule of rates of fares charged for carrying such passengers therein,
which rates shall be approved by the City Administrator or designee
as part of the application process before becoming effective, and
it shall be unlawful for any person to deviate from the schedule of
rates of fares filed in the Finance and Administrative Services Department.
All persons holding a permit under this section for the operation
of an automobile for hire or taxicab, or other vehicle for the use
of which a charge or fee is made, shall be required to accept any
and all passengers, at any time, who propose to pay for their transportation
with Albany taxi scrip and such persons are required to accept such
scrip at full face value.
[Ord. #95-09]
Every vehicle for hire shall have conspicuously displayed in
full view of the passengers a card, not less than two by four (2"
x 4") inches, which shall have stated thereon the name of the owner,
or the fictitious name under which the owner operates, together with
the business address and telephone number of the business, and the
rates to be charged by such vehicle.
[Ord. #95-09]
All taxicabs shall be equipped with a taximeter in good working
order, and in plain sight of the passengers so that the reading dial
showing the charges being made shall be well-lighted, and in plain
sight so that passengers may readily read the same.
[Ord. #95-09]
It shall be unlawful for any driver of a taxicab while carrying
passengers to display the flag attached to the taximeter in such a
position as to denote that such vehicle is not employed, or to throw
the flag of the taximeter in a recording position when such vehicle
is not actually employed, or to fail to throw the flag of such taximeter
in a nonrecording position at the termination of each and every service.
[Ord. #95-09]
It shall be unlawful for the operator of any vehicle for hire, upon receiving full payment for the fare or charge as indicated by the taximeter or schedule of fares stated on the sign displayed as provided in subsection 5-7.14 of this chapter, to refuse to give a receipt for the sum collected, upon request of any passenger making the payment.
[Ord. #95-09]
It shall be unlawful for any person to refuse to pay the legal
fare or rate for the hiring of any vehicle for hire after having hired
the same, and any person who shall hire any vehicle herein defined
with the intent to defraud the person from whom it is hired shall
be guilty of a misdemeanor.
[Ord. #95-09]
It shall be unlawful for the driver of any taxicab, automobile
for hire, or other vehicle for the use of which a charge or fee is
made, and for the operation of which a permit and license has not
been obtained from the City as required by this section, to solicit,
or in any way accept passengers for hire, or pick up persons within
the City or otherwise operate within the limits of the City other
than to deliver any passengers obtained outside the City to their
destination.
[Ord. #95-09]
It shall be unlawful for any person to operate or cause to be
operated any vehicle for hire within the City without first having
obtained a permit to do so.
[Ord. #95-09]
A permit may be issued to a driver of any taxicab already holding
a business license within the City.
The amount of such license tax or fee is hereby fixed by Sections
5-1 and 5-2 of this chapter for the one hundred eighty (180) day period
for each vehicle for which a temporary permit to operate is granted.
[Ord. #95-09]
Any person desiring to obtain the permit required by this section
shall make a written application therefore to the City Administrator
or designee, which application shall be filed in the Finance and Administrative
Services Department, and shall set forth the following information
together with any other information which the City Administrator or
designee may deem necessary:
a.
The name and address of the applicant and, if the same is a corporation,
the names and addresses of its principal officers, or if the same
is a partnership, association or a fictitious company, the names and
addresses of the partners or persons comprising the association or
company, together with the name and address of the person actually
making the application.
b.
A statement as to the type of transportation for which such permit
is desired, whether it is for a taxicab service, automobile for hire
service or sight-seeing service.
d.
The street number and exact location of the place where the applicant
proposes to stand his vehicle; provided, that if any proposed stand
is in the public street, such application shall be accompanied by
a written consent thereto of all the occupants of the ground floor
of any building in front of which such vehicle is to be located, or
if there is no such occupant, by the written consent thereto of the
owner or lessee of the lot in front of which such vehicle is proposed
to be located.
e.
The name under which the service applied for is to be operated.
f.
A schedule of rates or fares to be charged for carrying passengers
for the hiring of the vehicle.
g.
The color scheme, name, monogram or insignia to be used to designate
the vehicles of the applicant.
h.
The past experience of the applicant in the matter to which the requested
permit appertains and the name and address of the person to be in
charge of the premises or business within the City.
i.
Whether or not the applicant has had any previous permit, and whether
such permit was revoked, and if so, the circumstances of such revocation.
[Ord. #95-09; Ord. #97-08]
The City Administrator or designee shall review the application
permit under this section. The City Administrator or designee shall
determine whether a permit shall be granted or denied. If the permit
is granted, the City Administrator or designee shall direct the Finance
and Administrative Services Department to issue a permit, subject
to the filing approval of the insurance or bond provided for in this
section and subject to a safety inspection conducted by the Police
Department.
[Ord. #95-09]
The fee for a permit required by this section shall be established
by resolution and shall be paid at the time the application is filed
with the Finance and Administrative Services Department.
[Ord. #95-09; Ord. #97-11]
Any of the following reasons shall be sufficient for a denial
of an application for a permit under this section:
a.
That the application is not in the form and does not contain the
information required by this section.
b.
Vehicle is cited for violations of the State Vehicle Code and vehicle
owner or operator fails to correct.
c.
That the applicant has been convicted of any violation of law involving
moral turpitude.
d.
That the applicant's proposed color scheme or other insignia will
tend to confuse the identification of the vehicles proposed to be
operated by such applicant with those of another owner operating within
the City.
e.
That the location of the stand as therein stated is such as to congest
or interfere with travel on any public street, or the use of any public
street by the public, or that the proposed stand is within two hundred
(200') feet of any other stand theretofore fixed by the Council on
the same street.
f.
That the applicant has, at some prior time, had a permit for the
operation of a service under this section revoked for reason.
g.
That there shall appear to the City Administrator or designee that
there is insufficient public need or demand for the operation of the
service applied for, or that there is already a sufficient number
of vehicles for hire in the City to fully serve the public and that
the granting of more permits would undoubtedly congest the traffic
and interfere with the free use of public streets by the public, either
of which reasons may be indicated by stating that the public interest,
convenience and necessity do not require the issuance of such permit.
h.
Any reasonable cause within the sound discretion of the City Administrator
or designee which would render the proposed operations undesirable
to the City or inadequate.
i.
That the applicant submitted fictitious, false or misleading information.
[Ord. #95-09]
Before a permit shall be issued by the Finance and Administrative
Services Department under this section, the applicant to whom a permit
shall have been granted by the City Administrator or designee shall
deposit with the Finance and Administrative Services Department a
policy of insurance insuring the holder of the permit and the owner
and any other person using or operating or responsible for the use
or operation of the vehicle, for hire with the consent, express or
implied, or such owner and holder of such permit, against any loss
or liability imposed by law for damages to persons or property resulting
from the operation, maintenance or ownership of the vehicle, in the
minimum amount of one hundred thousand ($100,000.00) dollars exclusive
of interest and costs, on account of injury to or death of any one
person in any one accident, the minimum amount of three hundred thousand
($300,000.00) dollars on account of injury to or death of more than
one person, and in the minimum amount of fifty thousand ($50,000.00)
dollars for damage to property of others arising from any one accident.
Such policy shall cover each and every vehicle referred to in the
application for the permit and authorized to be used thereby. The
minimum requirements may be modified by resolution as deemed necessary
by the City Administrator or designee.
Such insurance policy shall inure to the benefit of any and
all persons suffering loss or damage either to person or property
as herein provided, and the liability of the insurance carrier shall
be in no manner abrogated or abated by the death of the tort feasor
or the owner of the vehicle or the holder of the permit thereof.
Each policy of insurance filed in accord with this subsection
shall contain a provision that it shall not be cancelled except upon
ten (10) days prior written notice thereof to the City Administrator
or designee and further provision that liability under the policy
shall continue to the full amount thereof, notwithstanding any recovery
thereon.
In addition, prior to the issuance of a permit (including renewals)
the applicant shall submit to the Finance and Administrative Services
Department a signed agreement to indemnify, hold harmless and defend
the City of Albany, its officers, employees and agents, in a form
approved by the City Attorney.
[Ord. #95-09]
Subject to the approval of the City Administrator or designee and the City Attorney, the holder of a permit under this section and the owner of any vehicle for hire may file a bond of a responsible and solvent company authorized to issue such bonds under the laws of the State, containing the conditions and giving the protection required in the insurance policy mentioned in the preceding section in lieu of either all or any part of the insurance coverage required by subsection 5-7.27.
[Ord. #95-09]
All insurance policies referred to in this section shall be
referred to the City Administrator or designee for acceptance. If,
at any time in the judgment of the City Administrator or designee
the insurance policy is not sufficient for any cause, the Finance
and Administrative Services Department shall require the person who
filed the same to replace the policy within ten (10) days with other
policies in accordance with the provisions of this section. If such
person fails to replace such policy within ten (10) days, then the
permit issued under this section shall be automatically suspended
until such time as the subsection is complied with, and the Chief
of Police shall immediately enforce such suspension. The City will
not accept coverage written by a nonadmitted carrier with the exception
as outlined in Section 16056(b) of the State Vehicle Code. The certificate
must be made by a company holding a certificate of authority to do
business in the State of California, or by a company doing business
through an authorized surplus lines broker.
[Ord. #95-09]
No permit issued under the terms of this section shall be transferable,
either by contract or operation of law, without the permission of
the City Administrator or designee having been first obtained, and
any such attempted transfer without such permission shall be sufficient
cause for revocation thereof.
[Ord. #95-09; Ord. #97-08]
All business licenses and permits issued under the provisions
of this section shall be for a period not to exceed one (1) calendar
year, and all such permits shall expire on such date as may otherwise
be fixed by the City Administrator or designee. Any person who requests
a renewal of a business license and permit or an extension of a business
license and permit past one (1) year must update the application originally
filed and must have any vehicles subject to the permit reinspected
by the Police Department.
[Ord. #95-09]
Any holder of a permit to operate one (1) or more vehicles for
hire, who desires to substitute a different vehicle for a vehicle
operated under such permit, or who desires to add to the number of
vehicles then being operated under such permit, shall do so only on
written application to the City Council, setting forth the particulars
of such proposed substitution or increase deposit the required insurance
and otherwise comply with the requirements of this section and the
City Council shall have the same authority in granting or denying
such application as it has in the matter of the original application.
[Ord. #95-09]
The City Administrator or designee may, by finding that public
convenience or urgent public need requires the granting of temporary
permits to operate taxicabs, issue temporary permits for a period
not to exceed ninety (90) days during any one (1) calendar year. Furthermore,
the City Administrator or designee may waive the application of any
other provision of this section to the issuance of a temporary permit
upon making a finding that such subsection to be expected is not necessary
for the protection of the health, safety and welfare of the public.
A license fee or tax shall also be imposed and fixed by resolution.
[Ord. #95-09]
The City Administrator or designee shall have the power to suspend
or revoke a permit issued under this section for a violation of any
provision of this section or of any ordinance relating to traffic
or the use of the streets of the City or for a failure to pay any
judgment for damages arising from the unlawful or negligent operation
of the vehicles for which the permit was issued.
[Ord. #95-09; Ord. #97-08]
It shall be unlawful for any person to drive, operate or be
in charge of any vehicle for hire without first having obtained a
business license.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former subsections 5-7.35 through 5-7.37, pertaining
to applications for driver's permits, previously codified herein and
containing portions of Ordinance No. 95-09 were repealed in their
entirety by Ordinance No. 97-08.
[Ord. #95-09]
a.
No driver's permit shall be issued to any person who does not have
a chauffeur's license issued by the State of California.
b.
Who has not adequately completed the application form referred to
in subsection 5-7.35.
c.
Who has been convicted of any violation of law involving moral turpitude;
or
d.
Who has proposed to use a vehicle which is inadequate or unsafe for
the purposes for which it is intended to be used or is not equipped
as required by State law.
[Ord. #95-09]
The fee for a driver's permit under this section shall be as
designated by the applicable Master Fee Schedule and must accompany
the application. A permit issued under this subsection shall be valid
for a period of one (1) year, so long as the applicant continues to
meet all of the qualifications for the original issuance of the permit.
[Ord. #95-09]
A driver's permit issued under this section shall be posted
in a place conspicuous from the passenger compartment of any vehicle
which the holder thereof is operating or which he has in his charge.
[Ord. #95-09; Ord. #97-08]
A temporary permit may be granted by the Chief of Police to
drive or operate a vehicle for hire, but no such temporary permit
may be issued to any person who does not have a chauffeur's license
issued by the State. Such temporary permit shall permit the holder
thereof to drive or operate any vehicle for hire for a period of thirty
(30) days, when such person has such temporary permit in his immediate
possession.
[Ord. #95-09; Ord. #97-08]
The Chief of Police shall have the power, after notice of at
least twenty-four (24) hours and in the exercise of reasonable discretion,
to revoke or suspend any driver's permit issued if the provisions
of this section are not complied with.
[Ord. #95-09; Ord. #97-08]
Any person, who is refused a permit to drive a vehicle for hire
or whose driver's permit has been revoked or suspended by the Chief
of Police, upon written demand addressed to the City Administrator
or designee made within ten (10) days thereafter, shall be granted
a hearing before the City Administrator or designee, and its determination
of whether the permit should be refused, revoked or suspended shall
be final. If no hearing is demanded within such ten (10) day period,
such refusal, suspension or revocation shall stand, and any hearing
requested after such hearing shall only be granted by the discretion
of the City Administrator or designee.
[Ord. #95-09; Ord. #97-08]
Whenever any person to whom a driver's permit has been issued
under this section moves from the address stated therein, he shall
within ten (10) days thereafter, notify the Chief of Police, in writing,
of his new address.
