(a) 
An operator for a franchise holder may not drive a taxicab in the city without a valid city chauffeur’s license and the right to provide taxi services to the interior of Sheppard Air Force Base.
(b) 
A taxicab franchise holder shall not employ or contract with a driver or otherwise allow a person to drive for hire a taxicab owned, controlled, or operated by the franchise holder unless the driver:
(1) 
Has a valid city chauffeur’s license issued under this article that was sponsored by said franchise holder; and
(2) 
Has a valid right to provide taxi services to the interior of Sheppard Air Force Base.
(c) 
Prior to allowing a driver to operate a taxicab, the franchise holder shall provide the director with a copy of the Sheppard Air Force Base pass for said driver.
(Ordinance 46-2016, sec. 1, adopted 11/1/16)
(a) 
In the operation of a taxicab service, a franchise holder shall comply with the terms and conditions of the franchise holder’s franchise and, except to the extent expressly provided otherwise by the city, shall comply with this chapter, regulations established under this chapter, and other laws applicable to the operation of a taxicab service.
(b) 
While on duty, a driver shall comply with this chapter, regulations established under this chapter and other laws applicable to the operation of a motor vehicle in this state.
(Ordinance 46-2016, sec. 1, adopted 11/1/16)
A franchise holder may not advertise more than one local telephone number and one toll free telephone number for its taxicab service in the city. A franchise holder’s dispatch personnel shall answer calls to any telephone number provided for the franchisee 24 hours per day, seven days per week. A franchise holder may not utilize an answering service to answer telephone calls to its advertised numbers.
(Ordinance 46-2016, sec. 1, adopted 11/1/16)
(a) 
A franchise holder shall establish policy and take action to discourage, prevent, or correct violations of this chapter by drivers who are employed by or contracting with the franchise holder.
(b) 
A franchise holder shall not permit a driver who is employed by or contracting with the franchise holder to drive a taxicab if the franchise holder knows or has reasonable cause to suspect that the driver has failed to comply with this chapter, the rules and regulations established by the director or other applicable law.
(Ordinance 46-2016, sec. 1, adopted 11/1/16)
(a) 
A franchise holder may contract with a driver on an independent-contractor basis. The driver must comply with this chapter.
(b) 
The franchise holder is responsible for the independent contractor’s actions and activities as set forth pursuant to this article as he would be for any of his other drivers. The franchise holder’s insurance policy must insure and cover the independent contractor’s taxicab.
(Ordinance 46-2016, sec. 1, adopted 11/1/16)
(a) 
Before a vehicle permit is issued to operate a taxicab in the city, the franchise holder shall procure and furnish to the director and shall thereafter keep in full force and effect a liability and property damage insurance policy of not less than the greater of the following:
(1) 
The minimum requirements of the state or federal law; or
(2) 
At least $100,000.00 per accident for injuries and at least $50,000.00 per accident for property damage.
(b) 
Every insurance policy shall insure all of the taxicabs owned, leased, contracted for or controlled by the holder of such franchise and used in such taxicab service for which a franchise has been authorized. Such policy shall inure to the benefit of any person who shall be injured or who shall sustain damage to property caused by the operation of such vehicles.
(c) 
Every such policy of insurance shall be issued by an insurance company organized and existing under state laws or having a legal right to do business in the state.
(d) 
The franchise holder shall keep current insurance certificates covering all of its vehicles on file with the director during the term of the franchise and shall cause evidence of insurance for each of its vehicles to be continuously kept in the glovebox of each said vehicle. Insurance certificates and policies shall name the city as an additional insured, provide the city with at least 30 days’ notice of cancellation, nonpayment of premium, or non-renewal, and include a waiver of subrogation in favor of the city.
(Ordinance 46-2016, sec. 1, adopted 11/1/16)
Each franchise holder shall have uniform dress standards for drivers employed by or contracting with the franchise holder. These standards must be kept on file with the director and must include the following:
(a) 
A driver may not wear:
(1) 
Cut-offs;
(2) 
Apparel with offensive or suggestive language;
(3) 
Tank tops;
(4) 
Halter tops;
(5) 
Outer apparel made of fishnet or undergarment material; or
(6) 
Unhemmed shorts.
(b) 
Shoes must be worn at all times in the manner for which they were designed. A driver may not wear shoes or sandals without socks or hosiery and may not wear beach or shower thongs.
(c) 
A driver and the driver’s clothing must conform to basic standards of hygiene and be neat, clean, and sanitary at all times.
(d) 
A driver’s hair must be clean and neatly groomed. Facial hair must be neatly trimmed.
(e) 
A franchise holder must require that all of its drivers wear shirts with collars. These shirts must be of the same color and design. Each franchise will have a separate color and design for drivers’ shirts, and must be approved by the director. Each franchise holder must ensure that its drivers wear the franchise-specific shirt. Each driver shall wear a shirt specified by the franchise holder while on duty.
(Ordinance 46-2016, sec. 1, adopted 11/1/16)
Each franchise holder shall maintain at its primary facility all business records of its taxicab service related to pick-up and drop-off locations, as well as when and where each specific driver worked. The director may specify methods used in maintaining the records, and may require maintenance of certain records which he determines are necessary for monitoring the activities, operations, service, and safety record of a franchise holder. A franchise holder shall make its records available for inspection by the director at reasonable times upon request.
(Ordinance 46-2016, sec. 1, adopted 11/1/16)
Except as otherwise provided by the franchise holder’s operating authority, a franchise holder shall:
(a) 
Provide taxicab service to the general public to and from any point inside the city that is accessible by public street, except that this provision does not require a franchise holder to subject a taxicab to mob violence or destruction;
(b) 
Answer each call received for service inside the city as soon as practicable, and if the service cannot be rendered within one hour, the franchise holder shall inform the caller of the reason for the delay and the approximate time required to answer the call;
(c) 
Provide taxi service 24 hours each day, seven days a week;
(d) 
Provide service to all parts of Sheppard Air Force Base and Wichita Falls Regional Airport that are accessible by paved roadways.
(Ordinance 46-2016, sec. 1, adopted 11/1/16)
(a) 
While driving a taxicab, a driver shall not refuse to convey a person who requests service unless:
(1) 
The person is disorderly;
(2) 
The driver is engaged in answering a previous request for service;
(3) 
The driver has reason to believe that the person is engaged in unlawful conduct; or
(4) 
The driver is in fear of his personal safety.
(b) 
While driving a taxicab, a driver shall not refuse service requested by a radio dispatch when the location for pick up is within a reasonable distance from the location of the taxicab.
(c) 
A driver for a franchise holder may not refuse to accept a passenger who is disabled nor may they charge a higher fee or additional fee to a person who is disabled, based upon the person’s disability, use of a service animal, wheelchair, crutches, or other mobility assistive device.
(d) 
A driver is required to transport a service animal, wheelchair, crutches, or other mobility assistive device at the time of the service provided for that disabled passenger, provided that the driver can reasonably accommodate the aforementioned items with the taxicab. If a driver identifies a motorized wheelchair or mobility assistive device at the time of the call for service that may present difficulties with transport in some vehicles, then the franchise holder shall dispatch a vehicle that will accommodate the motorized wheelchair or mobility assistive device and transport said wheelchair and/or device at no additional charge to the disabled passenger.
(Ordinance 46-2016, sec. 1, adopted 11/1/16)
(a) 
A driver may not carry more persons than the designed seating capacity of the taxicab. A taxicab shall also not carry more than eight persons in addition to the driver.
(b) 
The director may establish rules governing passenger limitations, as illustrated by, but not limited to, cab sharing, cab pooling, and numbers of passengers with different destinations.
(Ordinance 46-2016, sec. 1, adopted 11/1/16)
A driver shall carry a passenger to his destination by the most direct and expeditious route available unless otherwise directed by the passenger.
(Ordinance 46-2016, sec. 1, adopted 11/1/16)
A driver may not solicit passengers:
(a) 
From a location other than the driver’s compartment or the immediate vicinity of the driver’s taxicab;
(b) 
In a way that annoys or obstructs the movement of a person;
(c) 
By paying an employee of another business to solicit passengers for or give preferential treatment in directing passengers to the driver’s taxicab; or
(d) 
Without using a taxicab stand at a location where a taxicab stand exists.
(Ordinance 46-2016, sec. 1, adopted 11/1/16)
(a) 
While using a taxicab stand, a driver shall not:
(1) 
Go beyond 25 feet of his taxicab except to assist a passenger as reasonably necessary after being engaged;
(2) 
Interfere with the orderly progression of taxicabs from the rear to the front of the taxicab stand;
(3) 
Perform or allow to be performed repairs or maintenance on a taxicab while parked on the taxicab stand;
(4) 
Interfere with a taxicab entering a taxicab stand on which there is a vacant space.
(b) 
A person shall not park a taxicab on a taxicab stand unless the taxicab is for hire.
(c) 
A taxicab left unattended in a taxicab stand is illegally parked and may be removed from the taxicab stand and impounded.
(Ordinance 46-2016, sec. 1, adopted 11/1/16)
A driver shall:
(1) 
Act in a reasonable, prudent, and courteous manner;
(2) 
Maintain a sanitary and well-groomed appearance in compliance with this chapter;
(3) 
Not respond to a radio dispatch call assigned to another franchise holder;
(4) 
Not possess, consume, or be under the influence of an alcoholic beverage, narcotic drug, or other substance that could adversely affect the driver’s ability to drive a motor vehicle;
(5) 
Not use tobacco products in a taxicab;
(6) 
Not monitor the radio frequency of a taxicab other than the driver’s own nor respond to a call for service dispatched to another taxicab service;
(7) 
Not interfere with the director in the performance of the director’s duties;
(8) 
Not refuse to discharge a passenger at any place designated by the passenger upon the streets of the city, except when the place so designated is unreasonably hazardous or illegal;
(9) 
Not sell or provide alcoholic beverages or controlled substances to any passenger in a taxicab; and
(10) 
Not use a cellular phone or any other hand held communication device while operating a taxicab except as necessary to receive or respond to the taxi service dispatch.
(Ordinance 46-2016, sec. 1, adopted 11/1/16)
(a) 
No driver permitted under this chapter shall drive more than 12 hours in any one consecutive 24-hour period.
(b) 
No franchise holder shall allow any driver permitted under this chapter to drive for more than 12 hours in any consecutive 24-hour period.
(Ordinance 46-2016, sec. 1, adopted 11/1/16)
(a) 
Upon finding property in a taxicab left by a passenger, the driver shall immediately return the property to the owner. However, if the driver is unable to locate the owner or if the driver does not know the identity or whereabouts of the owner, the driver shall make an immediate report of the property left in the taxicab to the franchise holder, and within a reasonable time, not to exceed two hours from discovery of the property, deliver the property to the franchise holder’s primary facility.
(b) 
Upon return of property to the owner or delivery of property to the franchise holder, the driver shall prepare a written report stating the description of the property, the identity of the owner if known, the date the property was left in the taxicab, limousine, or shuttle, the circumstances relating to the loss, and the taxicab, limousine, or shuttle number. The franchise holder shall keep the report on file for at least one year and shall hold the property for not less than three months, at which time the franchise holder will turn the property over to the director, along with a copy of the driver’s report.
(Ordinance 46-2016, sec. 1, adopted 11/1/16)
(a) 
Subject to the approval of the director, the city may establish taxicab stands of such character, number, and location as he determines are required by the public convenience and necessity.
(b) 
A franchise holder desiring the establishment of a taxicab stand must file a written request with the director.
(Ordinance 46-2016, sec. 1, adopted 11/1/16)
An employee of a business establishment, other than a taxicab service, who acts as an agent in obtaining taxicab service for prospective taxicab passengers shall not:
(1) 
Solicit nor accept payment from a driver in return for giving preferential treatment in directing passengers to a driver’s taxicab; or
(2) 
Interfere with the orderly progression of taxicabs from the rear to the front of a taxicab stand.
(Ordinance 46-2016, sec. 1, adopted 11/1/16)
If a driver is not for hire and does not intend to provide taxicab service, the driver shall place a sign, to be provided by the franchise holder, in the front window on the right side of the taxicab displaying the words “NOT FOR HIRE” printed in letters not less than three inches in height with a stroke of not less than three-eighths-inch. The letters shall be on a backing of sufficient thickness to not easily bend. The driver shall also display the aforementioned sign when transporting an employee of the franchise or a government employee acting in an official capacity.
(Ordinance 46-2016, sec. 1, adopted 11/1/16)
(a) 
Before changing the taximeter to indicate that the taxicab is vacant, a driver shall call the attention of the passenger to the amount of fare registered on the taximeter.
(b) 
Upon request by a person paying a fare, a driver shall give the person a legible receipt showing:
(1) 
The name and telephone number of the franchise holder under whose authority the taxicab is operated;
(2) 
The taxicab number;
(3) 
An itemized list of charges;
(4) 
The total amount of fare paid;
(5) 
The date of payment; and
(6) 
The driver’s signature.
(c) 
A franchise holder shall provide each driver operating a taxicab under its authority with printed receipt forms adequate for providing the information required in subsection (b) of this section.
(Ordinance 46-2016, sec. 1, adopted 11/1/16)
(a) 
Each operator shall inspect his taxicab before going on duty and after discharging each passenger to see that the taxicab is free of cigars, cigarettes, papers, bottles and anything that could cause offensive or objectionable odors. Each operator shall check the trunk to see that no articles have been left in the trunk after each passenger reaches his destination. Any passenger articles left in the taxicab should be discovered during this inspection and should be processed under the requirements set forth in this chapter.
(b) 
Each operator shall perform a pre-trip inspection of the taxicab he will use for that shift. The pre-trip inspection shall cover all safety items and cleanliness of the vehicle. The operator shall report all safety deficiencies to the franchise manager on duty, and those safety deficiencies shall be corrected before the taxicab is put into service for that shift. The operator shall retain the inspection form with the cab throughout the shift, present for inspection upon request by the chief of police or director if stopped during the course of its duties. At the end of the shift, the driver will perform a post-trip inspection using the same form. The completed form will be turned into the franchise holder for documentation. Inspection forms used by the franchise holders are subject to approval by the director.
(Ordinance 46-2016, sec. 1, adopted 11/1/16)