[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Galax as Ch. 17 of the 1974 Code. Sections 140-18A, 140-20B and C(2) and 140-22 amended at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I. Other amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Licensing — See Ch. 86.
Streets, sidewalks and public places — See Ch. 127.
Vehicles and traffic — See Ch. 148.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:
CERTIFICATE
A certificate of convenience and necessity issued or authorized to be issued by the City Council, which authorizes the person to whom issued to operate one or more public vehicles pursuant to this chapter.
DRIVER
Any person driving a public vehicle.
OWNER
Any person having control of the employment, use or maintenance of a public vehicle or of the collection of revenue derived from its operation.
PUBLIC VEHICLE
Any motor vehicle used for the transportation for hire or reward of passengers upon the streets of the City, other than buses being operated under franchise and over fixed routes between fixed termini and other than vehicles being operated in interstate commerce.
It shall be unlawful for any person to operate or cause to be operated any public vehicle on the streets of the City except pursuant to a certificate and in compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
An application, in duplicate, for a certificate shall be made by the owner or proposed owner to the City Council through the City Clerk and shall furnish the following information:
A. 
The full name, home and business addresses of the applicant.
B. 
The financial ability and responsibility of the applicant.
C. 
The name and address of the person lending money or furnishing capital to the applicant.
D. 
The number, kind, seating capacity, design and color scheme of each public vehicle.
E. 
Convictions or pleas of guilty, if any, for the violation of any law.
F. 
The experience of the applicant in the transportation of passengers for hire.
G. 
The reasons why the applicant believes that public convenience and necessity require the granting of his application.
Upon receipt by the City Clerk of an application for a certificate, he shall promptly furnish to the Chief of Police the duplicate copy thereof and retain the original copy for presentation to the City Council at its next regular meeting. The Chief of Police shall investigate the matter and report thereon, in writing, to the City Council at its next regular meeting.
Upon presentation to it of an application for a certificate at any regular meeting, the City Council shall proceed to determine whether the public convenience and necessity require the operation of the public vehicle or vehicles for which the application is filed. The City Council is authorized to grant or refuse the certificate applied for or to grant a certificate for a fewer number of vehicles than that specified in the application. Upon determination by the Council to grant a certificate, the City Clerk shall transmit such certificate to the applicant, giving the name of the owner, the number, kind and description of vehicles, the date of issuance and the expiration of certificate, which certificate shall expire at the end of the 31st day of March annually unless revoked or suspended as hereinafter provided.
A. 
Each owner shall file with the City Clerk and keep effective at all times a policy of insurance in some duly licensed insurance company authorized to do business in the Commonwealth of Virginia or provide a surety bond approved by the City Council with some solvent surety, in the amount herein specified, conditioned on such owner responding in damages or provide a cash bond, in the amount herein specified, covering damages for liability incurred on account of any injury to persons or damage to property resulting from the operating of such public vehicle, taxicab or for-hire car in the following amounts:
(1) 
Injury to or death of one person in any one accident: $20,000.
(2) 
Injury to or death of two or more persons in any one accident: $40,000.
(3) 
Property damage in any one accident: $5,000.
B. 
Surety or cash bonds shall be for or in the amount of at least $45,000 for each public vehicle for which a certificate is issued hereunder. Each such policy of insurance shall contain a clause whereby the policy may not be canceled until after 30 days' notice of intention to cancel shall have been given to the City Clerk.
A. 
Every public vehicle for which a certificate is issued shall be kept in good order and repair at all times and shall have on the outside on both sides the name of the owner in letters not less than two inches high.
B. 
The rates in effect shall be posted in a conspicuous place inside the vehicle and shall be exhibited to any person so demanding.
C. 
Each such vehicle must be maintained in a clean, neat and safe condition at all times, and it shall be the duty of the Chief of Police to make regular inspections of each vehicle and parking stand and report his findings to the City Manager, who shall take such action thereon as may be appropriate.
No public vehicle shall be substituted for that described in the certificate until investigated and approved by the Chief of Police and endorsed on the certificate by him.
The City Council shall have the authority to fix the rates to be charged for the transportation of passengers and baggage.
A. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to violate or fail to comply with any provision of this chapter, and any such violation or noncompliance shall subject the offender to a maximum fine of $100 for the first offense and a maximum fine $500 for each subsequent offense.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I.
B. 
For failure or refusal to complete accepted calls as promptly as possible and for any other violations of any of the provisions of this chapter, the judge or other trial officer invested with authority to try violations of ordinances of the City may, in addition to any other penalty prescribed, revoke or suspend the license of the owner or operator.
Upon the conviction of any owner of a violation of any criminal law involving moral turpitude, his business license shall become void, and the licensee shall forthwith surrender it to the Chief of Police. The judge or other trial officer invested with authority to try violations of ordinances of the City shall have power to revoke or suspend such license for permitting violations of the traffic laws or failure to report an accident, for permitting the operation of a vehicle not in good order, for a conviction of reckless driving, charging illegal rates or violation of laws and ordinances or for permitting the failure or refusal to complete accepted calls in the absence of satisfactory reasons.
A. 
No person shall drive a public vehicle within the City unless he shall have obtained from the Chief of Police a special license for that purpose, which the Chief of Police shall grant unless the applicant for such driver's license shall, in the opinion of the Chief of Police, be disqualified because of physical condition, including defective hearing or defective eyesight, addiction to intoxicating liquors, narcotics or drugs or conviction of a violation of a criminal law or the applicant is not morally or mentally fit to receive such license. The Chief of Police may require of such applicant for license that he take a medical examination and submit the finding to the Chief of Police.
B. 
The fee to be paid for a public vehicle driver's license shall be $10.
[Amended 2-24-1986[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I.
C. 
Renewal.
(1) 
A public vehicle driver's license granted by the Chief of Police shall be for a period of one year, and it may be renewed by the Chief of Police annually. If for any reason the Chief of Police believes that such license should not be renewed, he may refuse renewal, but the applicant may appeal this decision to the City Council if he so desires.
(2) 
The fee for renewal of such license shall be $3.
[Amended 2-24-1986[2]]
[2]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I.
A driver shall not purchase alcoholic beverages of any description for a passenger nor carry or allow a passenger to carry any illegally acquired alcoholic beverages in a taxicab nor tolerate any disorderly conduct in a cab nor take a fare or fares to a known or suspicioned house, room, cabin or other place for illegal or illicit purposes.
Any person driving a public vehicle on the streets of the City without a public vehicle driver's license or any owner of a public vehicle who shall permit such vehicle to be driven by any person who does not have a valid and effective public vehicle driver's license shall be fined not more than $100 for the first offense and not more than $500 for each subsequent offense.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I.
Upon the conviction of a driver of a violation of any criminal law involving moral turpitude, his public vehicle driver's license shall become void, and the licensee shall forthwith surrender it to the Chief of Police. The judge or other trial officer invested with authority to try violations of ordinances of the City shall have power to revoke or suspend such license for violations of the traffic laws, failure to report an accident, operation of a vehicle not in good order, conviction of reckless driving, charging illegal rates, violation of laws and ordinances, failure or refusal to complete accepted calls in the absence of satisfactory reasons and failure to be courteous at all times.