[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of
the City of Crystal Lake 1-19-1993 (Art. IV, Ch. I, Section S, of the 1993 Code). Amendments
noted where applicable.]
It shall be unlawful to engage in the business
of operating a taxicab in the City of Crystal Lake without first having
secured a license therefor. Applications for such licenses shall be
made in writing to the City Clerk, and shall state thereon the name
of the applicant, the intended place of business and the number of
cabs to be operated.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Includes any vehicle used to carry passengers for hire but
not operating on a fixed route, but shall specifically exclude transportation
services provided by separate agreement with the City and public or
quasi-public entities.
[Amended 7-7-2009 by Ord. No. 6477]
No such license shall be issued to or held by
any person who is not a person of good character or who has been convicted
of a felony within the past five years; nor shall such license be
issued to or held by any corporation if any officer thereof would
be ineligible for a license under the foregoing conditions. A criminal
background fingerprint check will be performed by the Chief of Police,
or his/her designee, through the Illinois State Police, Bureau of
Identification, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s database
systems. A fee of $50 shall be paid by the company or the individual
for each individual for whom a background investigation must be conducted.
The annual fee payable in advance for such licenses
shall be $100 for each owner, plus $20 for each taxicab operated.
All such fees shall be paid to the Director of Finance at the time
application is made. In the event the license applied for has been
denied, the fee shall be returned to the applicant. If the license
is granted, then the fee shall be deposited in the general corporate
fund or such other fund as the City Council shall designate. Whenever
the number of cabs so operated shall be increased during the license
year, the licensee shall notify the City Clerk of such change and
shall pay the additional fee to the Director of Finance. Such fee
shall be in lieu of any other vehicle fee required by ordinance, and
the City Clerk or his/her designated representative shall issue suitable
tags or stickers for the number of cabs covered by each license. Such
tag or sticker shall be displayed in a prominent place on each taxicab
while it is in use. If a taxicab is withdrawn from service and another
taxicab replaces the one withdrawn, the licensee shall notify the
Director of Finance who shall issue a tag or sticker for such replacement
taxicab without additional charge to the licensee. The licensee shall
notify the City Clerk of the motor number and of the license number
of each cab operated and of the corresponding City tag or sticker
number. The annual fee shall include the right to use one or more
of the designated parking places for taxicabs in each of the various
locations throughout the City, known as "cab stands." Said parking
place or places shall be assigned by the Chief of Police, and no other
licensee shall use that parking place or places. Each cab stand shall
be appropriately marked by signs erected under the supervision of
the Chief of Police. It shall be unlawful to park any vehicle other
than a taxicab in any cab stand.
A.
No taxicab shall be operated unless it bears a state
license duly issued, and meets all requirements of the Illinois Taxi
Safety Act of 2007, 625 ILCS 55/1 et seq. It shall be the duty of
the Chief of Police to inspect, or cause to be inspected, every taxicab
as often as may be necessary to see to the enforcement of the provisions
of this chapter. The Chief of Police shall require that each taxicab
be inspected at an official Illinois Department of Transportation
certified safety testing station at least on an annual basis and shall
require the licensee to submit a certificate of safety indicating
that the taxicab is in a safe mechanical condition, per Illinois Compiled
Statutes 625 ILCS 5/13-101. No taxicab shall be operated upon the
streets of the City if the safety test indicates that the taxicab
is not in a safe mechanical condition and until it has been repaired,
submitted for retesting and a certificate issued indicating that it
has no mechanical defects.
[Amended 7-7-2009 by Ord. No. 6477]
B.
Each taxicab, while operated, shall have on each side,
in letters readable from a distance of 20 feet, the name of the licensee
operating it. Each cab shall also have a driver's identification card,
including a picture of the driver, prominently displayed so that it
is clearly visible to the passengers. If more than one cab is operated
by a licensee, each cab shall be designated by a different number,
and such number also shall so appear on each side of such cab. In
addition to the requirements of this chapter, each licensee shall
comply with all requirements contained within any transportation agreement
between the licensee and the City.
[Amended 8-7-2001 by Ord. No. 5448; 7-7-2009 by Ord. No.
6477]
No person may drive a taxicab if that person
has been convicted of a felony within the past five years, or must
register as a sex offender as required by the Sex Offender Registration
Act, 730 ILCS 150. A criminal background fingerprint check will be
performed through the office of the Chief of Police, or his/her designee,
through the Illinois State Police, Bureau of Identification, and the
Federal Bureau of Investigation’s database systems. A fee of
$50 shall be paid by the company or the individual for each individual
for whom a background investigation must be conducted. It shall be
unlawful for any driver of a taxicab while on duty to drink any intoxicating
liquor or to use any profane or obscene language, to shout or call
to prospective passengers or to disturb the peace in any way.
No taxicab shall be operated unless it is covered
by a bond or public liability policy as required by statute; nor shall
any taxicab be operated unless the licensee has furnished evidence
of compliance with the terms of any agreement between the licensee
and the City requiring a bond or public liability insurance.
It shall be the duty of every driver of a taxicab
to obey all traffic rules established by statute or ordinance.
It shall be unlawful to knowingly permit any
taxicab to be used in the perpetration of a crime or misdemeanor,
or in violation of any agreement for transportation services between
the licensee and the City.
A.
It shall be the duty of the driver of any taxicab
to accept as a passenger any person who seeks to so use the taxicab,
provided such person is not intoxicated and conducts himself/herself
in an orderly manner. No person shall be admitted to a taxicab occupied
by a passenger without the consent of the passenger.
B.
The driver shall take his/her passenger to his/her
destination by the most direct available route from the place where
the passenger enters the cab.
[Amended 7-7-2009 by Ord.
No. 6476; 10-20-2009 by Ord. No. 6512; 3-2-2010 by Ord. No. 6537; 6-15-2010 by Ord. No. 6585; 11-2-2010 by Ord. No. 6619; 5-15-2012 by Ord. No.
6785; 3-21-2017 by Ord. No. 7358]
There shall be no more than seven taxicab business
licenses in the City of Crystal Lake, and no person, firm or corporation
shall be issued more than one license, nor shall a license be issued
unless the licensee has taxicabs in service. There shall be no limitation
on the number of taxicabs operated by each licensee.
No person shall drive a taxicab unless he/she
shall have secured a license therefor, as provided by the Statutes
of the State of Illinois. No person shall drive a taxicab until he/she
has exhibited such license to the Chief of Police or his/her designated
representative who will issue a certificate that the applicant has
complied with the provisions of this chapter.
[Amended 2-20-2007 by Ord. No. 6161]
Each licensee shall establish its own rates
of fare, provided that in the event the City and a licensee enter
into an agreement to provide public transportation services the rates
of fare shall be as established in said agreement. Such rates shall
be displayed in each of the licensee's taxicabs so as to be in plain
view of all passengers.
