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City of Hornell, NY
Steuben County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Code
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[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of the City of Hornell as Ch. 23 of the 1970 Municipal Code. Section 285-4 amended at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II. Other amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Vehicles and traffic — See Ch. 300.
A. 
The regulations set forth in this chapter shall apply to all licenses and to all persons, firms, copartnerships or corporations holding any license or licenses issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
B. 
Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed to limit or restrict any person, firm, copartnership or corporation from operating and maintaining any motor bus transportation system upon the streets of the city upon regular routes and schedules, provided that such owner or operator of such motor buses or other motor transportation system has been duly authorized by the Public Service Commission of the State of New York to maintain and operate such transportation system.
As used in this chapter, the following words, terms and phrases shall have the meanings herein ascribed to them:
TAXICAB
Any vehicle offered for hire in the city and so designed and constructed as to seat seven persons or fewer in the interior thereof.
TAXICAB DRIVER
The operator of a taxicab.
TAXICAB LIVERY
Any establishment maintained for the purpose of receiving calls for and dispatching taxicabs to transport fares.
TAXICAB STAND
Any space designated by the Department of Public Safety on the streets of the city for taxicabs to park while waiting for business.
No person shall keep for hire within the limits of the city any taxicab or maintain a taxicab livery and no person shall operate any taxicab along any street, avenue or public place in the city without first obtaining the licenses hereinafter provided for.
The annual fees for licenses issued under the provisions of this chapter shall be as provided in Chapter 142, Fees.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II.
A. 
The City Clerk is hereby authorized to issue such licenses as are provided for in this chapter upon receipt of a proper application countersigned and approved by the Chief of Police and the payment of the annual fee as herein provided for.
B. 
Any license required by this chapter may be refused to any applicant for good and sufficient reason.
All applications for taxicab licenses shall contain the following information:
A. 
A brief description of the car to be operated in substantially the same form as appears on the registration of the vehicle for which a license is sought.
B. 
A certificate of inspection by a qualified mechanic stating that the vehicle to be licensed as a taxicab is in a safe mechanical condition.
C. 
The vehicle owner's name, address and the registration number of the vehicle.
D. 
Such other information as the Chief of Police may require.
A. 
Information required. Application for a taxicab driver's license shall contain the following information:
(1) 
The applicant's name, address and age.
(2) 
The number of the applicant's chauffeur's license issued by the State of New York.
(3) 
The name and address of the applicant's employer, if any.
(4) 
Such other information as may be required by the Chief of Police.
B. 
Photographs. Each applicant shall also furnish not fewer than two unmounted photographs, two by three (2 x 3) inches in size, which shall be recent photographs and which shall be a substantial likeness of the applicant.
C. 
Recommendations. Each applicant shall also present recommendations of two reputable citizens certifying the good record of the applicant, his honesty, sobriety and good moral conduct.
Application for a taxicab livery license shall contain the following information:
A. 
The name and address of the owner or owners and, if the owner is a corporation, the names and addresses of the officers thereof.
B. 
The address at which such business will be conducted.
C. 
A list of the cars to be dispatched from such livery.
D. 
Such other information as the Chief of Police may require.
All licenses issued under the provisions of this chapter shall expire May 31 after issuance.
Any license granted pursuant to the provisions of this chapter may, before the expiration thereof, be revoked by the Department of Public Safety upon the recommendation of any person, and such license may be taken up and all privileges terminated after a hearing and opportunity is given to the holder thereof to be heard.
No taxicab owner shall permit any other person to use his license.
In case of any change in ownership or address of a taxicab livery during the life of any license to operate such taxicab livery, the Chief of Police shall be immediately notified of such change and the license corrected or amended in accordance therewith.
All taxicabs shall be inspected as often as the Chief of Police shall direct, and if said taxicab shall be found not reasonably safe for operation, the Chief of Police shall order the taxicab withdrawn from service, and no such taxicab shall thereafter be used or operated as a taxicab until such defects are remedied and approved by the Chief of Police.
Every taxicab licensed under this chapter shall have affixed in a conspicuous place in the interior thereof the taxicab license issued by the City Clerk and the taxicab driver's license of the person driving and operating said taxicab.
Each taxicab shall have posted in a conspicuous place in the taxicab a printed schedule of rates for one or more passengers, which schedule of rates shall be of sufficient size to be read easily by all passengers. A duplicate of the schedule shall also be filed with the City Clerk.
Any motor vehicle licensed as a taxicab under this chapter may be withdrawn from service during the term of the license and some other motor vehicle substituted in the place thereof, provided that notice is filed with the City Clerk and authorization obtained from the Chief of Police before such substituted motor vehicle is placed in service. The requirements for the substituted vehicle shall be the same as the requirements for the vehicle originally licensed.
All taxicab owners shall keep a written record of all taxicab calls on a form approved by the Chief of Police, and all such records must be retained at least one year.
No taxicab shall be driven or operated to which a trailer is attached.
A. 
Every taxicab shall be provided with means for fastening the doors so that they may be readily opened on the inside by a passenger.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Sec. 23-37, Chains required during periods of snow and ice, which immediately followed this subsection, was deleted at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II.
B. 
Every taxicab shall provide windows in the tonneau of the cab sufficient in number and of such size and dimensions so that at all times persons may be readily seen through the windows with sufficient distinctiveness as to identify such persons.
The following regulations shall apply to all persons to whom a taxicab driver's license has been issued under this article:
A. 
Disorderly conduct; obstructing sidewalks. No taxicab driver shall, while waiting for employment in any place, engage in any disorderly conduct or obstruct any sidewalk.
B. 
Driver to remain in vehicle. Every taxicab driver, while waiting for employment in any established taxicab stand, shall be and remain in the taxicab of which he is in charge.
C. 
Willful misrepresentation. No taxicab driver shall induce any person to be carried by any taxicab by willful misrepresentation.
D. 
Duty to keep vehicle clean. Every taxicab driver shall at all times keep the inside of taxicabs operated by him in a clean and sanitary condition, and every taxicab driver shall at least once each day thoroughly clean the inside of every taxicab operated by him.
E. 
Driver to await employment at stand. No taxicab driver shall wait for employment in any stand or place of public resort except at an established taxicab stand.
F. 
Manner of seeking employment. No taxicab driver shall seek employment by repeatedly and persistently driving a cab to and fro in a space before or by otherwise interfering with the proper and orderly access to or egress from any theater, hall, hotel, public resort, railroad station or terminal or other place of public gathering, nor shall any taxicab solicit employment by driving at such low speed as to interfere with or impede traffic; provided, however, that taxicab drivers shall obey the instructions of police officers who may in emergency give instructions relating thereto as will relieve traffic congestion and conserve the safety and convenience of the public.
G. 
Intoxication. No taxicab driver shall drive or operate a taxicab while he is intoxicated, nor shall he drink intoxicating liquor while on duty.
H. 
Locking doors. No taxicab driver shall at any time so fasten or lock the doors on the taxicab so that it is impossible for a passenger to open the same from the inside.
I. 
Use of taxicab by persons other than those hiring the same. No taxicab driver shall permit any person other than the passenger who hires the use of the taxicab and such person or persons as such passengers shall designate to be or remain in or upon said taxicab while any passenger is being solicited therefor and conveyed therein.
J. 
Changes of address or employer. All taxicab drivers shall promptly report changes of addresses and of all changes of employer.
K. 
Refusal to convey passengers. No taxicab driver shall refuse or neglect to convey any orderly person or persons upon request unless previously engaged or unable so to do.
L. 
Articles left in taxicab. Every taxicab driver shall search the interior of the cab after the termination of each trip for any article left or lost in the cab and shall immediately take such property to the police station.
M. 
Use of license by others. No taxicab driver shall permit any other person to use his license.
N. 
Hours of operation. No taxicab driver shall operate any cab for more than 12 hours of any continuous twenty-four-hour period, with the exception of an allowance of eight hours or one day in each week for changing shifts.
O. 
Inspection of vehicle; report of mechanical failures. Every taxicab driver shall, at the conclusion of each period of duty, inspect all lights on the taxicab he has been driving, test the horn or other signaling device and report any failures together with any brake failures or other mechanical failures to his employer, if any, and all such failures shall be corrected before the cab is again placed in service.
[Added 4-28-1993]
Radio dispatch operations of base stations are hereby prohibited in residentially zoned areas.
Any person violating any provision of this chapter shall be punishable as provided in § 1-1 of this Code. Each day that any violation occurs or is repeated shall be considered a separate offense. In addition to the punishment provided, a conviction for violation of this chapter shall automatically revoke any license which may have been granted under the terms of this chapter to the person so convicted.