HomeMy WebLinkAbout38.13 ORDINM~CE NO. 38.13
AN OFeINANCE OF THE CITY OF SARATOGA AMENDING
~]E SARATOGA CiTY CODES BY ADDING ARTICLE VII
TO tEmPTER 4 THEREOF, REOUIRING CERTIFICATES OF
PUBLIC CO~'ENZE~CE AN~ ~CESSITY FOR TAXICABS~
AND PROVIDING TE~S A~ CONDITION~ FOR THE
OPERATION AN~ MAZNTE~E OF TAXICABS.
The City Council of the City of Saratoga does ordain as follows:
~ction 1: There is hereby added to Chapter ~ of the Saratoga City Code, the
followinK Article VII, which article together with all of the
sections and subsections thereof, reads as follows:
A~TICLE VII - TAXICABS
Section 4-300. DEFINITIONS. For the purposes of this article, the
following terms, phrases and ~ords, and their derivations, shall.have the meaning
given heroin.
(a) "Call box/L shall mean a place alon~ side a street or elsewhere,
where a holder of a certificate of public convenience and necessity has been authorized
by the City to install a telephone or call box for the taking of calls and the dispatch-
ing of taxicabs,
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(b) "Certificate" means a certificate of public convenience and
necessity issued by the City Cormtilt authorizing the holder thereof to conduct a
taxicab business in the City,
(c) "Certified o~er" shall mean such person, firm or corporation
owning or controlling any taxicab and holding a certificate of public convenience
and necessity.
(d) "Drivers permit" shall mean the individual permit required by
this article to be carried by every driver of each taxicab, in addition to the
certi~icate required by the owner.
(e) "Taxi stand" shall mean a public place along side the curb of
the street or elsewhere~ designated by the City as a taxi zone and reserved exclusively
for the use of taxicabs,
(f) "Taxicab" shall mean a motor vehicle regularly engaged in the
buslness of carryin~ passengers for hire, having a seatinF caVEcity of less than 9
persons, not operated over a fixed route, and the destination and route'of which are
under the control of the passenger or passengers bein~ carried therein.
(E) '~aximeter" shall mean a mechanical instrument or device by which
the charge for hire of a passenger carrying vehicle is mechanically calculated and
receiDted for, both for the distance traveled, and for the waiting time, upon which
the fare is based.
(h) "l~aittng time" shall mean the time ~hen a taxicab is not in
mption from the ti~e of acceptance of a passenger or. passengers to the time of dis-
charge, but does not include any time that the taxicab is no~ in motion if due. to
any cause other than the request~ act or fault of a passenger or passengers.
Section 4-301, CERTIFICATE A~ DRIVERS PEPSfIT REQUIRED. No person shall
operate a taxicab~ or permit a taxicab owned or controlled by him to be operated, as
a vehicle for hire upon any street of the City, unless there shall have been issued
a certificate to the owner thereof~ and a driver~s permit to the driver thereof~ and
unless such certificate and perrait shall be in full force and effect.
Section ~..302. APPLICATIOn] FGR CERtifiCATE. Any person desiring to
obtain a certificate shall make application therefor to the City Council, which
application shall be verified under oath and shall furnish the following info_~naticn;
(a) The name, age, business address, residence and citizenship of
the applicant if a natural person; if a corporation~ its name, date, and place of
incorporation~ address of its principal office, and the names of its principal officers
together with their respective addresses; if a partnership, associatlcn or other
unincorporated entity, the names of the partners of persons comprising the association
or company, with the place of business and residence of each.
(b) The verified financial statement of the applicant.
(c) The experience of the applicant in the transportation of passengers,
and whether or not any certificate or other permit, or other license, has been revoked,
and if so, the circumstances of such revocation.
(d) Such facts that the applicant believes tend to prove that public
convenience and necessity require the grantin~ of a certificate.
(e) The number of vehicles to be operated or controlled by the appl!-
csnt~ and the description of each vehicle, ~ivtng the type, the name of the manufacturer,
the horsepower, and seating capacity thereof, and the location of proposed depots and
terminals.
(f) The color scheme or insignia to be used to designate the vehicle
or vehicles of the applicant.
(g) The street number and location of the place or places desired by
the applicant as taxi stands.
(h) I.~ether the aDplicant or any of its principal officers or any of
its employees have ever been convicted of a felony, or~the violation of any narcotic
or other penal law involving moral turpitude.
(l) A statement that each taxicab will be equipped with a taximeter
which will correctly compute, indicate and receipt for the amount charged, distance
traveled and waiting time elapsed.
(J) Such further lnfonnatfon as the City Council may require.
Section 4-303. HEARING AND ISShA3~CE OF CERTIFICATE. "Upon receipt of an
application for a certificate containin~ all of the information set! forth in the
preceding section, the City Clerk shall fix=a time and place for a public hearing
thereon by the City Council, giving notice of Such hearing to the applicant, to all
persons to whom certificates have theretofore been issued, and to the public by
publ].cation of a.notice of the time and place of such hearing in a newspaper of general
circulation printed and published in the City, which notice shall be published once
at least 5 days before the time of hearing.
If the city council finds that taxicab service, or further t~xicab service,
in the city, is required by the public convenience and necessity, and that the
applicant ~s fit, willing and able to perform such public transportation and to conform
at h a ~ , i of v~hicles adthorized, the
date of issuances the term thereof, and such c6uditions as the Council deems reasonable
or necessary in order to insure compliance wit~ ~his article by the applicant,
In making its findings, the CounCil shall take {nto ednsideration the
nt,~nBer of taxicabs already in operation, whether existing transportation is adequate
to meet the public need, the probable effect of increased service on local traffic
conditions, and the character, experience, and responsibility of the applicant,
Section 4-304, LIABILITY INSURANCE, ,. No certificate shall be issued or
continued in operation, and no person shall drive or cause or permit to be driven or
operated, any taxicab in the City, unless and until there is in full force and effect
a motor vehicle liability insurance policy or policies from a responsible cud solvent
corporation authorized to issue such policy tmder the laws of the State of California,
insuring such owner and covering each such taxicab and each driver thereof and unless
and until said owner shall file with the City Clerk a ~ritten certificate or certificates
of said insurance, designating that said policy or policies are in full force and
effect, designating therein that any and all taxicabs which may be driven or operated
under a certificate granted to such o~mer are and will be covered under said policy
or policies, and which certificate or certificates shall certify that such policy or
policies therein cited shall not be cancelled excevt t~pon 10 days prior written notice
thereof to the City. Said policies shall insure the owner and any other person using
or responsible for the use of any such taxicab, and the C~ty of Saratoga, its officers,
a~ents and employees, against loss from the liability imposed on any of them by ta~;
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for injury to, or death of, any person or damage to property, arising from or growing
out of the maintenance, operation or o~nershlp of any taxicab covered by the policy,
with limits of not less than $I00,000.00 for one person, and $300,000.00 for one
accident or occurence, and $25,000.00 for property damage, all exclusive of interest
and costs. Each said liability policy shall be a continuing Iiabtlfty up to the full
amount thereof, notwithstanding any recovery thereon, and each certificate shall so
certify.
Section 4-305. DRIVERS QUALIFICATIONS AND PERMITS. It shall be unlm~ful
for any person to d~ive any taxicab in the City unless he holds a valid driverts permit
to do so as heroin provided. The CIty Clerk shall supply and deliver to each certified
o~aer, the drfver's permit for each taxicab driver employed by the certified owner,
and the name, address, age, signature and photograph of the driver, and the name of
the certified owner for whom the driver is authorized to operate a taxicab, shall be
placed on each such permit for each such driver.
It shall be the obligation of the certified owner to engage only such
drivers for its taxicabs as fulfill the hereafter set forth requirements, and he shall
have the obligation not to deliver any drfver's permit to any driver employed by him
who does not fulfill the following requirements:
(1) Holds a current moto~ vehicle operator*s license for the State
of California;
(2) Has no physical, mental or moral deficiencies, diseases or
Infirmities, which might make him an unsafe driver;
(3) HaS a proficient knowledge of the traffic laws of the City of
Saratoga and the State of California;
(4) Is over the age of twenty-one (21~ years.
UpOn the termination~0f any such employment by a certified owner, the
driver shall forttmrith surrender his permit to the ~e~tified owner wh5 shall deliver
the same to the City. Clerk. it shall be the obligation of the certified o~ner to
cause the driver's permit for each driver to be posted in the taxicab in such a place
as to be in full view Of all passengers while such ~river is operating the taxicab.
Any violation by an~ d~iver in the employ of a certified owner, or any violation by
any certified owner, of any of the provisions of this Section shall be grounds for
suspension or revocation of the owner's certificate. A certified owne~ shall at all
times cause a true and correct list of all his drivers to be on file and kept current
in the offices of the City Clerk.
Section 4~306.· -CERTIFICATES A~ PERMITS NON-TRtNSFERABLE. No certificate
of public convenience and necessity, nor any drfver's permit, may be sold, assigneds
mortgaged or otherwise trahsferred.
SectiOn 4-307, OPERATION AND ~INTENANCE OF TAXICABS,
(a) EaCh taxicab shall be equipped ~{th a taximeter ~f such type and
design as approved by the City Clerk~ and the o~ne~ shall keep such mater accurate
at all ttmas~ and shall peri0dt~ally~ in ~ccord ~r~th all applicable laws, have the
same checked by the Santa Clara County Sealer of Weights and Measures.
(b) Each taximeter shall be so installed that the reading dial sho~-
tng the amount to be charged shall be well lighted and readily discernible by the
passenger riding tu such taxicab.
(c) No driver while carrying passengers shall display the "flag"
attached to the taximeter in such a position as to denote that such vehicle is not
employed, or fail to throw the "flag" of the taximeter to the "home" or "for hire"
position at the termination of each and every service, provided that the foregoing
shell not apply to trips to and from outside of the City when the charge is on a trip
basis,
(d) No driver shall charge, collect or receive any other or different
compensation for the use of any taxicab for hire other than as specified in the sched-
ule of fares as approved by the Council from time to time, nor more or less than the
sum indicated on the taximeter in such taxicab, provided that the latter shall not
apply to trips to or from points outside of the City where the charge is fixed on a
trip basis, nor to ansollcited and voluntary tips,
(e) Each taxicab she1! have displayed in a conspicuous place in the
passenger compartment thereof at all times a sf~v. stating in clearly legible character
the fare charge for carrying passengers therein.
(f) Every driver shall, upon request, give a correct receipt upon
payment of the fare.
(g) No driver of any taxicab shall accept, take into his vehicle,
or transport, any larger number of passengers than the rated seatin~ capacity of his
vehicles nor suffer or permit ~ny person to ride outside of the body of such vehicles
nor suffer or permit any person to sit or stand at any place in or on the taxicab where
such person obstructs the driperas view of traffic ahead or to either side.
(h) When a taxicab is engaged, the applicant shall have the exclusive
.right to the full and cumplete use of the passenger compartment, and no driver shall
solicit additional passengers thereins nor shall any driver carry any additional
passengers therein, unless the person or persons origlna!ly engaging the taxicab shall
consent thereto.
(~) No driver shall refuse or neglect to convey any orderly person
o~ persons'upon request, unless previously engaged or unable or forbidden by pro-
visions of this ordinance to do so.
(J) No passenger shall be received or dischar~ed in the roadway, but
each driver shall pull his taxicab up to the right hand curb as nearly as possible,
except on one way streets, where passengers may be discharged at either the right or
left hand side of the roadway.
(k) No wonen drivers shall drive or operate any taxicab during the
period of or interval of tim co~n~encing one half hour after sanset and ending one
half hour before sunrise of the day immediately following.
(1) Each driver employed to carry passengers to a definite point
shall take the most direct route possible that will carry the passenger safely and
expeditiously to such destination.
(m) No driver or taxicab ~ha~l solicit passengerS, nil services to
be available only dpon telephone call, engagemen~ wheh parked at a regular stands or
when hailed from the street, sidewalk or curb, and not otherwise.
(ni No taxicab shall be periled, or permitted to Stand, upon any
public highway in the City any period of time longer.than is rea~enably necessary to
receive or discharge passengers then occupying or waiting for such taxicab, provided,
however, that the taxicab may park in a taxi stand.
(o) ~o taxicab Shall be driven for hire when any o£.the equipm~nt
used thereon or therewith shall be in a defectires unsafe, or unsanitary condition.
The interior of each taxicab shall be ~horoughly cleaned St least once in every
tVenty-f0ur hours, and for~h~thhia11 p~opert~ of value left in.any such vehicle by a
passenger shall be reported by the o~uer thereof to ~he City Clerk. Every taxicab
shall at all times bla subject to the inspection of any poiice officer of the City.
(p) No driver shall operate any taxicab while under the influence of
intoxicating liquor or narcotic or Hallucigenic drugs, nor shall any driver engage in
selling intoxicating liquors, nor solicit business for any house of ill repute, nor use
the taxicab for any purpose other than the transportation of passengers.
(q) Every taximeter shall register the charge to the nearest $.10,
and be equipped with a flag or other mechanical device with the words "For Hire"
printed or st~aped thereon, and such flag shall be so attached and connected to the
mechanism of said taximeter as to cause said mechanism to operate when said fla~ is
in a position other than upright, and indicate that the cab is not for hires and
which said flag shall, when moved forward or do~m~ar~ start the operation of said
taximeter so that the same will operate in the manner required in this article.
All of the above provisions sh~ll be applicable to certified
owners as well as drivers, and it shall be ~lawful for any person, whether a certified
owner or not, or whether holding a driver's pemit or not, to violate any of the
above provisions (a) throughr (q) set forth. Violation of any of the above provisions
by a driver shall be grounds for suspension or revocation of the owners certificate.
Section 4-308. TAXICAB SERVICE. In addition to the specific provisions
hereinabove and hereafter set forth, all certified owners shall render an over--all
service to the public desirin~ to use taxicabs, and shall maintain a central place of
business and keep the same open bet~.~een the hours of 6:00 A.~I. and 12:00 midnight of
each day for the purpose of receiving calls and dispatching cabs. Each certified
o~mer shall ans~;er all the calls received for services inside the corporate limits of
this City as soon as he can reasonably do so, and if such services can not be rendered
within a reasonable period of time he shall then notify the nrospective passenger
how long it will be before the call c~n be answered and t~ reason therefore. Any
certified owner ~o shall refuse to accept a call anywhere in the corporate limits
of this City at any time that such o~.mer has cabs available, or shall further refuse
to give service as required bythis article, shall be deemed to be a violator hereof
a~d any certificate granted may be revoked or suspended at the discretion of the City
Council. Anything to the contrary heroinabove notwithstanding, if an o~mer is certified
who has no more than one taxicab in operation, driven exclusively by such certified
o~.mer as a driver, the City Council may provide in such certificate for one or more
days off per month, during which days-off such certified o~,mer shall not be required
to furnish taxicab services in the City.
Section 4-309. RATES A}TD FARES. The City Council shall by resolution,
from time to time, set forth the schedule of rates and fares to be charged for taxicab
service In this City, end it shall be unla~ful, except for trips to or from outside
of the City limits ~xhere the charEe is fixed on a triD basis, for any certified owner
or driver to fix, charge~ or collect a rate in excess of such fare.
It shall be unlawful for any person to refuse to pay the lm~ful rate
fixed in accordance with the provisions of this article and resolution of the City
Council, after employing or hiring the same.
Section 4-310. SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF CERTIFICATES AID DRIVERS
PER~{ITS. Any o~mer's certificate may be revoked or
suspended by the City Council if the certified owner or any of his drivers has (a)
violated any of the provisions of this article, or (b) discontinued op~ration for
more than fifteen (15) days without the approval of the City Council, Or (c) if the
certified o~.mer has violated any ordinances of this City, or laws of the United States
or the State of California, the violations of which reflect unfavorably on the fitness
of the.certified o~m. er to offer public tra~sportation. Prio~ to suspension or revoca-
tiod, the certified o~.mer~shall be ~iven inotice Of the ~ropo~ed action to h~ taken
and shall have an opportunity to be heard. In all respeCtS the certified o,~mer shall
be responsible for the qualifications and activity of e~ch of his drivers.
In addition, in the event that any driver employed by any certified
owner should violate any of the provisions of this article, and such certified o~.mer
fails or refuses to iramediately rectify sdch violation, Or to suspend or diS¢harge
such employed driver, then and in that event the Chief of PoliCe shall hay ~he po~,~er,
but not the obligation, to immediately suspend and confiScate'such drtver's permit,
which suspension shall last until such time as ~here is a hearing before the City
Council on whether or not the o~,nera~ certificate should he revoked or suspended by
virtue of the violation by such driver.
Section 4-311. LICP]SE FEES. The securing of a certificate under this
Article shall be in lieu of securing the business license as required by Article V of'
this Code~ and each certified o~mer shall pay the business license fee required by
Article V of this Code, and no additional fee is imposed for certification under this
article.
Section 4-312. TAXI STA~S. The City Council shall from time to time
establish taxi stands by ordinance (or by resolution in the event that the establish-
ment of taxi stands may be permitted by resolution) in such place or places upon the
streets of the City as it deems necessary for the use of taxicabs operated in the City,
which stands ~hen so established may be desi~nated as open stands, or as closed st.ands
for the taxicabs of particular certified owners only, which designation as to the open
or closed status of such stands shall be by resolution of the City Council. An open
stand may be occupied by any taxicab of any certified owner, and a closed stand may
only be occupied by a taxicab of the particular certified o~mer for whom such stand
is designated.
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Sectibn 4-313. EXISTLNG TAXICAB OILf-~RS IN CITY. Every ox.mer of taxicabs
now legally operating the same in the city limits shall file an application for a
certificate as provided herein within fifteen (15) days after the effective date of
this ordinances and a certificate shall immediately issue without the necessity of a
public hearing, provided such owner has complied with the remaining provisions of this
ord inance.
Section 4-314. DUTY TO ENFORCE. The City Clerk, in the exercise of his
duties imposed upon him, acting through his deputies or the Chief of Police, is hereby
~trected to enforce each and all of the provisions of this article, and is authorized
tc inspect and examine all taxicabs in the City to ascertain whether or not the provision5
of this article have been and are being complied with.
Section 4-3,15. PENALTY FOR VIOLATION. In addition to the penalties
provided for in Section 1-7 of this Code, and without limiting such provisions, any
person who knowingly or intentionaly misrepresents to any officer or employee of the
City any material fact in applying for an owners' certificate under tMs article shall
be guilty of a misdemeanor, and any taxicab operated Upon the street,of this City in
violation of this article shall be deemed to be a public nuisance, and may be, by this
City, s,~arily abated as such, including, without lim~.tation, the right to confiscate
and impound any such vehicle until such time as any add all such violations have been
otherwise abated.
Section..2.: If any sections subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this
ord!na-~ces or of any of the County ordinances or County Cede provisions adopted hereby,
is or are for any reason held by a court of competent Jurisdiction to be invalid, such
decision shall not affect the validity of the remaintn~ portions of this ordinances said
County ordinances or County Code provisions. The City Council of the City of Saratoga
hereby declares that it would have passed this ordinance, and each sections sub,action,
sentences clauses or phrase hereof, and would have adopted each sections sub,action,
sentence, clause, and phrase of the County ordinances and County Code provisions here-
inabove specifically referred to, irrespective of the fact that any one or more of such
sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be held invalid.
Section 3: This ordinance shall take effect and be in full force and effect
thirty (3b) days after its passage and adoption.
This ordinance was reSularly introduced and after the waiting time required
by law Was thereafter passed and adopted at.a regular meeting of the dity Coancii of
the City of Saratoga held on the 18th day of January , 1967 by the
followinS vote:
. AYES: Councilmen Glennon, Tylers Earman, Burry, Robbins
~f NOES: None ~' ~
ABSEIff: None ~ \J ~
__.- The above and foregoing is a trim and
copy rlf Or~fin.-,n~,, ~_~[~f.'/',.~ which has been
pubi}shea according to law.
'~'~ 'Deputy City Clerk Date
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