Inglewood Municipal Code § 8-74 Taxicab Business. Permit

It shall be unlawful for a person to operate a taxicab business in the City or drive a taxicab in the City without first obtaining a permit pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter.

Applications for permits to operate a taxicab business or to drive a taxicab shall be made on forms furnished at the office of the Chief of Police, and such forms shall contain spaces for such information with reference to the applicant as the Chief of Police may reasonably require. All spaces for information in such forms must be truthfully filled out and all questions contained in such forms must be truthfully answered. Each application shall be accompanied by a true photograph of each applicant (approximately one and one-half inches square and taken within thirty days of date of application), and by the true fingerprints of the thumb and fingers of each hand of each applicant. In the case of a corporation such photograph and fingerprints shall be furnished by the President and Vice-President, the Secretary and the Treasurer of the corporation; in the case of a partnership or firm, of each member or partner of the partnership or firm; and in the case of individuals, of each individual applicant. Failure to furnish the required information, photograph and fingerprints, will be sufficient grounds for the denial of any application.

Every driver of a taxicab must be a citizen of the United States or a legal resident thereof and must be duly licensed by the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

(Ord. 94-15 9-27-94)

Before any permit to operate a taxicab business is issued, the applicant shall be required to file with the City Council, and thereafter keep in full force and effect, a policy of automobile liability insurance in such form as the Council may deem proper, executed by an insurance company currently authorized and/or approved by the Insurance Commissioner of the State of California to transact business in California, insuring the public against any loss or damage that may result to any person or property from the operation of any vehicle used in such business shall provide coverage substantially as follows:

Combined single-limit liability coverage for personal injury and property damage in any one accident in an amount not less than $500,000.

(Ord. 2192 7-30-74; Ord. 94-15 9-27-94)

No taxicab business permit shall be issued to any person until a standard, distinctive uniform color scheme has been adopted by the applicant and approved by the City Council, which shall be used on all taxicabs used in such business.

No permit for the operation of any taxicab shall be granted until the Council determines that public convenience and necessity require the operation of said taxicab, and no person shall operate or permit a taxicab owned or controlled by him to be operated as a vehicle for hire upon the streets of the City without having first obtained a certificate of public convenience and necessity from the City Council.

An application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity, together with a cashier's check in the amount of $250, representing the city's investigation costs, shall be filed with the City Council. The application shall be verified under oath and shall furnish the following information:

(1) The name and address of the applicant.

(2) The financial status of the applicant, including the amounts of all unpaid judgments against the applicant and the nature of the transaction or acts giving rise to said judgments.

(3) The experience of the applicant in the transportation of passengers.

(4) Any facts which the applicant believes tend to prove that public convenience and necessity require the granting of a certificate.

(5) The number of vehicles to be operated or controlled by the applicant and the location of proposed depots and terminals.

(6) The color scheme or insignia to be used to designate the vehicle or vehicles of the applicant.

(7) Such further information as the City Council of the City may require.

(Ord. 2385 11-4-80)

Upon the filing of an application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity, the City Council shall fix a time and date for a hearing. Notice of the hearing shall be given to the applicant and to all persons then holding certificates of public convenience and necessity hereunder. Notice shall also be given to the general public by posting a notice of such hearing on the bulletin board in the main lobby of the City Hall at least ten days prior to such hearing.

(Ord. 99-36 12-14-99)

If the City Council finds that the additional taxicab service applied for is required by the public convenience and necessity and that the applicant is fit, willing and able to perform such further public transportation service and to conform to the provisions of this Code and the rules promulgated by the City Council, then the City Council shall issue a certificate stating the name and address of the applicant, the number of vehicles authorized under said certificate and the date of issuance; otherwise, the application shall be denied.

In the event of a proposed transfer of a certificate of public convenience and necessity, the transferee shall file an application as provided in Section 8-74.8 and a hearing shall be conducted as provided in Section 8-74.9. No certificate of public convenience and necessity may be sold, assigned, mortgaged or otherwise transferred without the written consent of the City Council.

(1) A certificate issued pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter may be suspended or revoked by the City Council if the holder thereof has:

(a) Violated any of the provisions of this Code, performance standards or other rules or regulations governing taxicab operations as established City Council resolution.

(b) Discontinued operation for any period exceeding one hour for causes or reasons other than driver strike, riot, unusability of the holder's taxicabs as a result of illegal destruction or other calamitous event.

(c) Become unfit, in the opinion of the City Council, for any material reason to offer public transportation service.

(2) Prior to any revocation being made effective by the City Council, the holder shall be given no less than five days written notice of the proposed action of revocation; shall be permitted to be present at all stages of the Council hearing or hearings pertaining to such revocation and shall be given the opportunity to offer testimony and evidence and to cross-examine persons testifying in support of revocation and shall have an opportunity to examine all documentary evidence introduced in support of revocation at least 24 hours prior to the hearing or continued hearing. The City Council, however, may suspend any certificate for a period not to exceed five days upon finding any ground of revocation set forth in 1(a) through 1(c) hereof, inclusive.

(Ord. 2192 7-30-74)

Any person who succeeds any officer of a corporation or member of a firm, as such, and any individual who succeeds any other individual, holding a permit under this Article shall comply with the provisions hereof within ten days after the date upon which any such change or succession occurs.

Permits provided for in this Section may be granted, denied, revoked, suspended or canceled, whenever, in the exercise of reasonable and sound discretion, the City Council determines that the provisions of this Section have not been complied with, or that the permittee or applicant is or is not a fit or proper person to operate a taxicab business.

From the time of the revocation or during the suspension of any permit, the person whose permit is suspended or revoked shall not drive, or be in charge of any taxicab or permit any vehicle on which the permit has been suspended or revoked to stand while waiting employment at a location designated in such suspended or revoked permit, until a new permit has been procured or until the period of suspension shall have expired.

The City Council may suspend or revoke any of the permits referred to in this Section if the permittee has been convicted of the commission of a felony, reckless driving, pandering, or the use, sale, possession, information or transportation of narcotics, or illicit intoxicating liquors, or assault or battery, or has charged rates other than those which the permittee has on file with the Council, or has violated any of the rules and regulations of the Council pertaining to the operation of or the extent, character and quality of the service of taxicabs.

A taxicab permit shall only be issued to an applicant who is the registered owner of all the vehicles in its fleet, except in the case of a registered California Consumer Cooperative, in which case the vehicles may be registered to individual members of said cooperative. If a license is granted to a California Consumer Cooperative, the cooperative shall be responsible for the actions of its employees, agents, members and member drivers in the City of Inglewood. The applicant may enter into a contract, agreement or understanding between itself and a duly licensed taxicab driver to pay a fixed or determinable sum for the use of such taxicab.

(Ord. 94-15 9-27-94; Ord. 99-36 12-14-99)

Each permit issued under the provisions of this Section shall entitle the holder thereof to obtain a license to engage in the business described in said permit from the Finance Director of the City upon the payment of the appropriate license fee.

(Ord. 03-19 10-14-03; Ord. 07-08 4-25-07)

Permits may be issued to the owner of taxicabs allowing such taxicabs while awaiting employment to stand at certain designated places upon the streets.

No such stand permit shall be granted except upon the application of the person desiring such stand, filed with the City Council, stating the number and kind of vehicles for which the permit is sought, and the proposed location of such stand.

The application for a stand permit must contain either the written consent of the occupant of the first floor of that portion of the building or property in front of which it is desired that said taxicab shall stand, or, if such building shall contain more than one hundred rooms and be used for hotel purposes, the written consent of the person operating said hotel.

If there is no building on the premises in front of which it is desired that a taxicab may stand, or if there is a building and the first floor is not occupied, then such stand permit may be granted upon the written consent of the owner of such building or premises.

(1) Not more than three vehicles shall be permitted to stand on any one side of a street within the limits of any one block having a frontage of five hundred feet or more, nor shall more than two vehicles be permitted to stand upon any one side of such street within such block having a frontage of less than five hundred feet. No permit shall be issued for any stand to be located within fifty feet of another stand on the same side of the street.

(2) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Chapter, no permit may be issued for a taxicab stand on Market Street between Florence Avenue and La Brea Avenue.

In addition to the number of taxicabs that may be permitted to stand upon a street within the limits of any one block, the City Council may grant permission to a taxicab operator to stand upon the street at the stations of any bus depot.

The City Council may, after exercising reasonable discretion, grant renewals or extensions of permits for such stands.

No owner or driver of any taxicab shall stand while awaiting employment at any place other than a stand designated by the City Council and assigned to the owner of taxicab.

No owner or driver of any taxicab shall leave such vehicle unattended in a stand for a period of time longer than three minutes.

Stands may be occupied for a period of twenty-four hours a day except where standing, stopping and parking of vehicles is otherwise prohibited by law.

Every taxicab used for carrying passengers for hire shall display in the rear of the driver's seat and in the passenger's compartment and in full view of the passengers, a card not less than two by four inches, nor more than two and one-half by five inches, which shall have printed thereon the owner's name under which he operates and the business address and telephone number of such owner, together with the rates to be charged by such taxicab.

Every taxicab shall have painted upon one door on each side of said cab the name of the owner under which the owner operates, together with the telephone number and the cab number. The number of the cab and the telephone number of the owner shall be painted upon the rear of such vehicle. All of the lettering mentioned in this paragraph shall be of not less than two and one-fourth inches in height and not less than a five-sixteenth inch stroke.

Every taxicab may display an electrically lighted vacant sign attached to the top of such cab more than two and one-half inches high by nine inches in length.

No person operating any taxicab shall operate such vehicle unless it is equipped with a taximeter approved by the City Council. Every such person using any taximeter shall at all times keep such meter accurate. Such meter shall be subject to inspection from time to time.

Any inspector of the City Council or peace officer is authorized to investigate any taximeter, and upon the discovery of any inaccuracy of said taximeter to remove any vehicle equipped with said inaccurate taximeter from the streets until said taximeter shall have been correctly adjusted.

It shall be unlawful for any person to operate any taxicab pursuant to this Chapter after a taximeter has been installed, removed, replaced or repaired without first submitting said taximeter, as so installed, to the Chief of Police for inspection.

(Ord. 1653 5-15-62)

All taxicabs must base their charges on taximeters, and all taximeters shall be placed so that the reading dial showing the amount to be charged shall be well lighted and readily discernible by the passenger riding in such taxicab.

It shall be unlawful for any driver of a taxicab while carrying passengers to display the flag attached to the taximeter in such a position as to denote that such vehicle is not employed, or throw the flag of the taximeter in a recording position when such vehicle is not actually employed, or fail to throw the flag of such taximeter in a nonrecording position at the termination of each and every service.

It shall be unlawful for any operator of any taxicab, upon receiving payment of a fare, to refuse to give a receipt upon the request of any passenger making said payment.

The minimum and maximum rates or fares to be charged the public for metered taxicab service in taxicabs operating over any public street in the City shall be those rates or fares which the City Council may from time to time establish by resolution; and it shall be unlawful for any person operating or in charge or control of any taxicab within the City to charge, receive or collect any different rate or fare for such taxicab service than those so prescribed by the City Council. Upon the adoption of any such resolution, the City Clerk shall immediately forward a certified copy of such resolution to all permittees holding a then current permit under this Section.

When a taxicab is engaged, the occupant shall have the exclusive right to the full and free use of the passenger compartment, and it shall be unlawful for any owner or driver of said taxicab to solicit or carry additional passengers therein.

Any driver employed to carry passengers to a definite point shall take the most direct route possible that will carry the passengers safely and expeditiously to their destination.

It shall be unlawful for any person to charge, collect, demand, receive or arrange for any compensation for the service of any automobile for hire in the City, used for the conveyance of passengers, any amount, rate or compensation greater than the charges or rates approved by the City Council.

The City Council shall have the authority to adopt such rules and regulations as may be necessary for the service and safety of the operation of taxicabs.

In the event the City is without taxicab service for any reason for a period exceeding one hour, the Mayor, Administrative Officer or Chief of Police may designate other taxicab operators to service the City without compliance with the provisions of this Chapter or the City Council's regulations. Such emergency authorization shall terminate upon lawful resumption of service by the operators having valid certificates of public convenience and necessity.

(Ord. 2192 7-30-74)