La Quinta Municipal Code Ch. 5.40 Passenger Carriers

A. Requirements and Exceptions. No person shall engage in the business of transporting passengers in a vehicle or vehicles over the streets of the city, where the passengers' trips originate from points within the city, whether any such vehicle used is a taxicab, motorbus, limousine, automobile for hire, or other transportation vehicle with a driver for hire, unless the person operating the business or engaging therein is acting pursuant to a franchise, license, permit or contract to do so pursuant to this chapter. This chapter shall apply to any business carrying passengers from a principal point or points of origin outside the city but which regularly carries the passengers over the city streets as a major portion of the journey or journeys. This chapter shall not apply to any business of renting automobiles or other vehicles without drivers, nor to any passenger carrier operated by a public agency or entity or to any passenger carrier operating pursuant to express and specific permission granted by superior authorized agency such as the State Public Utilities Commission or the Interstate Commerce Commission.

B. Compliance with Sunline Regulations. All passenger carriers described in subsection A of this section and subject to this chapter shall be subject to and governed by any and all ordinances, resolutions, regulations, and other official actions taken by the Sunline Transit Agency and Sunline Services Group, two (2) California joint exercise of powers agencies to which the city is a member of each joint exercise of powers agency, including, but not limited to, any and all ordinances, resolutions, regulations, and official actions taken pursuant to the "Implementation Agreement Authorizing the Sunline Services Group to Regulate Taxicabs," as amended from time to time, to which the city is a party of that implementation agreement. All passenger carriers described in subsection A of this section and subject to this chapter shall, in addition to all other requirements, comply with the franchise, license, permit, and contract requirements established by Sunline Transit Agency and Sunline Services Group.

C. In the event that the city takes official action to no longer be a member of the Sunline Transit Agency or Sunline Services Group, or the city takes official action to no longer be a party to the Implementation Agreement Authorizing the Sunline Services Group to Regulate Taxicabs, then all passenger carriers described in subsection A of this section and subject to this chapter shall remain subject to and governed by all ordinances, resolutions, regulations, and other official actions then in place by Sunline Transit Agency and Sunline Services Group, except that the city shall be the governing agency with jurisdiction over the passenger carriers. The city manager shall have the authority to enact any and all regulations that would allow for the city to continue to regulate all passenger carriers as described in this subsection until such time as the city enacts an ordinance or ordinances amending this chapter or other provisions of the code in furtherance of regulating passenger carriers.

(Ord. 526 § 9, 2015; Ord. 10 § 1, 1982)

No driver of any taxicab, automobile for hire or motorbus shall permit more persons to ride in the driver's compartment thereof than can be seated in the regular seats in the compartment, or permit any person to sit on or stand at any place in or on the taxicab, automobile for hire or motorbus where the person obstructs the driver's view of traffic ahead or to either side.

(Ord. 526 § 9, 2015; Ord. 10 § 1, 1982)

It is unlawful for any person to refuse to pay the legal fare of any of the vehicles mentioned in this chapter, after having hired them.

(Ord. 526 § 9, 2015; Ord. 10 § 1, 1982)

It is unlawful to charge, collect or receive any other or different compensation for the use of the taxicab or automobile for hire than that specified in the tariff or schedule of fares on file and at the time in effect.

(Ord. 526 § 9, 2015; Ord. 10 § 1, 1982)