Petaluma Municipal Code Ch. 14.17 Taxicab Regulations

For purposes of this chapter, "taxicab" means a motor vehicle regularly engaged in the business of carrying

passengers for hire, having a seating capacity of less than eight persons and not operated on a Jxed route, upon a

Jxed schedule, or for a Jxed rate. "Taxicab" shall not include automobiles for hire, limousines, or buses as deJned

in the Petaluma Municipal Code. (Ord. 2217 NCS §1, 2005.)

No person shall permit a taxicab owned or controlled by him/her to be operated, as a vehicle for hire upon any

street of the city, unless a business license has been issued for operation of a taxicab by the Jnance director. The

Jnance director shall not issue a business license to a taxicab owner until the owner complies with the provisions

of this chapter including, but not limited to, the insurance requirements of Section 14.17.110, the acquisition of a

driver’s permit for each driver of a taxicab owned or controlled by the applicant, and written authorization for the

city manager or the city manager’s authorized designee to inspect (for compliance with the provisions of this

chapter) any taxicab owned or controlled by the owner. The application for a business license pursuant to this

section shall contain the information required by Section 14.12.010 and shall contain a statement, under penalty

of perjury, that the applicant has complied with all state law requirements relating to taxicabs. (Ord. 2217 NCS §l,

2005.)

A. No person shall operate or drive any taxicab within the city unless such person has obtained a driver’s permit

from the police department. A driver’s permit shall be valid for one year from the date of issuance. A taxicab

operator who hires a driver for whom a permit has been issued within a year prior to the date of hire shall notify

the police department that such driver is now employed by that taxicab operator.

B. The police department shall photograph and Jngerprint each applicant for a driver’s permit. The police

department shall keep such photographs and Jngerprints on Jle at the department.

C. The driver’s permit shall state the name of the driver and the employer, and shall contain such additional

information as the police department may require. A driver’s permit shall be void upon termination of

employment. The employer shall notify the police department upon termination of employment of a driver, and

shall return the permit to the Police department.

D. Prior to issuing a driver’s permit, the police department shall determine whether the applicant has a valid

driver’s license and shall review the applicant’s driving history. The police department shall not issue a driver’s

permit to the applicant if the police department determines that:

1. The applicant’s driving record shows a violation point count of four or more points in the preceding

twelve month period, six or more points in the preceding twenty-four month period, or eight or more points

in the preceding thirty-six month period;

2. The applicant has been convicted of a felony or of a crime involving moral turpitude, or reckless driving

or of driving under the inKuence of intoxicating liquor or of narcotics, unless after investigation and report by

the chief of police, the city council authorizes the issuance of the permit;

3. The applicant’s driving history demonstrates that the applicant is not likely to operate a motor vehicle in

a safe manner; or

4. The applicant does not hold a valid California state driver’s license.

E. The police department shall not issue a driver’s permit to anyone under the age of twenty-one years.

F. The police department may charge a fee for processing each application for a driver’s permit. The fee shall be

set by resolution of the city council. The police department shall immediately notify the applicant of a denial of

issuance of a driver’s permit by written notice. The notice shall contain a statement of the facts upon which the

police department has acted in denying issuance of the driver’s permit. The notice shall contain a statement of the

appeal procedure contained in Section 14.17.140.

(Ord. 2217 NCS §1, 2005.)

All taxicabs operated in the city of Petaluma shall be equipped with a taxi meter of such type and design as may be

approved by the city manager or his authorized designee. The owner of any taxicab shall keep the meter accurate

at all times. The city manager or his authorized designee shall have the right to inspect such meters and upon

discovery of any inaccuracy to remove or cause to be removed from service any vehicle equipped with such meter

until the meter has been repaired and accurately adjusted. (Ord. 2217 NCS §1, 2005.)

The charge for any service to all patrons of a taxicab shall be calculated and indicated by the taxi meter required

by Section 14.17.040, which shall be placed in such vehicle so operated so that the reading dial showing the

amount to be charged shall be well-lighted and readily discernible by a passenger riding in any such taxicab. (Ord.

2217 NCS §1, 2005.)

Every taxicab shall have displayed in a conspicuous place in the passenger compartment thereof at all times a sign

stating in clearly legible characters the rates of fare charged for carrying passengers therein, the driver’s permit,

the owner’s name or the Jctitious name under which he operates, and the business address and telephone

number of such owner and business license number furnished by the city of Petaluma. (Ord. 2217 NCS §1, 2005.)

A. No owner, operator or driver of any taxicab, shall in connection with any trip originating or reaching its

destination in the city, charge, collect, demand, receive or arrange for any rate for such trip in excess of the

amount authorized in accordance with the schedule of rates set by resolution of the city council.

B. Any owner or driver who overcharges a taxicab fare shall be liable to the person who hires the vehicle for the

diMerence between the amount of the fare actually charged and the amount of the fare Jled in accordance with

this chapter.

C. The remedies provided by this section are in addition to any other legal or equitable remedies, and are not

intended to be exclusive.

(Ord. 2217 NCS §1, 2005.)

A. It shall be unlawful for any owner or driver to operate, or cause to be operated, any taxicab while the same or

any of the equipment used thereon or therewith shall be in a defective, unsafe, or unsanitary condition. Every

taxicab shall at all times be subject to the inspection of any police oLcer of the city of Petaluma.

B. No owner or driver shall transport any larger number of persons than can safely be accommodated within

the vehicle.

C. No driver of a taxicab shall refuse to transport any person who desires and requests to purchase

transportation in a sober and orderly manner, if such taxicab is in service and available to the public generally for

such transportation.

D. The interior of every taxicab operating within the city of Petaluma shall be thoroughly cleaned at least once in

every twenty-four hour period of operation.

(Ord. 2217 NCS §1, 2005.)

Any driver employed to carry passengers to a deJnite point shall take the most direct route possible that will carry

the passengers safely and expeditiously to their destination. (Ord. 2217 NCS §l, 2005.)

It shall be unlawful for any person to refuse to pay the legal fare of any taxicab after having hired the same, and

any person who shall hire any taxicab with the intent to defraud the person from whom it is hired shall be guilty of

a misdemeanor. (Ord. 2217 NCS §1, 2005.)

Before a license for the operation of any taxicab business shall be issued, and prior to the operation of any of such

taxicabs if a license has been issued, there shall be Jled with the Jnance director a policy of public liability

insurance executed and delivered by a company authorized to carry on an insurance business in the state, the

Jnancial responsibility of which company shall theretofore have been approved by the city manager, by the terms

of which the insurance company insures the owner and licensee of the taxicab operation against loss by reason of

injuries to persons or property caused by the operation of such vehicle in the following amounts: comprehensive

general liability of three hundred thousand dollars per occurrence for bodily injury, personal injury and property

damages; automobile liability of three hundred thousand dollars combined single limit per accident for bodily

injury and property damage; and workers’ compensation and employers’ liability as required by the labor code of the state of California and employers’ liability of one million dollars per accident; provided, however, that no policy

of insurance issued by any mutual assessment or reciprocal company as deJned by the California insurance code

of the state shall be accepted by the city manager; and provided further, that such insurance shall not expire nor

be revocable, except upon written notice to the Jnance director at least thirty days prior to such expiration or

revocation. (Ord. 2217 NCS §1, 2005.)

The police chief or designee shall have the power to suspend or revoke a taxicab driver’s permit card issued under

this chapter, on any grounds stated in this chapter or on any of the following grounds:

A. Suspension, revocation or expiration of the driver’s privilege granted by the California Department of Motor

Vehicles to operate a motor vehicle on the public highways of the state;

B. The violation by the driver of any terms, conditions or requirements of this chapter;

C. Any act or omission of the driver or any fact or condition which, if it existed at the time the application for a

taxicab driver’s permit card was Jled, would have warranted the denial of the application;

D. Failure of the driver to pay any judgment against the driver for personal injury or death, or property damage

arising out of the driver’s operation of a taxicab, within thirty days after the judgment has become Jnal;

E. The driver consumed drugs or alcohol or is under the inKuence of drugs or alcohol while on duty or is

convicted of a crime relating to drugs or alcohol;

F. Overcharge, or the attempt to overcharge, taxicab fares by the driver, as prohibited by Section 14.17.070 of

this chapter.

G. Any violation of a law or regulation of the state of California pertaining to operation of a taxicab or motor

vehicle.

(Ord. 2217 NCS §l, 2005.)

A. No business license shall be issued or renewed unless the applicant at the time of license issuance or renewal

Jles with the Jnance director a certiJcation that the applicant maintains a mandatory controlled substance and

alcohol testing certiJcation program conforming to Parts 40 and 382 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations

and California Government Code Section 53075.5 for all drivers of vehicles operated under the license.

B. No driver’s permit shall be issued or renewed unless the applicant at the time of the permit issuance or

renewal Jles with the police department certiJcation that the permit applicant has tested negatively, within the

past thirty days prior to submitting the application, for controlled substances and alcohol under a mandatory controlled substance and alcohol testing certiJcation program conforming to Parts 40 and 382 of Title 49 of the

Code of Federal Regulations and California Government Code section 53075.5. Driver’s permit applicants who test

positively pursuant to the testing program referenced herein shall be ineligible to apply again for a driver’s permit

during the Jve year period following the positive test. Driver’s permit renewal applicants who have tested

positively pursuant to random alcohol/controlled substance testing shall not be eligible to apply for their driver’s

permit renewal until they have successfully completed an accredited substance abuse program in accordance with

Government Code section 53075.5.

C. Costs. The costs of taking an alcohol/ controlled substance test of an employee shall be paid by the taxicab

company. The costs of taking an alcohol/controlled substance test of a self-employed independent driver shall be

paid by the driver.

D. Reporting. The written results of the alcohol/controlled substance test of an employee driver or of a self-

employed independent driver who has executed a release in favor of the taxicab company shall be delivered to

the taxicab company. The taxicab company shall immediately forward copies of the written results to the police

department.

E. Tests from Another Jurisdiction. A test meeting the requirements of this section that is taken to obtain a driver’s

permit in another jurisdiction shall be accepted as though conducted as part of the permit renewal process for the

city of Petaluma for up to thirty days from the date the test was taken. The prior test shall apply only for purposes

of renewing a driver’s permit, so long as the driver has not tested positive thereafter. However, a negative result

from a test taken for another jurisdiction shall not satisfy the preemployment testing requirements to receive an

initial permit as imposed by this chapter.

F. All test results shall be conJdential and shall not be released without the consent of the driver, except as

otherwise provided herein or authorized or required by law.

(Ord. 2217 NCS §l, 2005.)

Any person aggrieved by the determination of the police oLcer or Jnance director to deny the issuance of or to

revoke a driver’s permit or business license may appeal such decision to the city manager. Such appeal shall be

taken by Jling a written notice of appeal with the city clerk within ten days of the date of the decision to deny or

revoke and shall set forth the grounds for the appeal. A failure to Jle a timely appeal shall render the decision to

deny or revoke Jnal. The city manager shall set a time and place for a hearing on the appeal within ten days of the

Jling of the appeal. The city manager’s determination following the hearing shall be in writing and shall be sent to

the driver’s permit or business licenseapplicant. The decision of the city manager shall be Jnal and conclusive.

(Ord. 2217 NCS §l, 2005.)

Each holder of a business license for taxicab operations shall indemnify and hold harmless the city against and

from all damages, judgments, decrees, costs and expenditures which the city may suMer or which may be

recovered from or obtained against the city during the time the business license is in force for or by reason of acts

done by the owners, their employees or agents during the time such license is in force, or growing out of or

resulting from the exercise by such license holder of any or all of the rights and privileges granted by the license,

or any act of the servants or agents thereof, under or by virtue of the provisions of this chapter or the license

under which such owner is operating. (Ord. 2217 NCS §l, 2005.)

provisions.

All persons who shall come within the purview of and are subject to the terms of this chapter shall be excepted

from and not be subject to the terms of Chapters 6.04, 6.08, 6.28 and 6.36 relating to licenses. (Ord. 2217 NCS §l,

2005.)