San Leandro Municipal Code Art. 2 Taxicab Business Permit

(Legislative History: Ordinance 93-06, 4/5/93; Ordinance 2001-016, 9/4/01; Ordinance 2002-032, 12/9/02 (Section 6-6-205); Ordinance No. 2011-006, 4/4/11 (Section 6-6-205))

(a) No person shall operate or cause to be operated in the City any taxicab unless the Finance Director shall have issued a taxicab business permit for the operation of a taxicab to the owner thereof and unless such taxicab business permit shall be in full force and effect; provided, however, that no taxicab business permit shall be required for any operations for which a certificate or permit has been issued by the public utilities commission of the State or by the interstate commerce commission of the United States of America.

(b) Any taxicab may, however, transport a passenger or passengers from a point outside to a destination within the City or may proceed through the City while en route to a destination outside of the City without issuance of a taxicab business permit.

(c) A taxicab business permit granted pursuant to this chapter constitutes a privilege and does not constitute property of the permittee. No taxicab business permit issued under this Chapter shall be transferable or assignable, either expressly or by operation of law.

The City Manager or designee shall revoke or suspend any driver's identification card in the event the holder thereof violates any of the provisions of this Chapter or is convicted of reckless driving (Vehicle Code Section 23103) or for the violation of any law, which violation, in the discretion of the City Manager or designee, shall be deemed sufficient evidence of the fact that said driver will not operate a motor vehicle in a safe manner. In the event of such revocation or suspension of a driver's identification card, the holder thereof shall return the card to the City Manager. A cardholder may appeal any decision of the City Manager to revoke or suspend a driver's identification card in accordance with the appeal procedure set forth in Article 4 of Chapter 1-12 of this Code.

Application for the renewal of a taxicab business permit shall be made on an annual basis to the Finance Director. The renewal procedure shall be limited to the review and updating of the taxicab business permit application information and the annual vehicle inspection certificate and will be subject to a fee as established by the City Council. The Finance Director will require the permittee to present current confirmation of the items described in Section 6-6-200 with each application for renewal of the taxicab business permit. If there are substantial changes in the owner's information, the Finance Director may require that the owner submit a new application for review and approval.

The applicant for a taxicab business permit shall submit the application fee as set forth in the schedule of fees established by resolution of the City Council.

The Finance Director shall conduct and complete his or her investigation of the application and the proposed operation within 60 days of receiving the application. Upon completion of the investigation, the Finance Director will issue or deny the application for a taxicab business permit. If the Finance Director denies the application pursuant to Section 6-6-225, the Finance Director shall give written notice to the applicant that the application has been rejected and shall state the reason for such rejection.

Grounds for denial of an application for a taxicab business permit are as follows:

(a) Public convenience and necessity, as defined in this chapter, do not require the proposed service;

(b) The application fails to contain any of the required information set forth in Section 6-6-205 above;

(c) Any information contained in the application is false;

(d) The name under which the applicant will conduct business, or the applicant's proposed color scheme or other marking, design or insignia, will tend to confuse the identification of taxicabs which the applicant proposes to operate with those operated under existing taxicab business permits;

(e) Any vehicle proposed for operation is not safe, and the applicant has failed to remove such vehicle from service or to substitute a safe vehicle in its place within a reasonable time;

(f) The applicant has failed to comply with any term, condition or requirement in a taxicab business permit previously issued;

(g) An act or omission of the applicant constitutes a ground for revocation or suspension as provided in Section 6-6-250 of this Chapter;

(h) The applicant, within 10 years prior to the date of the application has been convicted of a crime, and the crime is substantially related to the qualifications, functions or duties of a public transportation business;

(i) The applicant is on parole or probation for a crime, and the crime is substantially related to the qualifications, functions and duties of a public transportation business;

(j) The applicant, within 10 years prior to the date of application has committed an act involving violence, dishonesty or fraud with the intent to injure another person or to benefit the applicant or another;

(k) The applicant has had a taxicab business permit issued under the provisions of this chapter revoked within five years of the date of the application;

(l) The applicant has had a taxicab business license, permit or certificate revoked by any public agency within five years of the date of the application;

(m) The applicant has failed to pay when due any applicable taxes or fees imposed by the City; and/or

(n) Applicant's application for a business license to operate a taxicab business has been rejected pursuant to Section 2-2-420 of this Code.

The decision of the Finance Director to deny the application for a taxicab business permit may be appealed to the City Manager in the manner provided for appeal of business license denials in Section 2-2-450 of this Code.

An applicant who is denied on the basis of misstated or omitted information must wait for a period of 12 calendar months before submitting a new application.

(a) Permission to operate vehicles in addition to those approved under the initial taxicab business permit may be obtained by filing an application amendment with the Finance Director.

(b) In granting or denying such applications to amend the taxicab business permit application, the Finance Director shall have the same authority as vested by this Chapter in the matter of the initial application.

(c) The Finance Director shall require that applications to amend a taxicab business permit application include the documentation required in Section 6-6-205 of this chapter.

(d) Payment of the change of records fee set in the schedule of fees approved by the City Council shall be made when the application amendment is filed.

The holder of a taxicab business permit may substitute a different vehicle ("new vehicle") for a taxicab in operation under a permit issued pursuant to this Chapter, by filing an application amendment with the City manager or designee in the same manner as the initial application, setting forth the following:

(a) Descriptions of both vehicles, including make, model, vehicle identification number, license number and year of manufacture;

(b) Reasons for proposed substitution;

(c) A sworn statement that the new vehicle is in safe operating condition, made by either the proprietor of a public garage engaged in auto repair who is licensed by the State of California, or by a mechanic licensed by the State and employed by the applicant, who has inspected the vehicle;

(d) A completed taxicab inspection form, showing the vehicle has successfully passed the lamp, brake, smog and meter inspections, and the inspection of the Police Department; and

(e) Evidence that the vehicle is covered under the insurance policies required by Section 6-6-475 of this Chapter.

The Finance Director may revoke or suspend a taxicab business permit on any grounds stated in this Chapter or on any of the following grounds:

(a) The violation by the permit holder of any of the terms, conditions or requirements of the taxicab business permit or of this Chapter;

(b) Any act or omission of the permit holder of any fact or condition which, if it existed at the time the application was filed, would have warranted denial of the application;

(c) Cancellation or suspension of any insurance policy or coverage required of the permit holder by Section 6-6-475 of this Chapter;

(d) Failure of the permit holder to pay any judgment against the permit holder for personal injury or death or property damage arising out of the conduct of business under the taxicab business permit, within 30 days after the judgment has become final;

(e) Overcharge, or attempted overcharge, of fares by permit holder in violation of Section 6-6-400 of this Chapter;

(f) Permit holder's knowledge of, and failure to correct, overcharge or attempted overcharge of fares in violation of Section 6-6-400 of this Chapter by a driver operating one of the permit holder's taxicabs;

(g) The violation of any of the laws of the Federal or State government, or local ordinances of the City, by the permit holder or the driver of any public transportation vehicle covered by the taxicab business permit;

(h) Permit holder's failure to pay when due any applicable taxes or fees imposed by the City;

(i) Permit holder's failure to act to prevent a driver whom the permit holder has reason to believe is under the influence of any controlled substance or alcohol in excess of legal limits from operating a taxicab covered by the taxicab business permit;

(j) Revocation of the owner's business license for operation of a taxicab business pursuant to Section 2-2-440 of this Code.

Whenever the Finance Director shall determine that there may be grounds for revoking or suspending a taxicab business permit pursuant to Section 6-6-250 above, the Finance Director shall give not less than five days' written notice of the deficiency to the permit holder. The written notice shall require the permit holder to show cause, at a time and place specified in such notice, why the taxicab business permit should not be revoked or suspended. Should the permit holder fail to present evidence at such hearing which establishes that the permit should not be revoked or suspended, the Finance Director shall revoke or suspend the taxicab business permit, taking in consideration the public convenience and necessity, the gravity of the violation, any relevant federal, state and local laws and the potential for harm to the public. The Finance Director shall give written notice of a suspension or revocation to the permit holder. Within five days of the mailing of the notice of revocation or the notice of suspension, the permit holder shall cease operation of the taxicab business.

The decision of the Finance Director to revoke or suspend the taxicab business permit may be appealed in the manner provided for appeal of business license revocations in Section 2-2-450 of this Code.

All taxicab business permits issued prior to the effective date of this amendment to this Chapter shall be deemed issued pursuant to this Chapter as amended and shall in all respects be subject to the provisions of this Chapter as amended. All current permit holders shall be responsible for meeting all requirements of this Chapter prior to the anniversary date of the issuance of their current permit, or such later date as the Finance Director may allow.