A.
It shall be unlawful for any person to drive a taxicab, private livery
car, private livery van or limousine within the City of Oneonta without
a taxicab and/or livery driver's license for driving the same,
as provided herein, whenever said vehicle is operated as a taxicab,
private livery car, private livery van or limousine for hire.
B.
An allowance will be made when transporting to or from a specific
destination that originates and terminates outside of the City of
Oneonta for taxicabs, private livery cars, private livery vans or
limousines for hire, not based in the City of Oneonta. No additional
taxi or livery business shall be conducted other than that which is
specific to the original fare.
Each applicant for a taxicab or livery license must comply with
the following:
A.
State license. The applicant shall have at least a Class E driver's
license issued from the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles
or other accepted class for driving a taxicab or livery vehicle.
B.
Age. Applicants must be 18 years of age or older.
C.
Physical condition. The applicant must produce a certificate of physical
condition that allows him or her to operate a taxi cab or livery vehicle
safely as per the conditions set by the Department of Transportation
for commercial driver's licenses. A physical obtained as per
the requirements of a CDL license can be substituted for the City-issued
form as long as the certificate is still valid.
D.
Literacy. The applicant shall be able to read and write the English
language.
E.
The applicant must not drive while under the influence of alcohol
or any medications or substances, legal/prescribed or illegal, that
interfere with the safe operation of a motor vehicle.
F.
Personal history.
[Amended 5-16-2017 by Ord. No. 8-2017]
(1)
The applicant shall fill out, upon forms to be provided by the City
Clerk, a statement giving:
(a)
The applicant's full name, date of birth, and residence.
(b)
Any other names by which the applicant is or may be known.
(c)
Place of residence for five years prior to the date of the application.
(d)
The name of the company the applicant will be driving for.
(e)
Age, height and color of eyes and hair.
(f)
Citizenship status.
(g)
Place of birth.
(h)
Social security number.
(i)
Green card number (if applicable)
(j)
Places of previous employment.
(k)
Whether the applicant has ever been convicted of a felony or
misdemeanor, any offense involving the driving under the influence
of alcohol or drugs in New York State or any other state and, if so,
the date, location, court disposition and pertinent details of the
case.
(l)
Whether the applicant has been previously licensed as a driver
or chauffeur in New York State or any other state and, if so, whether
the applicant's license has ever been revoked or suspended and
for what cause.
(m)
Client ID number from New York State-issued driver license.
(2)
The statement shall be signed and sworn to by the applicant and filed
with the City Clerk as a permanent record.
(3)
A fingerprint-based criminal history record background check from
a DCJS-approved organization will be required from applicants seeking
approval for licensure as a taxi/livery driver.
Each applicant for a driver's license must file with his/her
application two unmounted, unretouched two-inch-by-two-inch photographs
taken within the 30 days preceding the filing of his/her application.
Photographs shall be attached to the licenses when issued, and the
others shall be filed with the applications which are maintained on
file in the City Clerk's Office and the Oneonta Police Department.
Each applicant for a taxicab and/or livery driver's license
must submit with the application a New York State Department of Motor
Vehicles Abstract, dated within 30 days of application, providing
information regarding the applicant's past and current driving
record. The cost of said abstract shall be borne by the applicant.
Each licensed driver shall display his or her license and photograph
in the interior of the taxicab, private livery car, private livery
van or limousine in such position that the same may be easily seen
by any fare at all times when the licensed driver is operating the
taxicab, private livery car, private livery van or limousine.
A.
Waiting period. In order to ensure compliance with all requirements
mandated by the Code related to taxicab drivers, a minimum of 10 business
days may be required to elapse before the City Clerk shall process
the application and issue a taxicab and/or livery driver's license.
B.
Fee. Upon satisfactory fulfillment of the requirements of this chapter,
passing of the required waiting period and the payment of the nonrefundable
license fee therefor to the City Clerk in the amount which shall be
determined by the Common Council of the City of Oneonta, the City
Clerk, upon approval of the application, shall issue the driver's
license. Any application received after the expiration of the renewing
party's current license term is subject to an administrative
fee as set from time to time by Common Council.
C.
Form. Each license shall be stamped by the Seal of the City upon
the center of the photograph and will bear the signature of the City
Clerk or Deputy City Clerk. All licenses shall be numbered in the
order in which they are issued and shall contain the name and the
place of residence of the licensee and the date of issuance and expiration
of the license.
D.
Tampering with license. No licensee shall deface, remove or obliterate
any official entry made upon his/her license. The licensee will notify
the City Clerk's office of any changes necessary to the license.
E.
Term. The driver's license issued pursuant to the provisions
of this article shall be on an annual basis and will expire one year
from the date the driver's license was issued. The driver's
license shall be renewed by the applicant before the expiration date
thereof by proper application for such renewal to the City Clerk within
the thirty-day period next preceding the date of expiration of such
license. Temporary permits or licenses shall not be issued. Drivers
are not permitted to drive with an expired licensed.
F.
Grounds for denial of driver's license and notification thereof.
(1)
The City Clerk shall deny an applicant's petition for a driver's
license if said applicant has eight or more points on his/her New
York State driver's license; any arrest with a pending case and/or
conviction within three years prior to license being issued, during
the license effective dates, or within three years after the license
has expired; or any other reasons deemed by the City Clerk which are
determined to be potentially detrimental to the safety of persons
within the taxicab or livery vehicle as passengers or the public in
general.
(2)
The City Clerk shall notify an applicant, in writing, before the
expiration of the ten-day waiting period, if applicable, of the reasons
for denial of a license.
(3)
Drug testing. If an applicant has had a drug arrest with a pending case and/or conviction within the designated time as identified in Subsection F(1), the City Clerk may require the applicant to undergo and submit the results of a drug test within 45 days from the date of denial as part of the appeal process identified in Subsection F(4). The drug test must be provided by a licensed physician and the results sent directly to the City Clerk's office.
(4)
Right of applicant to appeal denial of driver's license. The
applicant shall have 10 days in which to request a hearing on such
denial. Said hearing shall be before an appeal board made up of the
Transportation Committee and the Chief of Police or his/her designee.
The City Clerk shall keep a complete record of each license
issued to a driver and of all renewals, suspensions and revocations
thereof.
Every driver of a taxicab, private livery car, private livery
van or limousine immediately after completion of any service provided
to a fare or rider must carefully search such taxicab, private livery
car, private livery van or limousine for any property lost or left
therein and, upon the finding of any such property, must make diligent
and reasonable search to find and deliver the same to the owner thereof.
If such owner is not found and the property returned within 24 hours,
the driver shall report such findings when they deliver the article
to the Police Department with a description of the circumstances of
said finding.
A.
Operation: Any violations of the following sections of the Oneonta
Municipal Code are subject to a fine as set by the City of Oneonta
Court and/or a suspension or revocation of their taxicab or livery
license. An administrative fee, as set from time to time by Common
Council, will apply to any suspended license at the time of reinstatement.
A suspension term shall be no longer than a period of one month from
the date of commencement or until the terms of the suspension have
been met. A revocation of either an owner or driver license will require
a one-year waiting period before a new application can be submitted
for licensing consideration.
[Amended 5-2-2017 by Ord.
No. 7-2017]
(1)
No taxicab or livery driver shall seek employment by driving at such
slow speed as to interfere with or impede traffic. Taxicab and livery
drivers shall obey police officers who may from time to time give
some instructions in order to relieve traffic congestion and to preserve
the safety and convenience of the public.
(2)
No person shall solicit passengers for a taxicab except the driver
of the taxicab.
(3)
No taxicab or livery driver shall induce any person to be carried
by any taxicab, private livery car, private livery van or limousine
by willful misrepresentation.
(4)
No person shall drive a taxicab, private livery car, private livery
van or limousine while intoxicated, nor shall any taxicab and/or livery
driver drink an alcoholic beverage while on duty nor drive while his/her
ability is impaired by use of any substance or medication that impairs
judgment or any controlled substance as defined in § 3306
of the Public Health Law.
(5)
No taxicab or livery driver shall refuse or neglect to convey any
orderly person based solely on race, gender, creed, religious preference,
sexual preference, etc.
(6)
No taxicab or livery driver shall refuse or neglect to convey any
orderly person unless such driver has been previously engaged or is
off-duty or is otherwise forbidden to do so by the provisions of this
chapter.
(7)
No taxicab or livery driver shall drive any taxicab or livery vehicle
for more than 12 continuous hours in any twenty-four-hour period.
Every taxicab and livery driver licensed by the City of Oneonta shall
have a log book that designates hours of operation and hours off duty
that is to be updated with the most current entries made every two
hours while on duty. The log book shall be made available for inspection
by any member of the City of Oneonta Police Department when the taxicab
or livery driver is on duty. Failure to keep an updated taxicab or
livery "hours of operation log book" will be reported to the Office
of the City Clerk. A suspension of one month per violation will be
placed upon the driver. The suspension will commence at the discretion
of the City Clerk.
(8)
Each taxicab driver waiting for public employment in any established
working taxi stand shall remain within sight of the taxicab and shall
at all times be prepared to move the taxicab.
(9)
No taxicab driver waiting for employment in any place or zone shall
engage in any disorderly conduct or obstruct any sidewalk.
(10)
No taxicab or livery driver will shout, gesture inappropriately,
and/or use foul-language toward passengers, other for-hire vehicle
drivers or the public in general while waiting for fares, while transporting
fares, or at any other time while taxi is in service.
(11)
A taxicab or livery driver or operator shall immediately report
a refusal to pay a fare to the police department, either in person
or by telephone.
(12)
No taxicab or livery driver shall possess or permit or allow
passengers to possess any open alcoholic beverage or any illegal substances
in their taxi or livery vehicle.
(13)
No taxicab or livery driver shall engage or permit or allow
their passengers to engage in any illegal activities while in their
taxi or livery vehicle.
(14)
All taxicab and livery drivers shall keep with them at all times
while on duty the taxicab or livery driver's license certificate
issued by the City Clerk's office and have the license displayed.
(15)
No taxicab or livery driver shall permit any nonpaying passenger
to enter or to remain in a taxicab during the time such a taxicab
or livery vehicle is available for hire, except a new driver who is
being trained.
(16)
The taxicab or livery driver shall notify the passenger of the
amount of the fare prior to the passenger's entry into the taxicab.
(17)
At no time shall a taxicab or livery driver allow the number
of passengers to exceed passenger capacities as identified and allowed
in this chapter.
(18)
No taxicab or livery driver shall drop off, terminate, or allow
a passenger to exit a taxicab or livery vehicle in any fashion that
would jeopardize the health and well-being of the passenger or the
public in general.
(19)
No taxicab and/or livery driver shall fasten or lock the doors
on a taxicab, private livery car, private livery van or limousine
so that it is impossible for a passenger to open them from the inside.
(20)
No taxicab or livery driver shall permit any other person to
use his/her taxicab or livery driver's license.
(21)
No taxicab or livery driver shall engage in activities which
may distract him/her from safely operating the taxicab.
(22)
No taxicab or livery driver shall engage in the use of a handheld
device while operating the taxicab or livery vehicle.
(23)
No taxicab or livery driver shall smoke, or permit the smoking
of tobacco or nontobacco products in the taxicab or livery vehicle
whether in or out of service. This shall include the use of e-cigarettes
and vaping equipment.
B.
Physical appearance of a taxicab, private livery car, private livery
van or limousine. Each taxicab and/or livery driver shall keep the
interior and exterior of the taxicab, private livery car, private
livery van or limousine in a clean and sanitary condition at all times.
Each taxicab, private livery car, private livery van or limousine
shall at all times be neat and clean in appearance. Taxicab and livery
drivers shall assure that all vehicle systems are in safe working
order prior to the commencement of work each day. Each taxicab and
livery driver shall perform a pre-trip inspection of the standard
equipment and safety systems of the vehicle before taking the first
fare of the shift. The pre-trip inspection shall include, but not
be limited to, tire condition, all lights, seat belts, etc. The pre-trip
inspection will be notated on a form designating the date, time and
personnel who performed the inspection and be kept with the vehicle
at all times. The pre-trip form shall be available for inspection
by a City of Oneonta Police Department member upon demand anytime
the taxicab or livery vehicle is in service.
C.
Physical appearance of taxicab and/or livery driver. All taxicab
and/or livery drivers shall be neatly dressed and clean while on duty.
