[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of
the City of Rice Lake as Title 7, Chapter 11 of the Code of Ordinances.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Vehicles and traffic — See Ch. 245.
[Amended 5-27-1997 by Ord. No. 845]
A.
No taxicab shall be operated upon the streets of this
City until a license shall have been obtained from the City therefor.
Such license shall expire June 30 of each year, unless sooner suspended,
canceled or revoked as provided in this chapter.
[Amended 4-11-2017 by Ord. No. 17-04]
B.
Taxicab defined. "Taxicab" shall include all vehicles
carrying passengers for hire for which public patronage is solicited,
excepting the municipal bus system.
C.
Application form. Applications for licenses for taxicabs
shall be made by the owner to the City Clerk-Treasurer. Any such application
shall contain the full name and address of the owner and the make,
model and year, passenger capacity, engine number and factory number
of the motor vehicle.
D.
Authority of license. The license shall entitle the
licensee therein named to operate the number of vehicles for conveying
passengers for hire as is stated in the license.[1]
[Amended 1-25-2000 by Ord. No. 00-3]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection E, License for taxi drivers,
which immediately followed this subsection, was repealed 7-11-2023 by Ord. No. 23-13.
A.
It shall be unlawful to operate a vehicle for the
conveyance of passengers for hire or permit the same to be operated,
nor shall any license be issued hereunder, until and unless the applicant
for a license deposits with the City Clerk-Treasurer a certificate
of liability insurance for the vehicles for which licenses are sought,
said certificate of liability insurance to be acceptable and approved
by the City Clerk-Treasurer and issued by a company authorized to
do business in the State of Wisconsin, indemnifying the applicant
in the amount of $50,000 for damage to property and $100,000 for injury
to one person and $300,000 for injury to more than one person caused
by the operation of said vehicles in the City of Rice Lake.
B.
Each taxicab insurance policy shall contain a provision
that the same may not be canceled before the expiration of its term
except upon 30 days' written notice to the City of Rice Lake. Every
day upon which any vehicle is operated for the conveyance of passengers
for hire or when taxicab or cab or similar transportation is offered
to the public without an insurance policy as required herein being
in effect and on file with the City Clerk-Treasurer shall be deemed
a separate violation. The cancellation or other termination of any
insurance policy issued in compliance with this section shall automatically
revoke and terminate all licenses issued for the taxicab covered by
such insurance policy, unless another policy shall be provided and
in effect at the time of such cancellation or termination.
No vehicle shall be licensed until it has been
annually examined by the Chief of Police, or such person as he may
designate, and found to be in a thoroughly satisfactory and safe condition
for the transportation of passengers, clean, of good appearance and
well painted and that said vehicle complies with all the other provisions
of this chapter. If such examination and inspection show that the
vehicle does not comply with any of the provisions of this section,
no license shall be issued. At the request of the Chief of Police,
the taxicab owners shall take their vehicles to a reputable garage
for an independent inspection at the owners' expense.
A.
Licenses nontransferable. Licenses issued or granted
under this chapter shall be nonassignable and nontransferable.
B.
Information card to be displayed. A card containing
the name of the owner, license number, the number of the vehicle and
rates of fare printed thereon shall be placed and at all times kept
in a conspicuous place inside such vehicle.
C.
Liability of licensee. Any licensee shall be liable
for any violations of ordinances or statutes by any and all persons
operating taxicabs under its license.
D.
Number of passengers. No licensee or person driving
a taxicab shall carry or permit to be carried in any such vehicle
more than the number of persons specified in the license applicable
to such vehicle.
E.
Common Council may impose further restrictions. Any
licensee hereunder shall be subject to such further regulations and
restrictions as may be imposed at any time by the Common Council.
Whenever a licensed taxicab shall for any cause
become temporarily unfit for use in said business, another automobile
may be temporarily used by the licensee as a substitute, but only
upon the following conditions:
A.
It shall not be so used unless the insurance policy
required by this chapter for licensed taxicabs affords like coverage
for such substitute automobile.
[Amended 7-11-2023 by Ord. No. 23-13]
Upon the approval of the Common Council, the
applicant shall pay an annual fee for each vehicle operated as a taxicab
as set forth in the fee schedule adopted as part of the annual budget
document.
A.
Revocation. Licenses granted under §§ 228-1 through 228-6 may be suspended or revoked at any time by the Chief of Police for any violation of this chapter. When a taxicab license is revoked or canceled as herein provided, the Chief of Police shall immediately notify the owner to cease at once to operate the vehicle for which the license has been revoked as a taxicab.
B.
Appeals. Any person who receives a revocation of license
and objects to all or part thereof may appeal to the Common Council
within seven days of the receipt of the order, and the Common Council
shall hear such appeal within 30 days of receipt of such written notice
of the appeal. After such hearing, the Common Council may reverse,
affirm or modify the order or determination.
A.
Display of license. The City Clerk-Treasurer shall
furnish and deliver to the licensee a designation card or plate for
each vehicle affected by the license. The card or plate shall be of
such size, form and material as the City Clerk-Treasurer may deem
proper and shall have printed or stamped thereon the words "Rice Lake
Taxi License" to be followed by the appropriate serial number and
the designation of the period for which the license period extends.
The card or plate shall be securely fastened upon the windshield of
the vehicle or some conspicuous place at the front of the vehicle
for which it was issued. The card or plate shall be carried and displayed
in the taxicab so as to be readily seen by sidewalk pedestrians at
all times when the vehicle is operated for the conveyance of passengers
for hire upon the streets of the city.
B.
Limited hours of operation. It shall be unlawful for
the operator of any public passenger vehicle for the conveyance of
passengers for hire to operate said vehicle more than 12 hours out
of 24. An operator shall be deemed to be operating a vehicle within
the terms of this subsection whenever he is in charge of such vehicle
and holding himself in readiness to convey passengers. Violation of
this subsection shall be assessed to both the operator and the company.
