CHAPTER 32.
Taxicabs and Other Vehicles for Hire.[410]
§ 32-1. Inspecting and maintaining in safe condition.
§ 32-2. Registration of vehicles; posting registration card; fees.
§ 32-3. Registration of drivers; posting registration card and photograph; fees.
§ 32-4. Bond or insurance required of operators.
§ 32-5. Rates to be charged by taxis; meters; failure to pay fare.
§ 32-6. Carrying several passengers to different destinations.
§ 32-7. Acceptance of additional passengers.
§ 32-8. Restriction on number of passengers.
§ 32-9. Refusal to carry orderly passengers.
§ 32-10. Restriction on passengers in driver's compartment.
§ 32-11. Deception of passengers.
§ 32-12. Compliance with lawful requests of passengers.
§ 32-13. Use of vehicle for unlawful purposes.
§ 32-14. Drivers to be clean and neat.
§ 32-15. Smoking and offensive use of tobacco.
§ 32-16. Cabs to be attended by drivers.
§ 32-17. Excessive noise.
§ 32-18. How passengers to enter or leave.
§ 32-19. Fare receipt.
§ 32-20. Loading and unloading.
§ 32-21. Nonpaying passengers.
§ 32-22. Alcohol and narcotics.
§ 32-23. Length of driver's working day.
§ 32-24. Stands.
§ 32-25. Compliance with laws and ordinances.
§ 32-26. Additional rules, etc.
§ 32-27. Equipment; appearance, construction and maintenance.
§ 32-28. Violations.
§ 32-29. Appeals.
§ 32-30. Permit required for operation of ambulance service.
Sec. 32-1. Inspecting and maintaining in safe condition.
Every taxi or motor vehicle operated or used upon the streets of
the city for the transportation of passengers for hire within the
city shall be thoroughly and carefully inspected by the owner and
maintained in a good and safe condition at all times. (Code 1959, §
32-1.)
Sec. 32-2. Registration of vehicles; posting registration
card; fees.
Passenger motor vehicles for hire operating within the city or
which have a terminal within the city shall be registered with the
chief of police. The registration card of each vehicle giving the
name of the owner shall be conspicuously posted in, or on, the
motor vehicle and such registration shall be subject to revocation
by the city manager or the chief of police. For such registration a
fee of two dollars for the first car and one dollar for each
additional car operated shall be paid to the city. (Code 1959, §
32-2.)
Sec. 32-3. Registration of drivers; posting registration card
and photograph; fees.[411]
No person shall drive a motor vehicle for hire in the city until
he has been registered by the chief of police. No person under the
age of eighteen years shall be registered. No such registration
shall be granted until the applicant has shown to the satisfaction
of the chief of police his good moral character, his ability to
operate such vehicle and his knowledge of the traffic ordinances
and regulations of the city. Any registration heretofore or
hereafter granted may be revoked for any cause which would
have been grounds for refusal of such registration, whether such
cause arose before or after the granting of such registration. An
initial registration fee of three dollars shall be required and such
fee, together with two photographs, post-card size, of such
applicant shall accompany each application. Annual registration
on or before May 1 is required and the fee for each successive
annual registration after the first year shall be two dollars. The
registration card, with a photograph attached, shall be
conspicuously posted in the vehicle operated by such driver.
No person shall permit any motor vehicle owned or controlled
by him to be operated for hire in the city by any person who has
not been registered by the chief of police as hereinabove provided.
(Code 1959, § 32-3; 2-20-61; 8-17-70.)
Sec. 32-4. Bond or insurance required of operators.
Every person operating motor vehicles or taxis for hire within
the city shall be required to give a satisfactory bond in the sum of
fifty thousand dollars, to cover any liability that might result to
persons or property from such operations; provided, that such
bond shall not be required when the owner of such vehicle shall
take out and keep in force public liability and property damage
insurance in some company authorized to do business in this state
on each motor vehicle as follows:
Fifteen thousand dollars for loss sustained by the insured by
reason of bodily injury to or death of any one person in one
accident;
Thirty thousand dollars for loss sustained by the insured by
reason of bodily injury to or death of more than one person in any
one accident;
Five thousand dollars for damages to property of any person
other than the insured.
Such policies or certificates thereof shall be deposited with the
chief of police. (Code 1959, § 32-4.)
Sec. 32-5. Rates to be charged by taxis; meters; failure to pay
fare.
Taximeters of standard make and design, which shall calculate
rates on the basis only of distance traveled and certain time
elapsed, shall be installed on all taxicabs operating in the city, and
the following rates are in effect for services rendered by taxicabs
and other similar passenger vehicles for hire within the corporate
limits of the city:
Seventy cents for the first one-fifth mile, or any fraction
thereof.
Ten cents for each additional one-fifth mile, or any fraction
thereof.
Twenty cents for each two minutes, or fraction thereof, of
time.
An additional twenty-five cents for each trip between 10:00
P.M. and 6:00 A.M.
Time shall only include:
Time consumed while taxicab is stopped or slowed for traffic
to a speed less than seven miles per hour; time consumed for
delays or stopovers en route at the direction of the passenger.
While such time is being charged there shall be no charge for
mileage.
All taximeters installed pursuant to this section shall be
calibrated to the above rates, shall be sealed at all times when the
taxi is in operation and shall be subject to inspection by the chief
of police or his representative at any and all times. Such
taximeters shall be operated at all times within the corporate
limits of the city when anyone is riding in the taxi other than the
driver and shall be operated in such a way as to charge the above
rates on the basis of the final destination stop.
Cards displaying the above rates shall be posted in a prominent
place in all taxicabs and other similar vehicles for hire and shall
state that if the meter is not used by the driver, the passenger
pays nothing.
It shall be unlawful for any person to refuse or fail to pay any
taxi fare charged under the provisions of this section.
It shall be unlawful for any taxi driver or taxicab owner to
violate any provisions of this section or to charge either more or
less than the fees hereby established. (Code 1959, § 32-5; 10-3-66;
3-31-69; 12-18-72; 1-9-74; 7-1-74.)
Sec. 32-6. Carrying several passengers to different
destinations.
In cases where more than one passenger enters a taxicab at the
same time bound for different destinations, the fare shall be as
follows: Whenever a passenger gets out and pays the fare, the
meter shall be reset upon that passenger's departure, but when
passengers getting out do not pay the fare, the fare shall be paid
by the last passenger delivered. (1-9-74, § 1.)
Sec. 32-7. Acceptance of additional passengers.
Whenever any taxicab is occupied by a passenger, the driver
shall not permit any other person, except a paid employee of the
taxicab owner being transported for bona fide business purposes,
to occupy or ride in such taxicab if the original passenger objects
thereto. (1-9-74, § 1.)
Sec. 32-8. Restriction on number of passengers.
Drivers shall not permit more persons to be carried in a taxicab
in the city at any one time than the seating capacity of the
taxicab, as rated by the automobile manufacturer, including the
driver, children in arms excepted. (1-9-74, § 1.)
Sec. 32-9. Refusal to carry orderly passengers.
Drivers shall not refuse or neglect to convey any orderly
person, upon request, unless previously engaged or forbidden by
the provisions of this chapter to do so. (1-9-74, § 1.)
Sec. 32-10. Restriction on passengers in driver's compartment.
At no time shall more than two persons, in addition to the
driver, ride on the front seat of any taxicab, a child in arms
excepted. (1-9-74, § 1.)
Sec. 32-11. Deception of passengers.
A driver shall not deceive or attempt to deceive any passenger
who may ride in his taxicab, or who may desire to ride in such
taxicab as to his destination or the rate of fare to be charged, and
shall not convey any passenger, or cause him to be conveyed, to a
place other than directed by him. In no event shall any driver take
a longer route to the destination than necessary, unless
requested by the passenger. (1-9-74, § 1.)
Sec. 32-12. Compliance with lawful requests of passengers.
All drivers shall comply with all reasonable and lawful requests
of the passengers as to the speed of travel and the route to be
taken. (1-9-74, § 1.)
Sec. 32-13. Use of vehicle for unlawful purposes.
No owner or driver of a public vehicle shall permit such vehicle
to be used for unlawful purposes or knowingly to transport
persons therein to places for such purposes. (1-9-74, § 1.)
Sec. 32-14. Drivers to be clean and neat.
Every driver of a taxicab while on duty shall be clean and neat
in dress and in person. (1-9-74, § 1.)
Sec. 32-15. Smoking and offensive use of tobacco.
No driver of a taxicab shall have in his possession a lighted
cigarette, cigar or pipe when any passenger being carried in his
taxicab requests him to extinguish same. No driver shall engage
chewing tobacco or using snuff when any passenger being
carried in his taxicab requests that he not do so. (1-9-74, § 1.)
Sec. 32-16. Cabs to be attended by drivers.
Every taxicab while in operation for the solicitation or
transportation of passengers shall be attended by the driver at all
times, except when such driver is actually engaged in loading or
unl ading, or in answering telephones in connection with the
business. When not so engaged in soliciting or transporting
passengers, the driver thereof shall display in a manner clearly
visible from the front of the cab a sign indicating the cab is "off
duty." (1-9-74, § 1.)
Sec. 32-17. Excessive noise.
Loud talk or calls to and from drivers of taxicabs is prohibited.
The sounding of horns or other mechanical devices for purposes
other than lawful traffic signals is also prohibited. (1-9-74, § 1.)
Sec. 32-18. How passengers to enter or leave.
Drivers shall not permit passengers to enter or to leave any
taxicab from the left side except at the left curb of one-way
streets or while parked perpendicular to the curb in places where
such parking is permitted. (1-9-74, § 1.)
Sec. 32-19. Fare receipt.
It shall be the duty of the driver to give any passenger so
requesting a receipt in writing signed by the driver and showing
his public vehicle driver's registration number, the taxicab
number, meter number, items for which charge is made, the
amount paid, time and date. (1-9-74, § 1.)
Sec. 32-20. Loading and unloading.
Drivers shall not stop to load or unload passengers or their
belongings in the intersection of any streets or on any crosswalk.
No taxicab shall load or unload in any such manner that will in
any way impede or interfere with the orderly flow of traffic on
the streets. (1-9-74, § 1.)
Sec. 32-21. Nonpaying passengers.
No nonpaying passenger shall be transported with a paying
passenger, except bona fide officers or employees of the owner or
driver trainees or a police officer engaged in the performance of
his duty and unable to obtain other adequate means of
transportation. (1-9-74, § 1.)
Sec. 32-22. Alcohol and narcotics.
At no time shall the driver of a taxicab use alcoholic beverages,
narcotics or other habit forming drugs while he is operating a
taxicab or during the eight hours immediately preceding his
operation thereof. The transportation of alcoholic beverages,
other than alcoholic beverages carried in possession of a paying
passenger, is prohibited. Violation of this section shall constitute
grounds for the immediate revocation of such driver's registration
pursuant to the provisions of section 32-28. (1-9-74, § 1.)
Sec. 32-23. Length of driver's working day.
No driver of any taxicab shall operate, nor shall taxicab owners
or their agents require drivers to operate, more than thirteen
hours in any consecutive twenty-four hour period. (1-9-74, § 1.)
Sec. 32-24. Stands.
No taxicab shall be placed upon or occupy a public vehicle
taxicab stand except for the purpose of being held forth for hire.
Vehicles shall be placed on public stands only at the rear
(approach) end and shall be moved toward and to the front of
stands immediately if space is available or when space becomes
available by the departure or movement of preceding vehicles.
When a taxicab stand is occupied by the full number of vehicles
authorized for such stand, no taxicab shall double park, loiter or
wait nearby for the purpose of occupying space on such stand.
(1-9-74, § 1.)
Sec. 32-25. Compliance with laws and ordinances.
Every taxicab shall be operated in accordance with the laws of
this state, the provisions of this Code and other ordinances of the
city, with due regard to the safety, comfort and convenience of
passengers and the general public. (1-9-74, § 1.)
Sec. 32-26. Additional rules, etc.
The city manager, with the concurrence of the city council, may
make and promulgate such additional rules and regulations as he
may deem necessary to control the operation of taxicabs. (1-9-74,
§ 1.)
Sec. 32-27. Equipment; appearance, construction and
maintenance.
In addition to equipment required of motor vehicles by the Code
of Virginia, as amended, every taxicab registered in this city
pursuant to section 32-2, whether operated as a taxicab or not:
(a) Shall display the taxicab vehicle and driver registration
cards, which shall face the passengers and be so located as to be at
all times in plain view of such passengers.
(b) Shall be equipped with a heater in good working order
sufficient to heat the interior of the taxicab adequately in cold
weather.
(c) Shall be equipped with seat belts for all passengers.
(d) Shall not be equipped with shades or curtains which can be
manipulated in such a way as to shield the occupants or the driver
from observation or obstruct the rear-view window.
(e) Shall be either of the built-for-the-purpose or of the closed
or sedan type and shall be equipped with at least two doors for the
entrance and exit of passengers, in addition to the doors which
give access to the driver's compartment. Passenger doors must be
so constructed that they will remain securely fastened during
normal operation but may be readily opened by a passenger in
case of emergency. Each door shall be constructed with a double
or safety lock.
(f) Shall be equipped with approved safety nonshatterable
glass in the windshield and all windows. The center partition, if
any, between the driver's compartment and the passenger
compartment shall be of this type glass or plastic.
(g) Shall be equipped with a standard speedometer properly
installed, maintained in good working order and exposed to view
and properly lighted at night. No taxicab shall be operated in
taxicab service while such speedometer is out of repair or
disconnected.
(h) Shall not be equipped with any other lights or signal device
except as allowed by the Code of Virginia, as amended.
(i) Shall be equipped with a taximeter as prescribed by this
chapter.
(j) Shall be equipped with an "On Call" sign, to be used when
the taxicab is en route to pick up a passenger or awaiting a
passenger at a designated place in response to the request of the
passenger. This sign shall be visible from the street and placed in
the lower right-hand corner of the front windshield or upon the
right-hand sun visor.
(k) Shall be kept in a clean and sanitary condition and shall be
swept and dusted at least once each day. At least once every seven
days the interior shall be cleansed thoroughly with suitable
antiseptic solution.
(l) Shall be painted with a distinctive color scheme and
insignia, which may be registered with the chief of police or his
duly designated representative. Once the owner of a taxicab or
taxicab fleet has registered such color scheme and insignia, no
person shall be permitted to operate under different ownership a
taxicab having a color scheme and insignia so similar as to be
confusing to the public. (1-9-74, § 1.)
Sec. 32-28. Violations.
The chief of police or a police officer duly designated by him
shall investigate all complaints of violations of this chapter and
shall maintain records of all such complaints and investigations.
If the chief of police shall find that any taxicab driver registered
under the provisions of this chapter by reason of such violations
appears to pose a threat to the health, safety, welfare or comfort
of taxicab passengers or the general public, he shall give such
driver not less than ten days' notice by certified mail to appear
before him to show cause why his registration should not be
suspended or revoked. If, after such notice and hearing, the chief
of police finds such driver to pose such a threat to health, safety,
welfare or comfort, he shall suspend the registration of such
driver for a period of not less than five nor more than ninety days,
or in the case of a violation of section 32-22, shall revoke such
license.
If the chief of police shall find that any taxi registered under
the provisions of this chapter, by reason of such violations,
appears to pose a threat to the health, safety, welfare or comfort
of the taxicab operator or passengers or the general public, he
shall give the owner of such vehicle not less than ten days' notice
by certified mail to appear before him to show cause why the
registration of such vehicle should not be suspended or revoked.
If, after such notice and hearing, the chief of police finds such
taxicab to pose such a threat to health, safety, welfare or comfort
he shall revoke the registration of such taxicab or suspend the
same until such violations have been corrected. (1-9-74, § 1.)
Sec. 32-29. Appeals.
Any driver whose license is suspended or revoked by the chief
of police pursuant to section 32-28 shall have the right to appeal to
the general district court within ten days after such suspension or
revocation is ordered. (1-9-74, § 1.)
Sec. 32-30. Permit required for operation of ambulance service.
No person shall operate or cause to be operated an ambulance
for hire with transportation both originating and terminating
within the corporate limits of the city or originating at the
University of Virginia Hospital and terminating within the city
limits or originating within the city limits and terminating at the
University of Virginia Hospital without first having applied for
and obtained a permit and contract from the city council
authorizing such operation. This section shall be effective on
January 1, 1969. (11-4-68; 4-1-69; 1-9-74, § 2.)
