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Ordinance 0693ORDINANCE NO. 693 An ordinance repealing sections 7-111 to 7-118 inclusive and amending the alameda municipal code by adding to title 7 thereof a new chapter and article to ne known as chapter 1 article 1 regulating vehicles for hire e 00 � .0 rc lna�n.ce No �r� ina nces. . 693 Ne er e public convenience . and.. necessity shall. be shown: to exist by the. 6001 icant.. In:. deter - mining whether publ ic: convenience. and ne- c e ssity. exist,. the C i ty.: Manager may take into consideration, t 1 the. financial re- sponsibility oi` the applicant; (2): whether or not. other persons holding. permits under. this Article of the class requested by the applicant are rendering sufficient and ade- quate service to. the public; and (.3 ) whether or not persons holding permits under this Article of the class requested by the. applicant are earning a fair and reason - able return on the capital. investment de- Voted to such service, and (4) any aind nd all other facts which he may deem perti- nent and proper. Sec. 7 -11 : SUSPENSION AND REVOCA- TION OF OWNER'S PERMIT T© OPERATE PUBLIC MOTOR VEHICLE. In addition. to the grounds set forth in Section 13 -217. of this Code upon which the City Manager rhay revoke. or suspend any o permit to operate a public motor vehicle; the City Manager shall have the power to so sus pend cr. revoke the: same far a violation of any of: the provisions of this Code or any Ordinance relating to: traffic or. use of streets,:. or. for a . fail:ure.: to pa any judg- ment. for damages arising from the unlaw- ful or negligent operation. of the public motor vehicle for which the permit was issued: Seca 7-116.. OR I VER'S PERM IT TO OPER- ATE A PUBLIC MOTOR. VE HICLE. It shall be. unlawful for any driver to operate any public motor vehicle in the City of Ala - meda unless. there exists a. valid permit so to do as herein. provided.. Application for such. driver's permit shall be filed. with the City Clerk, shall be in writing and in tripli- cate,. and the original thereof shall be sworn to before some. person. lawfully au- thorized to . administer oaths. The. two copies: of. such . shall b forth- with. transmitted . by the City Clerk to the City Manager. Said.. appl ication shall set forth the name, age and address of the ap- PIicant, his past experience in operating au- tornobiles,. the names and addresses of his employers during t-he preceding period of 43 three ) years, whether or not a chauf- feur's license issued to him by the. State of California or any state or. governmental agency has ever been revoked, the endorse- ment: of the owner by whom he is to be employed. as a driver and such additional information as the City Manager may re- quire. The investigating official referred to in Section 13 --213 of this Code, to whom the application shall be referred, shall be the Chief of Police. Upon receipt of the re- port from the Chief of Police and such fur - ther investigation as the City Manager may require, and with or without a hearing thereon, the City Manager shall either grant or deny the permit. Sec. 7 --117, DRIVER'S PERMIT. PROCED- URE AND REQUIREMENTS. Upon applica- tion for a driver's permit and before it shall be issued, the driver, whether the owner or otherwise, must evidence a proficient knowledge of the traffic laws of the City of Alameda and of the State of California, and demonstrate his ability to operate a public motor vehicle. Upon satisfying the - Foregoing requirements, said driver shall be fingerprinted by, and his record filed in, the Police Department. Said driver shall also file with his application two (2) recent photographs (Size 1 inch by 1 1 /2 inch) , one to be filed with his application and one to be permanently attached to his driv- er's permit when issued, which permit shall be posted in a place conspicuous from the passenger's compartment of the public mo- tor vehicle wrhile said driver is operating same. Every driver's. permit issued here- under shall set forth the name of the owner for which said driver is authorized to oper- ate a public motor vehicle; and shalt be valid only so long as he continues in the employ of such owner. Upon the termina Lion of such employment; the said driver shall forthwith surrender his driver's per- mit to the City Manager. No such driver's permit shall be granted to any. person under the. age of twenty -one [ 21) years. Such driver's permit. may be denied upon sub- stantial evidence of facts of either physical. or moral deficiencies of the applicant which, in the sound discretion of the City Manager, would render such applicant: not a competent person to operate a public mo- tor vehicle. No such driver's permit issued hereunder shall be transferable in any event. Upon the termination of the employment of any driver, the owner by whom such driver has been employed shall immediately give the City Manager written notice of such termination. Sec. 7 -1.18. DRIVER'S PERMIT-FEE. Any person making application for a driver's permit shall pay to the City Clerk, at the time of filing such application, a fee of One Dollar ($1.00) ; provided, however, no per-- mit fee shall be required of such person for additional or other driver's permits issued to such person during the same calendar year. Sec. 7 --119. SUSPENSION AND REVOCA- TION OF DRIVER'S PERMIT. The City Manager shall have the power to revoke or suspend any driver's permit issued here under in the event the holder thereof shall be found guilty of a violation of any pro -. visions of this Article or shall be found guilty of reckless driving, or for the viola - tion of any other provisions of this Cade or other law; which violation, in the sound discretion of said official, shall be deemed sufficient evidence of the fact that said driver is not a competent person to operate a public motor vehicle. In the event of such revocation or sus- pension of a driver's permit, such certifi- cate as may be issued in connection there- with shall be, by the holder thereof, forth- with surrendered to the City Manager. Sec. 7-1110- APPEAL FROM DENIAL, SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF OWN- ER'S OR DRIVER'S PERMIT. Any person ex- cepting to any denial, suspension or revo- cation of an owner's permit or a driver's permit applied for or held by him shall have the right to appeal to the City Council and under the conditions provided for in Section 13 -218 of this Code. Sec. 7- 1 1 1 1. MOTOR VEHICLE LIABIL- ITY POLICY REQUIRED. It shall be unlaw- ful for any owner to drive or operate, or cause or permit to be driven or operated, any public motor vehicle in the City of Ala- meda unless such owner shall have placed on file with the City Clerk a written certifi- cate or certificates of a responsible and sol- vent corporation authorized to issue such policy under the laws of the State of Cali- fornia, that it has issued to or for the benefit of the owner, a motor vehicle lia- bility policy or policies which at the date of said certificate or certificates are in full . force and effect, and designating therein that any and all public motor vehicles Sheet No. 3. Al . i'l 0 0. Orffinance No. 1 . 1 �� New Series y which may be driven or operated under any permit granted to such owner under the provisions of this Article are or will be covered under said policy or policies. Sec. 7- -1112. CONDITION OF MOTOR VEHICLE LIABILITY POLICY. AMOUNTS. The motor vehicle liability policy required under the provisions of Section 7 --1111 of this Article shall insure the owner, as de- fined herein, and any other person using or responsible for the use of any such vehi- cle, with the consent, express or implied, of such owner, against loss from the l i a b i l i t y imposed upon such owner by law for in- jury to, or death of, any person, or damage to property growing out of the mainte- nance, operation or ownership of any such public motor vehicle, to the amount or limit of $5,000,00, exclusive of interest and costs, on account of injury to, or death of, any one person, and, subject to the same limit as respects injury to, or death of, one person, of $10,000.00, exclusive of interest and costs, on account of any one accident resulting in injury to, or death of, more than one person, and of $1,000.00 for dam- age to property of others, resulting from any one accident; provided, however, that said motor vehicle liability policies covering drive - yourself vehicles need not Insure against loss for injury to, or death of, oc- cupants of such vehicle. Said motor vehicle liability policy shall inure to the benefit of any and all persons, other than occupants of drive -- yourself vehi- cles, suffering loss or damage either to per- son or property, as herein provided, and the liability of the insurance carrier shall be in no manner abrogated or abated by the death of the tort feasor and /or the owner. Sec. 7--1 1 13. MOTOR VEHICLE LIABIL- ITY INSURANCE. CANCELLATIONS. CON- TINUING LIABILITY. Every certificate re- quired under the provisions of Section 7 --1111 of this Article shall certify that the motor vehicle liability policy or policies therein cited shall not be cancelled except upon ten ( 10) days' prior written notice thereof to the City Manager. Said motor vehicle liability insurance shall be a con - tinuing liability up to the full amount thereof notwithstanding any recovery there- on, and said certificates thereof shall so certify. All motor vehicle liability policies and all certificates - thereof shall be subject to the approval of the City Attorney and the City Manager in any and all matters and if, at any time, in the judgment of the City Manager, said motor vehicle liability policies are not sufficient for any cause, said Manager may require the owner of such public motor vehicle who filed the same to replace said motor vehicle policies within ten (10) days with other policies in accordance with the provisions of this Arti- cle. If said owner fails to replace said mo- tor vehicle policies within said ten (10) day period with good and sufficient policies as aforesaid, then at the termination of said period the owner's permit issued hereunder shall be by such failure automatically sus- pended until such time as said requirement is complied with, and the Chief of Police shall enforce such suspension. Sec. 7- -1114, PUBLIC VEHICLE LIABIL- ITY POLICY-EXCEPTION. Any person having unencumbered and unpledged net assets of real and personal property of at least $25 ,000.00 , if operating one and not more than 125 vehicles, and an additional $250.00 of such net assets for each and every vehicle operated in excess of 125, may, in lieu of the motor vehicle liability policy required by Section 7--1 1 1 1 , file with the City Manager a current balance sheet, certified to by a certified public accountant, showing such assets and liabilities, together with a policy of excess insurance, both in such form as the City Manager may deem proper, and executed by an insurance com- pany approved by said City Manager, agree- ing to indemnify such person, firm or cor- poration for any and all such sums which he shall by law become liable to pay or by final judgment be adjudged to pay to any other person, firm or corporation as com- pensation for the injury to, or death of, or damage to, persons arising out of the actual operation of any vehicle, or vehicles, oper- ated by him; provided, however, that such excess policy shall cover only the liability for the excess or loss over $5,000.00 up to $25,000.00 for any one person, or $10, 000.00 up to $50,000.00 for any one acci dent involving more than one person. Any person electing to file a balance sheet and excess policy of insurance as herein provided shall thereafter file with the City Manager, at such period or periods as may be prescribed by the City Manager, new balance sheets certified to by a certi- fied public accountant. Sec. 7--1 1 15. TAXIMETER. Every taxi- meter used by any taxicab in the City of Alameda shall be of a type and design ap- proved by the Chief of Police and shall be so located in the vehicle as to render the figures visible to the passengers. No other fare shall be charged than is recorded on such taximeter. Such taximeter shall be subject to inspection from time to time by the Chief of Police or his authorized repre- sentative, and the Chief of Police shall compel the owner to discontinue the opera- tion of any taxicab in which the taximeter is found to calculate inaccurately, until such taximeter shall be replaced with one approved by the Chief of Police or shall be adjusted to his satisfaction. Sec. 7--1 1 16. TAXICAB COLOR DESIGN. Every owner operating a taxicab in the City of Alameda shah adopt a characteris- tic color scheme and shall use the same on all vehicles operated by it. No change whatever in the color scheme or distin- guishing characteristics of any taxicab shall be made without written permission from the Chief of Police, and it shall be unlawful for any person soliciting patronage for any public motor vehicle to represent, by word or sign or Insignia or accoutrements, that the public motor vehicle for which he is soliciting such patronage is a vehicle owned or operated by other than the actual owner. Sec. 7 -1117: TAXICAB SIGNS. Every taxicab operated in the City of Alameda shall have painted upon the side of said cab the name of the owner or the fictitious name under which the owner operates to- gether with the number of the permit granted to said owner in accordance with the provisions of this Article. The lettering of same, and all signs to be displayed on any taxicab; shall be subject at all times to the approval of the Chief of Police. Sec. 7 - 1 18. TAXICAB AND SIGHTSEE- ING BUS STANDS. The Chief of Police may, upon the written application of any taxicab, automobile -- for -hire, or sight -- seeing bus owner, permit such owner to allow any vehicle operated by him to stand at cer- tain places designated for said owner, while awaiting employment. Such applica- tion shall state the number and kind of vehicles for which the permit is sought and Sleet No. 4 Al. da.... Ordinance No. 693 ...Ord.in.anc.es New Series the proposed location of such stands. Such application must be accompanied by the written consent of the person primarily af- fected by reason of the fact that such vehi- cle shall stand in front of the premises either owned or occupied by him or in which he is otherwise interested. Not more than two {2) such vehicles shall be per- mitted to stand upon either side of a street within the limits of any one block. No per- mit shall be issued for any stand to be lo- cated within fifty (50) feet of another such stand on the same side of any street, nor shall more than two ( 2) stands be granted to any owner for each licensed pub- lic motor vehicle. No owner shall permit any vehicle operated by him and no driver shall cause any such vehicle to stand while awaiting employment at any place on a public street other than a stand for which a permit has been granted to such owner as herein provided; and not more than one (I ) such vehicle shall be so permitted or caused to stand in any one stand at any time. Sec. 7 -1119. EXCLUSIVE USE BY PAS- SENGERS. When a taxicab or automobile - for -hire is engaged, the occupants shall have the exclusive right to the full and free use of the passenger compartment, and it shall be unlawful for the owner or driver of such vehicle to solicit or carry passengers contrary to such right. Sec. 7-1124. SCHEDULE OF RATES. RE- CEIPT FOR FARE. It shall be unlawful for the owner or driver of any taxicab or auto - mobile-for -hire to operate the same or cause the same to be operated without first having filed with the City Clerk a schedule of passenger rates or fares pro- posed to be charged. It shall also be un- lawful for the owner or driver of any taxi- cab or automobile -for -hire to demand or charge any amount greater or less than the amount shown on the schedule of passenger rates or fares on file with the City Clerk, which shall remain in effect until a new schedule of passenger rates or fares has been filed with said official. The schedule of rates in effect must be posted in a place conspicuous from the pas- sengers' compartment of the taxicab at all times, and must by printed or typewritten in letters and figures sufficiently large to be legible to persons in the passengers' compartment. The driver of any public motor vehicle, other than a motorbus, shall give a receipt, upon the request of any passenger, for the fare paid by such passenger. Sec. 7 -1121. MOTORBUS SERVICE TO GENERAL PUBLIC. No driver of any motor- bus in the City of Alameda shall at any time, unless said vehicle is filled to legal capacity, refuse to carry any person offer- ing himself to be carried, and tendering the flare for the same, to any place in the route of said vehicle; provided, however, that such driver shall refuse transportation to any person who is in an intoxicated condi- tion or who is conducting- himself in a bois- terous or otherwise unruly manner. Sec. 7 -1122. MOTORBUS. COMPLETION OF TRIP. It shall be unlawful for any driv- er of any motorbus in the City of Alameda who has received a passenger for any an- nounced or agreed trip, except for reasons beyond the control of the owner or driver, to fail to complete said trip with all reason- able dispatch and without any extra pay- ment of fare, or to fail, refuse or neglect to operate such motorbus between the ter- mini and over the entire route specified in the permit granted to so operate. Sec. 7 -1123. MOTORBUS. CHANGE IN ROUTE. No owner or driver of any motor- bus operated in the City of Alameda shall of any time change or alter the route of same except upon permission duly granted by the City Manager after application is made therefor. Sec. 7 -1124. MOTORBUS LIGHTS. No motorbus operated in the City of Alameda shall be operated in the night time unless the passengers' compartment thereof be kept continuously lighted. Sec. 7 -1125. MOTORBUS STOPS. It shall be unlawful for any motorbus operated in the City of Alameda to receive or discharge passengers within any intersection of streets and in all cases such reception and dis- charge of passengers shall be at a point as near the curb as may be practicable, and shall be through and from the side of such motorbus nearest the street curb and on the right --hand side thereof. The places of re- ceiving and discharging passengers by mo- torbusses shall be at all times subject, to order of the Chief of Police. Sec. 7 -1126. MOTORBUS, RAILROAD CROSSING. It shall be unlawful for any person operating a motorbus to permit, cause or allow such vehicle to cross any railroad track at any intersecting street in the City of Alameda over which railroad trains are operated, without bringing such vehicle to a full stop before crossing said railroad track; it shall be unlawful for any person operating such motorbus to permit, cause or allow such vehicle to cross any street railroad track at any intersecting street unless such person shall have re- duced the speed of such vehicle to not more than five (5) miles per hour while crossing such track; provided, that at any point where a flagman is stationed, such person operating such motorbus shall not be required to stop unless warned or direct --' ed by such flagman so to do; and provided, further, that at any point where a traffic officer is stationed, such person operating such motorbus shall comply with the di- rection or such traffic officer. Sec. 7 -1127. EMERGENCY PERMITS. The City Council may, in case of any pub- lic emergency or necessity, waive or modi- fy by resolution any or all of the require - ments of this Article pertaining to public motor vehicles, and may authorize and di- rect the City Clerk to issue a temporary permit for the operation of any public mo- tor vehicle over and upon the public streets of the City of Alameda, without exacting any application fee or license fee therefor, to any person recommended by the Chief of Police, such permit to be revocable at any time, with or without notice, by the Chief of Police or by the City Council. Sec. 7-1128. MAXIMUM LOAD. It shall be unlawful to drive or operate any pub- lic motor vehicle in the City of Alameda while such vehicle is carrying or sustaining the weight of two or more persons in ex- cess of the seating capacity thereof, ac- cording to the statement thereof contained in the application upon which the permit to operate such vehicle was granted, or to per- mit any passenger to ride upon the run- ning board of such vehicle or to sit upon the fender or dash or doors thereof. For the purposes of this section, children in arms shall not be considered as persons. Sect N©. 5 Ordinance No. 693 Aiamed Iu4y r antes New Series . Sec. 7-1129. SAFETY FEATURES. MG- Section 3. This ordinance shall go into TORBUS. SIGNS. The safety features and effect at the expiration of thirty days from equipment of all public motor vehicles op- the date of its final passage, erated under permit issued under the pro visions of this Article shall be at all times - (E{�RY A. 1NElCHHART, subject to the jurisdiction and orders of the Presiding Officer of the Council. Chief of Police. All motorbusses operated Attested: pursuant to permit issued under the pro- LOREME R. BEATI E, visions of this Article shall carry on the City Clerk. front of such vehicle a sign, plainly read- able by night or by day at a distance of 1, the undersigned, hereby certify that one hundred (1 0D) feet, giving the route to the foregoing Ordinance was duly and regu- be traversed and the termini of said route larly adopted and passed by the Council of and the price or fare charged. Such sign the City of Alameda in regular meeting as- shall be subject to the approval of the sembled on the 19th day of September, Chief of Police. 1939, by the following vote, to -wit: Sec. 7 -1134. DAILY OPERATION. Every AYES: Councilmen Carrington, Maurer, person holding a permit under the pro-- Morris and President Weichhart, (4) . visions of this Article relative to public motor vehicles shall regularly and daily NOES: None. operate his or its licensed public motor vehicle business during each day of the li- ABSENT: Councilman Godfrey, ( 1) . cense year to the extent reasonably neces- IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereun- sary to meet the public demand for such to set my hand and affixed the official service. Upon abandonment of such public seal of said City this 20th day of September, motor vehicle service for a period of ten 1939. (1 0) consecutive days by an owner, the City Manager may conduct a hearing upon (SEAL five (5) days' notice to the holder of said LOREME R. gEAT1E, permit, and, unless good and sufficient cause for such abandonment is evidenced, City Clerk of the City of Alameda. Publish Sept. 20, 1939. revoke the said permit granted under the terms of this Article.