QUINCY \u2013 The Quincy City Council witnessed the first reading of an amended tax cab ordinance, which has been in the works at the request of Alderman Eric Entrup (R-Ward 1).<\/p>\n
It was more than a year ago, that Entrup pointed to outdated requirements such as a public hearing, and not allowing cab drivers to solicit for passnegers at the airport.<\/p>\n
Quincy Police Chief Adam Yates, Lieutenant Chad Scott, City Attorney Ryan Schnack and City Clerk Laura Oakman have been conferring with each other and presented their suggestions to the Aldermanic Fire and Police Committee, which then forwarded the proposal to the council.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese changes will allow businesses to more easily obtain a license\/permit to provide services that enhance convenience and safety for our citizens,\u201d Yates said in his recommendation letter to council members. \u201cAs the chief of police, I believe the more ride-sharing drivers and taxicabs available to our citizens who have difficulty getting around or who want to avoid driving after consuming alcohol, the better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Monday was the first presentation of the ordinance, which requires three readings, with the vote happening after the third reading. <\/p>\n
During the review of the multiple sections of Chapter 125, which addresses taxi cabs, the following changes are proposed:<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0Taxicab owners license application will be available at the office of the City Clerk \u2013 this is the case with nearly all other city permits and applications <\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0Remove the requirement for a public hearing to determine that the \u201cpublic convenience and necessity requires or would be approximately serviced\u201d by the issuance of a taxicab license <\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0Before acting on license approval, the city council shall give consideration to the recommendation from the Chief of Police and the City Clerk will notify the applicant of the outcome <\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0The section on public hearing is eliminated <\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0The requirement that the police department certify that each vehicle used as a taxicab comply with provisions of the chapter is eliminated. Instead, the owner provides proof that all vehicles are mechanically sound and adhere to safety regulations added <\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0Removes the ability for the City Council to require a public hearing for the renewal of a taxicab license \u2013 renewal requests shall be filed with the City Clerk and reviewed by the Chief of Police with a recommendation made to the City Council prior to renewal <\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0Amendments to the license are possible upon application to the City Clerk \u2013 not the Chief of Police \u2013 as currently written and removes public hearings <\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0Requires the applicant to display a placard, furnished by the City Clerk, visible within the passenger compartment of the vehicle for which it is issued <\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0Mayor can revoke any taxicab owner\u2019s license for violations of the provisions within city code \u2013 if the suspension is for mechanical operation, an inspection by a certified mechanic is required \u2013 if the suspension is for lack of cleanliness, upon inspection by the police department <\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0Requires a schedule of rates be provided to the City Clerk, with a copy being made available to the police department <\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0Removes the police department desk officer from determining fare <\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0Give the police department authority to inspect vehicle being operated as a vehicle for hir as well as the qualifications of any employee or owner, upon receipt of a valid complaint made to the police department \u2013 removes the requirement that all taxicab vehicles be periodically inspected by the police department <\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0Eliminates the need to have a placard on each side of the vehicle and instead requires the driver\u2019s pictures, taxi driver\u2019s license \/ registration number and the taxicab medallion\/license number be posted inside the vehicle in a visible location \u2013 shall include a number to call if the driver is operating recklessly <\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0Eliminates the requirement that each taxicab have a distinct color scheme specific to the owner <\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0Eliminates the provision that a taxicab driver may not use profane or obscene language, shout or call to prospective passengers or disturb the peace <\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0Changes the number of passengers from five to the number that the vehicle can safely and legally hold <\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0Eliminates the prohibition for a taxicab driver to solicit passengers at the Quincy airport <\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0Adds a provision that a vehicle for hire driver who collides with a pedestrian must be tested for drugs and alcohol <\/p>\n
Here is the complete document presented to council:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"QUINCY \u2013 The Quincy City Council witnessed the first reading of an amended tax cab ordinance, which has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":140582,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[128,130,129],"class_list":["post-140581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140581\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}