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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 1759 ORDINANCE NO. AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR THE REGULATION AND OPERATION OF PUBLIC VEHICLES IN THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS; DEFINING TERMS; REQUIRING A LICENSE AND PROVIDING FOR THE FORM OF APPLICATION AND CON- DITIONS THEREOF; PROVIDING FOR THE SUSPENSION AND REVOCATION OF LICENSES; PROVIDING FOR THE INSPEC- TION OF PUBLIC VEHICLES; REGULATING STANDS; PRO- HIBITING THE PARKING .OR -DETAINING OF PUBLIC VEHI- CLES ON ANY STREETS WHILE WAITING FOR EMPLOYMENT; PROHIBITING CRUISING OR THE SOLICITING OF PATRON- AGE ON THE STREETS; PROHIBITING ANY PERSON FROM HOLDING HIMSELF OUT AS AN OPERATOR OF A PUBLIC VE- HICLE WITHOUT A LICENSE; REQUIRING THE OWNERS AND OPERATORS OF PUBLIC VEHICLES TO KEEP A DAILY REC- ORD OF THE BUSINESS DONE BY THEM; REQUIRING DRIV- ERS OF PUBLIC VEHICLES TO SUBMIT TO A PHYSICAL EX- AMINATION AND SECURE A PERMIT; PROVIDING A LICENSE FEE AND POLICE TAX TO BE PAID BY OPERATORS OF PUB- LIC VEHICLES; EXCEPTING CERTAIN CLASSES OF VEHICLES; PROVIDING FOR THE REPEAL OF ALL ORDINANCES IN CON- FLICT HEREWITH; PROVIDING A SAVING CLAUSE; AND PRO- VIDING A PENALTY FOR THE VIOLATION THEREOF. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS: RECTION I. The following definitions are hereby adopted and declared for the construction' of this ordinance: (a) The-word "street" shall mean and include any street, alley, avenue, lane, public place or highway within the corporate limits of the City of Fort Worth. ' (b) The term "public vehicle" shall mean and include any motor vehicle operated within the corporate limits of the City of Fort Worth for the purpose of carrying passengers for hire, except motor busses operating on fixed routes as hereinafter specified, specially chartered busses and driverless cars. The term shall also include motor driven vehicles with or without a taximeter and hired or rented where rates are charged on the time basis or other- wise. (c) The word "person" shall include both singular and plural and shall mean and embrace any person, firm or corporation, their agents, servants and employees. (d) Pronouns in the masculine gender shall include the corresponding word in the feminine or neuter gender. SECTION II. No public vehicle shall hereafter operate for the trans- portation of persons as passengers for compensation or hire within the corporate limits of the City of Fort Worth without first having obtained from the) City Council of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, under the provisions of this ordinance, a certificate declaring that the public convenience and necessity require such operation and without having a license as herein provided. SECTION III. Application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity for the operation of public vehicles within the City of Fort Worth shall be made to the City Council and shall set forth the name and address of the applicant, the trade name under which the applicant does or proposes to do business, the number of vehi- cles the applicant desires to operate, the class, seating capacity, design and color scheme of each vehicle and the lettering and marks to be used thereon, whether or not the applicant has been convict- ed of the violation of any national, state or municipal law, and whether or not the applicant or any person, firm or corporation with whom he has been associated or employed has claims or Judg- ments against him for damages resulting from the negligent opera- tion of a public vehicle, the financial ability and responsibility of the applicant, his ability to respond in damages in the event of injury to person or damage to property by reason of the negli- gent operation of a public vehicle, and, if the applicant is a fir= or a corporations its organization and pertsonnel, the nature and character of service that the applicant proposes to render, facts showing the demand for such service, the experience that the applicant has had in rendering such service and the period of time that he has rendered it in the City of Fort Worth, the price that he proposes to charge for such service, facts showing that adequate and dependable service can be rendered for the prices stipulated and that they are not in excess of fair and reasonable charges to be made for such service, and any other information as may be re quired by the City Council, upon printed forms to be prepared under its directi©n and available at the office of the City Secretary of the City of Fort Worth. SECTION IV. The City Council shall make or cause to be made such in- vestigations as it may consider necessary, including any hearings that it may deem desirable, as to any applications for such certif- icates and shall determine whether or not the public convenience and necessity require the operation of such vehicle or vehicles and whether or not the applicant is fit and proper to conduct such business, and may investigate the fitness of the officers and stock- holders of any corporation making such application; and, in deter- mining whether or not a certificate should be issued, the City Coun- cil shall give weight and due regard, among other things, to (1) probable permanence and quality of the service offered by the ap- plicant, the experience that the applicant has had in rendering such service in the City of Fort Worth, the past experience of the applicant in adjusting claims and paying judgments, if any, to claimants as a result of injuries received from the negligent oper- ation of public vehicles; (2) the financial ability of the applicant to respond in damages to claims or judgments arising by reason of injury to person or damage to property resulting from the negligent operation of a public vehicle; (3) the prices the applicant proposes to charge for the service to be rendered, whether or not such charges are fair and reasonable for such services and whether or not ade- quate and dependable service can be rendered for such amounts; and (4) the character and condition of the vehicles to be used. The evidence in any investigation, inquiry or hearing may be taken by the City Council or by any councilman, agent or employee to whom such investigation, ingAiry or hearing has been assigned by tie City Council, and every finding, opinion and order made by t12e 03ty Council orkby such councilman, agent or employee as above 4EkA �, p scant to such investigation, inquiry or hearing, when N adopted, approved or confirmed by the City Council, shall be the finding, opinion or order of the City Council. SECTION V. If the City Council finds that the public convenience and necessity require the operation of a greater or lesser number of vehicles than that for which the certificate has been applied and . the applicant is fit to conduct the business and that the other requirements herein have been complied with, it shall notify the applicant of its findings. If it finds that public convenience and necessity do not require the operation of any such vehicles or that the applicant is not fit to conduct such business, it shall forthwith refuse such application, and no certificate or license shall issue to such applicant. Such certificate shall not be transferable without the consent and approval of the City Council had after application and hearing as provided upon original application by the person to whom the certificate is issued, but the applicant may, by ap- propriate endorsement made on such certificate under the di7in tion of the City Council, substitute another, vehicle or vehicles the place of that for which the certificate was granted. Cit is further provided that, should the City Council find that public convenience and necessity at any time require additional taxicab service, pref- erence shall be given to the persons or companies operating exist- ing service, should they be willing to furnish it SECTION VI. Upon presentation of said certificate within thirty days of its date and satisfactory evidence that all license fees have been paid the City of Fort Worth and that such other fees and taxes, including ad valorem taxes, as may be required by law have been fully paid, the City Secretary of the City of Fort Worth shall issue to applicant a license for each and every vehicle specified in said certificate; provided, however, that any certificate issued here. under shall be effective until canceled, and no additional certif- icate or certificates shall be required for the purpose of obtain- ing a license so long as the original certificate remains in effect and the applicant strictly complies with all the requirements and provisions of this ordinance, and provided further that such owner or operator of a public vehicle for hire shall be strictly limited to the character and type of operation as evidenced by such appli- cation and as specified in such certificate and license. No license for the operation of a public vehicle shall be issued, nor shall any public vehicle be operated within the City of Fort Worth, unless and until the City Council has issued a cer- tificate under the terms and provisions of this ordinance that pub- lic convenience and necessity require the operation thereof. SECTION VII. The City Council shall from time to time cause to be made an inspection of public vehicles, and if any vehicle shall be found unfit or unsafe for operation, notice shall be given to the holder of the certificate and license thereof, and such vehicle shall not be operated thereafter until the same has been put in a safe and fit condition. SECTION VIII. It shall be unlawful for any public vehicle to stand wait- ing employment upon any public street or public property within the corporate limits of the City of Fort Worth, but it must stand and remain, except while in the immediate act of discharging or taking on passengers, upon and within private depots and grounds upon pri- vate premises. SECTION IX. No owner, employee or other person in behalf of the owner or operator Af any public vehicle shall solicit by word, signal or otherwise patronage for such public vehicle on any public street or public property or sidewalks of the City of Fort Worth, and pub- lic vehicles are prohibited from cruising, seeking employment or in any manner soliciting by word, signal or otherwise patronage for such vehicles while in operation or in use upon any public street or public property. SECTION X. No person, firm or corporation shall use the terms "taxi" or "taxicab" or "for hire automobile" or "for hire car" or "auto rental" or in any way advertise or hold themselves out as a taxi- cab or for hire automobile company or operator or represent them- selves to be such by means of advertisements, signs, trade names or otherwise unless they have previously thereto complied with the conditions, regulations and restrictions prescribed by this ordi- nance. SECTION XI. The owner or operator of public vehicles shall keep a dally record of the transportation or trips of each vehicle, and such record shall show in. detail the hour and place of departure and return of each trip, its destination and the name of the opera- tor of the vehicle. SECTION XII. No person shall drive or operate a .public vehicle in the City of Fort Worth unless he has- been issued a permit to do so by the Chief of Police, which shall be granted only after submitting himself to a physical examination which shall show that he is phy- sically able to perform such work, and in his application he shall state his name, street address, age, period of experience in oper- ating public vehicles, that he is not addicted to any habits tht would impair his physical ability to operate such car, whether or not he has ever been convicted of any offenses against the laws of the city, state or nation, and, if so, the nature of such con- victions, his place of residence for the three years immediately preceding the date of such application., the length of his residence in said city immediately prior to the making thereof, and such other information as the Chief of Police may require. This permit shall be in force and effect for one year from the date of its issuance unless otherwise canceled or revoked by the Chief of Police. SECTION XIII. In order to defray a part of the expense necessary to pro- vide the surveillance, supervision and inspection of public vehicles required under the terms and provisions of this ordinance, there is hereby fixed a license fee or police tax which shall be collected from any person, firm or corporation operating public vehicles on the streets of the City of Fort Worth of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per annum for each public vehicle engaged in such business. The license fee or police tax herein provided for shall not be trans- ferred to the purchaser upon the sale of any public vehicle except by the written consent of the City Council. SECTION XIV. The operation of public vehicles as herein defined shall be subject to the conditions, regulations and restrictions herein set forth, and it shell be unlawful to operate or cause to be oper- ated in said city any public vehicle unless a license therefor shall have been issued to the owner thereof in accordance with the condi- tions, regulations and restrictions herein prescribed. However, this ordinance shall apply only to vehicles operating wholly or principally within the corporate limits of the City of Fort Worth and shall not affect motor bus companies as defined within and reg- ulated by the Motor Bus Transportation Act as passed by the Fortieth Legislature of the State of Texas, and it shall not affect motor busses operating onifixed routes and upon fixed schedules of time and fare, specially chartered busses, sight-seeing busses, driver- less cars or motor busses owned and operated by any street railway company under authority of the general laws of the State of Texas. SEC TION XV. A description of the owner' s license and the driver' s per- mit shall be, attached to the vehicle 4n some cons ,' cuous place xyhere it may be easily seen by the passenger or passengers and shall state the number of the car licensed and such other facts as will properly identify it, the dates that the said license and the permit were issued, and any other information that may be deemed proper by the Chief of Police. SECTION XVI. The officers charged with the duty of enforcing this ordi- nance will promptly report any violations of the provisions herein or any facts showing a change in the conditions existing at the time the license to operate any public vehicle or vehicles was is- sued, and the said City Council may, upon five days, notice, revoke such license. SECTION XVII. This ordinance shall be and is hereby declared to be cum- ulative of all other ordinances of the City of Fort worth affect- ing traffic on its streets and shall not operate to repeal or affect any such ordinance or ordinances except in so far as the provisions of such ordinance or ordinances are inconsistent or in conflict with the provisions of this ordinance, in which instance or instances those provisions shall be and they are hereby repealed. SECTION XVIII. Should any section, article, provision or part of this ordi- nance be declared to be unconstitutional and void by a court of com- petent jurisdiction, such decision shall in no way affect the validi- ty of any of the remaining parts of this ordinance, unless the part held unconstitutional or void is inseparable from and indispensable to the operation of the remaining parts. The City Council hereby .declares that it would have passed those parts of this ordinance which are valid and omitted any parts which may be unconstitutional if it had known that such parts were unconstitutional at the time of the passage of this ordinance. SECTION XIX. Any person violating any of the provisions of this ordi- .nance ahall, upon conviction thereof, be fined in any sun not to exceed two 1ju,,odred dollars ($200.00) , and each violation thereof ,II be and is riereb-y declared to be a distinct and separate of- Tense and punishable as such. SECTION XX. This Ordinance shall take effect and be in full force and effect from Acari after the date of its passage and publication as prov fide& by 1s►- . A PpRO V� AS TO 1 AND LEGALITY: ht��rne