HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 7013 ORDINANCE NO, 7'01,3
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 34-12 OF CHAPTER 34
OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH (1964) , AS
AMENDED, BY INCREASING THE MAXIMUM MILEAGE PRICE
TO BE CHARGED BY ALL TAXICAB OPERATORS IN THE
CITY; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; MAKING
THIS ORDINANCE CUMULATIVE OF OTHER ORDINANCES
WITH RESPECT TO TAXICAB RATES; REPEALING ALL ORDI-
NANCES IN CONFLICT HEREWITH; PROVIDING A PENALTY;
AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
FORT WORTH, TEXAS:
SECTION 1.
That Section 34-12 of Chapter 34 of the Code of the
City of Fort Worth (1964) , as amended, be and it is hereby
amended to read as follows:
The maximum price to be charged by all taxi-
cab operators in the City, which prices are
hereby declared to be fair and reasonable for
such services, shall be as follows:
Seventy-five cents for the first one-sixth
mile or fraction thereof traveled;
Ten cents for each additional one-sixth mile
or fraction thereof after the first one-sixth
mile traveled;
An additional twenty-five cents for each ad-
ditional passenger beyond the original passenger
carried, except that this twenty-five cent charge
shall not be made for an additional passenger
carried if such additional passenger be a minor
not more than twelve years of age;
Ten cents for each one and one-quarter
minutes of waiting time or traffic delay time,
or each additional fraction thereof, or five dol-
lars per hour; and
Five dollars per hour for traveling time on
special trips or sightseeing tours.
There shall be no additional charge made for
ordinary luggage or ordinary bags or ordinary
parcels being carried by such passenger or pas-
sengers. It shall be unlawful for any driver of a
taxicab to demand or receive a fee or charge
for taxicab services in excess of the rates
above! specified. However, nothing herein con-
tained shall be construed as requiring a taxi-
cab to carry trunks, very large packages, very
large parcels, or articles or objects likely
to injure or damage the taxicab, it being the
intent hereof that there be no additional charge
made for any ordinary baggage or ordinary parcels.
Each and every taxicab operated on the streets
shall have affixed thereto at a location in plain
view of any passenger therein a placard setting
out the maximum legal rates for taxicab service,
as hereinabove provided, and such rates shall be
so shown thereon as to be readily visible to and
readable by any occupant of such taxicab.
SECTION 2.
That if any section, subsection, sentence, clause or
phrase of this ordinance is for any reason held to be uncon-
stitutional, this holding shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of this ordinance, and all of the remainder
of this ordinance not so held to be unconstitutional shall
continue to be in full force and effect.
SECTION 3.
That this ordinance shall be and is hereby declared to
be cumulative of all provisions of the Code of the City of
Fort Worth (1964) , as amended, with respect to taxicab rates,
except in those instances where the provisions of this ordi-
nance are in direct conflict with such Code, in which in-
stances said conflicting provisions of such Code are hereby
repealed.
SECTION 4.
That any driver of a taxicab who demands or receives a
fee or charge for taxicab services in excess of the rates
specified by this ordinance shall be punished by a fine not
exceeding Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) , and each violation
thereof shall be and is hereby declared to be a distinct
and separate offense and punishable as such; provided, how-
ever, if the maximum penalty provided by this ordinance for
any such offense is greater than the maximum penalty provided
for the same or a similar offense under the laws of the State,
then the maximum penalty for violation as provided by State
statute shall be the maximum penalty under this ordinance.
SECTION 5.
That this ordinance shall become effective June 17,
1974, from and after its passage and publication as required
by law.
APPR VED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY:
i
City Attorney
Acro pied Ane J,, I PX
TARRANT COUNTY CONVENTION CENTER
TAR ANT COUNTY HOTEL- MOTEL ASSOCIATION, INC.
FORT WORTH TEXAS REPLY TO, P. O. Box 12277
76116
May 28, 1974
Mr. John O'Neal, Chairman
City Traffic Committee
City Hall
1000 Throckmorton Street
Fort 'Worth, Texas 76102
Dear Mr. O'Neal:
As a matter of information, the Tarrant County Hotel-
Motel Association at its regular monthly meeting,
Wednesday. May 22, 1974, passed the following motion
unanimously:
"That the association endorse the recent
rate increase for the Yellow Cab and Baggage
Company and the United Cab Company. "
Sincerely,
1
Hermann Jung,
President ,
HJ:br
cc: Mayor R. M. Stovall✓
.,.FORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 2251
,P r f A,®R—
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council November 2, 1973
Subject: TAXICAB RATES
e»
On September 7, 1973, the Fort Worth Cab and Baggage Company addressed
a letter to the City Manager requesting an increase in the rates charged
for cab service. As directed by the Council, on September 24, 1973, the
staff has analyzed the request and prepared this report
RATE STRUCTURE
The present taxi rate structure has been in effect since January 12, 1970.
�I The following tabulation compares the existing rate structure with the
requested new rate structure.
Percent
Current Rate Requested Rate Increase
1st 1/5 mile $.45 1st 1/4 mile $.75 66.7%
Each additional Each additional
1/5 mile .10 1/3 mile 20 20,0%
Additional pass-
engers over one
over 12 yrs. of
age .10 25 250 ,0%
Waiting Time* $.20/min. Active**
5.00/hour 6.00/hour 20.0%
Special Trips
or sight-
seeing 5.00/hour 6.00 hour 20.0'/e
*Requested by passenger **For any reason
The requested new rate structure is the same as that approved for SURIRAN
taxis without the Airport pickup charge of $> 75
FINANCIAL CONDITION
OF CAB COMPANY
The Company has submitted financial statements supported by a Federal
Income Tax return and a pro-forma statement based on the requested in-
crease. The detailed statements are attached and they are summarized
below:
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS
,,-ORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 2251 - Page 2
N., Tf
F To the Mayor and Members of the City Council November 2, 1973
�ap
V =
'TEXAy Subject: TAXICAB RATES
(Year end 1-31) Pro-Forma
1970-71 1971-72 1972-73 1973-74 1974-75
Total Revenue 1,066,153 935,268 876,082 946,036 1,085,376
Operating Expense 922,776 801,148 775,060 826,098., 905,827
Administrative
Expense 132,906 155,064 110,722 132,477 138,338
Total Expense 1,055,682 956,212 885,782 958,575 .1,044,170
Other Income
(Expense) 2,140 (1,220) 4,618 --- ---
Net Income (Loss) 12,612 (22,164) (5,082) (12,540) 41,207
(Before Taxes)
Original Cost of Pro-
perty Less Deprecia-
tion Reserve 1611245 115,493 152,903 202,495 161,410
The single largest item of expense for the Company is wages and salaries
(estimated at $540,000 for year ending 1-31-74) . Drivers are paid on a
42.5% commission basis and thus are directly affected by changes in fare
structure and the volume of business. The Company is currently experi-
encing difficulty in employing drivers due to the low earnings available
to a driver.
The second largest item of cost is fuel, tires, and vehicle maintenance
(estimated at $152,000 for year ending 1-31-74) . It is generally well-
documented that major cost increases have occurred and will continue
in this category of expense.
OPERATIONAL STATISTICS
The Company owns and operates 98 cabs and employs 125 drivers. The ages
of the cabs (all Checker brand) are as follows:
Year Number
1969 50
1972 24
1973 24
During the past four years the number of miles driven is as follows:
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS
,ruKMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 2251 - 'a^c 3
f I qfC
0
0iV0 0 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council November 2, 1973
u �A
i
.rax'C. Subject: TAXICAB RATES
Year Miles
1969 3,941,811
1970 3,218,.124
1971 2,865,974
F
1972 2,699,989
The volume of business is affected by the length of trips driven The
percentage of business by trip length with the approximate fare increase
in percent is shown below:
Fare
Length % of Total Trips In--rease
Up to One mile 22 ,4% 35.2%
One to Two miles 24.3% 29 6%
Two to Three miles 18.2% 37 8%
Three to Four miles 11,,4% 34 0%
Four miles and over 23. 7% 28. 0%
SERVICE LEVEL
On September 29, 1973, the Mayor received a letter from Mr. G, K.
Johnson, President cf the Tarrant County Hotel - Motel Association,
Inc. , relating to the requested increase. The letter indicated that
the Association passed a resolution supporting the requested increase
based on discussionseof improved service they had conducted with ctie
Company, The letter is attached to this report.
Mr. Richard Aughinbaugh, Director of Consumer Affairs, reports that
there have not been an excessive number of citizen complaints regarding
taxi service in Fort Worth. Since the newspaper article appeared re-
garding the requested rate increase, the Finance Director has received
one telephone complaint about taxi service. One City Council member has
forwarded to the staff a letter received from a citizen stating that a
newspaper story indicating the requested increase was 20% was misleading
since the percentage increase is much higher than 20%. The staff has
had no other communications from citizens regarding the requested new
rate.
SUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS
oNFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 2251 - Page 4
Fc0)?,I- To the Mayor and Members of the City Council November 2, 1973
.X A
u i
i "TeXPy' Subject: TAXICAB RATES
FACTORS TO CONSIDER
In evaluating a request for a rate increase- from a public service organ-
ization, there are many factors to consider. The economic factors are
comparatively easy to assess, but the overall community impact is diffi-
cult to assess.
1
(a) Economic
Verified financial statements indicate that the Company is not making a
profit, much less an adequate rate of return on their investment. Drivers
are not being paid competitive salaries for the type of work performed and
thus quality of service is impa-ted, Operating costs are experiencing the
same degree of inflationary increase that all other people and companies
are experiencing and thus the losses can be Expected to increase. In the
light of such factors, it is obvious that the Company cannot continue to
operate without improvement in its financial condition.
(b) Public Necessity
There are several different classes of riders who use taxi service.
Consideration must be given to each in establishing rates.
The ouc-of-town business or tourist visitor may use taxis for
basic transportation while in our City. Taxi service thus
provides one of the impressions of our City for such visitors^
Service is probably more important than price to these users
and an increase in price would probably have little impact
on this business-
There are many vocal residents who do not drive for varioLs
reasons and they use taxis on a regular basis for going to
work, to. the doctor, for shopping, to school and other basic
needs. Many of these citizens have limited income and any
in^xease in price will be detrimental to their standard of
living- Based on past experience with rate increases, some
of these riders will teduce their use of taxi service if a
rare increase is granted and those who continue to use the
service will have to make adjustments elsewhere to compensate
for the additional cost.
A third type of rider is the occasional local resident who
finds it necessary to use a taxi only on unusual occasions.
A change in fare structure will probably not have significant
impact nor will it work any particular hardship on such custo-
mers.
+I
L ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS —
,FORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 2251_P'°c 5
aTo the Mayor and Members of the City Council flovember 2, 1973
Subject: TAXICAB RATES
(c) Future Development
Several events will occur in the near future that may impact the utili-
zation and profitability of taxi service in Fort Worth: the opening of
the new Regional Airport, the establishment of SURTRAN terminal down-
town, and the operation of SURTRAN taxi service. Allof :these activi-
ties are new and unknown, but it is generally agreed'they will impact
the taxi business in Fort Worth. It is also generally agreed that the
impact may be either good or bad, but there is no factual basis for
estimating .the extent or direction of the impact.
CONCLUSIONS
Based on the review of the financial condition of the Company, it is
the staff conclusion that some rate relief is justified. The pro-forma
statement, however, shows that the requested increase would produce
a rate of return that could be considered excessive. It should be
noted however that the Company has sustained losses for several years
and this condition cannot continue and that major changes may occur
In the market because of the Regional Airport.
The staff recommends that due to all of the unknowns in the external
conditions regarding the effect of the airport, that an Interim rate
increase be granted and that another review be made 90 days after the
airport opens. At that time rates would be adjusted as appropriate-
It is recommended that the interim rate be set at $. 15 for the first
1/4 mile, as requested, but that the mileage charge be maintained at
$.10 per 1/5 mile, It is also recommended that the additional charge
per passenger of $.25 and the $6.00 per hour waiting time be granted
as requested.
It is also recommended that the staff be authorized to coordinate with
the Company, the Tarrant County Hotel - Motel Association, Inc , and
the Chamber of Commerce to establish the appropriate service level for
the downtown transportation center.
It is suggested that this matter be discussed at the Council Meeting
on November 5, 1973, and placed on the agenda for action on November 12,
1973.
Respectfully bmitted,
R. N. Line
RNL:c City Manager
Attachments
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS