The Hollister City Council approved an update to the taxicab ordinance at the most recent meeting – the first comprehensive update to the law in 66 years.
The ordinance no longer requires taxicab owners to obtain a certificate of “public convenience or necessity” to apply for a taxicab license. In 2009, when Yellow Cab wanted to expand services into Hollister, the owners of the company narrowly received approval from the city council in a 3-2 vote. Before that, Hollister Taxi had been the sole provided in the city.
Again in 2012, when LTD Taxi started the permit process, that company also had to be approved by the city council before being allowed to operate as a taxi service.
Stephanie Atigh, the Hollister city attorney, said the ordinance removes the “public convenience and necessity” wording and also updates the ordinance to include language regarding the drug testing required by state law.
Elizabeth Arrizon, an owner of Hollister Taxi, said she hadn’t heard about the city council updating the ordinance but she was concerned about the change to remove the “public convenience and necessity” wording.
“That was a concern and now I can’t believe they did that,” Arrizon said, the week after the meeting. “Hollister is small as it is, and them taking that out means anyone could come in now.”
She said her company had seen a small drop in business in recent years, but she didn’t know if it was due to a lot of businesses closing in Hollister or competition with the two other companies.
The other changes to the ordinance were mostly updates to bring it in line with technology.
“The old ordinance talked about radios and no one uses radios anymore – they use cell phones,” Atigh said. “It brought it into the 21st century. It is clearer to read and if they have a question, it will be easier to get the answer.”
The old ordinance was adopted in 1946, with little revision since then, according to a staff report.
The city council approved the new ordinance Nov. 19, with it set to go into effect 30 days after adoption. There was no public comment during the adoption of the ordinance on Nov. 19.
The ordinance also clarifies what defines a “taxicab,” something that was at the heart of a disagreement between two local companies earlier this year. Owners of Hollister Taxi complained that LTD Taxi drivers were operating without a permit since January, but the LTD owners said they were operating as a “limousine service” with a fixed rate until their taxi permit came through in March.
The ordinance defines a taxicab as “all motor vehicles engaged in the business of transporting passengers for hire on the streets of the city of Hollister, irrespective of whether such operations extend beyond the boundary of the city; such vehicles being designed to carry not more than eight persons, excluding the driver; and not operating on regular schedules or over regularly established routes.”
The ordinance excludes vans or other vehicles providing transportation for the disabled, operated by nonprofit social service organizations.
The chief of police will have authority to enforce the ordinance, which includes processing applications for new taxicab companies or drivers as well as revoking licenses for owners who are not in compliance with the ordinance.
At a future meeting, city council members will look at adopting fees for an owner’s permit and a driver’s license that will offset the cost of administering the new ordinance.
