Explanation
BACKGROUND
The purpose of this ordinance is to amend various sections of the City’s Licensing code pertaining to vehicles for hire. Several updates have been made to this code over the past decade, including revisions to include new modes of transportation such as micro-transit vehicles and pedal wagons. Currently, the City is proposing new changes to further modernize the code. These changes include removing sections involving transportation network companies, over which the State of Ohio has sole regulatory authority, and staggering the terms of vehicle-for-hire drivers’ licenses to offer drivers increased flexibility.
Historically, vehicle-for-hire owners’ and drivers’ licenses expired on a set date each year. While maintaining a single, standardized expiration date for vehicle-for-hire owners’ licenses promotes efficiency by facilitating inspections of all vehicles for hire on the same dates, the License Section desires to stagger the expiration dates of vehicle-for-hire drivers’ licenses, as there is no efficiency justification for requiring all renewals on the same date, and staggering the terms will provide drivers with more flexibility.
This ordinance will make the following changes:
· Modify the code sections setting forth the makeup and authority of the Vehicle-for-Hire Board to bring the code into conformity with practice. The Vehicle-for-Hire Board has had difficulty maintaining a quorum, which has had a significant impact on its effectiveness as an advisory body. In order to address this concern, the amendments will modernize the Board, removing positions that have sat idle for years and ensuring the Board makeup reflects the current state of the industry. In addition, while the Board has functioned as an advisory body for some time, the City Code is not consistent with respect to the Board’s authority.
· Remove all fees from the code and allow the Director of the Department of Public Safety to issue rules and regulatio...
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