The Administration and Regulatory Affairs Department (ARA) requests that City Council approve various amendments to Chapter 46 of the City of Houston’s Code of Ordinances related to the regulation of vehicles-for-hire.
On May 20, 2020, City Council approved Ordinance No. 2020-440 which amended Chapter 46 and established a provision to allow the mayor to issue declarations and executive orders suspending requirements of Chapter 46 of the Code as appropriate, in a declared disaster. Throughout the pandemic, the mayor issued several of these orders to provide temporary relief to the industry, including extension of permit renewal deadlines; elimination of permit caps; and waiver of taxi color scheme requirements, among others.
The vehicle-for-hire industry in Houston has been decimated by the event cancellations that resulted from the pandemic, as well as the continued growth of the rideshare industry. Accordingly, operators have asked the City to codify many of the relief measures put in place during the pandemic. After reviewing the impact of the temporary measures, ARA is recommending the following: removal of the taxicab permit cap (allowing the industry the ability to expand and contract as needed); reduction of the fee for limousine and charter wheelchair accessible and electric vehicles (to encourage deployment of these vehicles and to provide parity with relief given to the taxicab industry); elimination of taxicab color scheme requirements; elimination of the 180-day waiting period to put a taxicab vehicle in service; elimination of the transferability of taxicab permits; add the proration of taxicab permit fees; and extension of the vehicle service age from 10 years to 15 years.
The proposed Chapter 46 amendments were presented by ARA to the Regulatory and Neighborhood Affairs Committee on August 10, 2021.
Fiscal Note:
Revenue for this item is adopted in the FY2022 Adopted Budget. Therefore, no Fiscal Note is required as stated in the Financial Policies.
Departmental Approval Authority:
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Tina Paez, Director Other Authorization
Administration & Regulatory
Affairs Department