Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Taxi Regulation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee removes obsolete fare-zone language, keeps local taxi identification rules
Summary
The North Adams codification review committee deleted an obsolete sentence referencing fare zones and declined to change taxi identification rules that reflect the city's non‑metered fares, while referring insurance minimums to General Code for research.
The codification review committee for the North Adams City Council voted to delete an obsolete sentence in the taxi-and-bus ordinance that referenced a list of fare zones that staff could not locate in the city's code or fee schedules. Chair said the deletion was in response to General Code's question about a missing fee-zone list and the motion carried.
The committee also discussed vehicle identification standards. Staff noted that Massachusetts General Laws (MGL 40-22) requires metered taxis to show the owner and municipality in specific lettering, but that North Adams taxis operate on fixed fares rather than meters. "Our comment was just to follow MGL," the Staff member said, while adding that the city's current ordinance reflects non‑metered fares. The committee voted to retain the local identification language rather than change it to the state-prescriptive meter rule.
Members raised insurance minimums listed in the ordinance (bodily injury coverage of $10,000 single / $20,000 multiple, and $5,000 property) and asked General Code to compare those figures with prevailing municipal practice and state requirements. The committee voted to refer the insurance-amount issue back to General Code for further research and recommendation.
The committee also approved a minor correction to cross-references in Chapter 23 so that operator violations are properly described as violations "of this article" and reported to the chief of police or a designated alternate. That technical fix was adopted as recommended by administration.
