§ 587.12 — Inspections

587.12 - Inspections.

(a) The Director shall establish the criteria and the procedure for a reasonable inspection to be performed prior to initial licensing and prior to any renewal. (1) The Director shall provide all vehicle for hire owners with a City of Columbus annual mechanical inspection form for the specific vehicle to be licensed. The owner must have the vehicle inspected by one (1) of the following: a certified mechanic, ASE Blue Seal Shop, dealership that is not employed by the driver and/or owner of the vehicle and that does not have a vested interest in the management affairs of the driver and/or owner of the vehicle. With respect to pedicabs an inspection must be obtained from a reputable bicycle shop that does not have a vested interest in the management affairs of the driver and/or owner of the pedicab. The inspection form must be signed and stamped by the mechanic and/or inspecting facility and submitted to the License Section with original invoice and any defect repair paperwork. Any additional inspection requirements for micro-transit vehicles, pedicabs or commercial quadricycles, livery vehicles, or horse drawn carriages are set forth in Chapters 586, 592, 593, and 594, respectively. (2) The inspecting establishment shall provide a copy of the annual mechanical inspection form to the owner of the vehicle. The original form shall be taken to the License Section prior to the issuance or renewal of the license for that vehicle, pursuant to Section 587.05. (3) All inspection criteria must be satisfactory prior to the approval of licensing. If any portion of the inspection is unsatisfactory, the vehicle owner shall cause the condition to be corrected and shall have the vehicle reinspected by the original certified mechanic or inspection facility. (b) The Director shall make or cause to be made an additional inspection of all vehicles for hire to take place at License Section facilities prior to the issuance of the vehicle for hire owner's license. The Director may, with discretion, make or cause to be made additional inspections of any vehicle for hire at any other time at no charge to the owner or operator. (1) If, upon any inspection, a vehicle is found to be unsafe, unclean or unsightly, a license officer or law enforcement officer may remove the decal and direct the vehicle be taken out of service until the vehicle is in compliance. Such vehicle taken out of service must be reinspected at a cost to be determined by the Director pursuant to the Director's authority to promulgate rules and regulations under Chapter 501. The vehicle must be approved by a license officer before being returned to service. (2) The license officer shall cause a memorandum of such inspection failure to be recorded on the record of the owner of said vehicle that is maintained by the License Section. (3) The license officer shall provide the vehicle owner the cause(s) for failure in writing. (c) After a vehicle successfully completes the inspection and pays a decal fee to be determined by the Director pursuant to the Director's authority to promulgate rules and regulations under Chapter 501, the decal shall be issued by the Director and be affixed to the vehicle in an assigned location. The decal shall clearly indicate that the vehicle has received and satisfied the inspection.

(Ord. No. 1548-2013, § 2, 7-1-2013; Ord. No. 0604-2020, § 1, 5-4-2020; Ord. No. 2019-2021, § 1, 7-26-2021)