Definitions
Seattle Mun. Code § 6.311.040
in effect6.311.040 - Definitions
For the purposes of this Chapter 6.311 and unless the context plainly requires otherwise, the following definitions apply:
"Abnormal disruption of the market" means any change in the market, whether actual or imminently threatened, resulting from stress of weather, convulsion of nature, failure or shortage of electric power or other source of energy, strike, civil disorder, war, military action, national or local emergency, or any other cause.
"Application dispatch system" means technology that allows consumers, via the internet using devices such as, but not limited to, smartphone and tablet applications, either or both, to:
1. Directly request dispatch of regional for-hire drivers for trips; and
2. Accept payments for those trips.
"Approved mechanic" means a mechanic or technician on a list maintained by the Director. The list shall contain the name of each mechanic or technician that has been approved by Director because they:
1. Have met all requirements of the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence;
2. Have been awarded a Certificate in Evidence of Competence satisfactory to the Director; and
3. Do not own, lease, or drive a taxicab, for-hire vehicle, or transportation network company endorsed vehicle.
"Automated driving system" means hardware and software that are collectively capable of performing the entire dynamic driving task on a sustained basis, regardless of whether it is limited to a specific operational design domain and regardless of the presence of a driver.
"Autonomous operation" means the performance of the entire dynamic driving task by an automated driving system, beginning upon performance of the entire dynamic driving task by an autonomous driving system and continuing until the autonomous driving system is disengaged.
"Autonomous vehicle" means a vehicle with a level 3, level 4, or level 5 automated driving system as provided in the Society of Automotive Engineering International's J3016 standard.
"Certificate of safety" means a document from an approved mechanic certifying that a particular vehicle meets all vehicle safety standards set forth in this Chapter 6.311, including the vehicle safety inspection, and rules adopted by the Director in accordance with this Chapter 6.311.
"Citation" means an enforcement action taken by the Director that imposes monetary penalties when a person violates a requirement of this Chapter 6.311.
"Commencement date" means a calendar date set by the Director for the purpose of initiating certain processes pursuant to Section 6.311.415 and establishing timelines and deadlines associated with them.
"Contract rate" means the rate specified in a written agreement signed by both parties before the dispatch of a taxicab or for-hire vehicle for the services identified in the contract.
"Department" means the Department of Finance and Administrative Services of The City of Seattle, or any department that succeeds the Department's duties under this Chapter 6.311.
"Director" means the Director of Finance and Administrative Services, or the Director's authorized designee, or the director or authorized designee of any successor department.
"Disability" means the presence of a sensory, mental, or physical impairment that is medically cognizable or diagnosable; exists as a record or history; or is perceived to exist whether or not it exists in fact. A disability exists whether it is temporary or permanent, common or uncommon, mitigated or unmitigated, whether or not it limits the ability to work generally or work at a particular job, or whether or not it limits any other activity within the scope of this Chapter 6.311. For purposes of this definition, "impairment" includes, but is not limited to:
1. Any physiological disorder, or condition, cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the following body systems: neurological, musculoskeletal, special sense organs, respiratory, including speech organs, cardiovascular, reproductive, digestive, genitor-urinary, hemic and lymphatic, skin, and endocrine; or
2. Any mental, developmental, traumatic, or psychological disorder, including, but not limited to, cognitive limitation, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and specific learning disabilities.
"Dispatch system" means a system that allocates requests for trips to available drivers and that facilitates communication between a dispatcher and driver. A dispatch system may be integrated into a smart taximeter system.
"Driver coordinator" means an entity that hires, contracts with, or partners with for-hire drivers for the purpose of assisting them with, or facilitating them in, providing for-hire services to the public. For the purposes of this definition, "driver coordinator" includes but is not limited to taxicab associations, for-hire vehicle companies, and transportation network companies.
"Egregious" means any moving violation that posed an immediate threat to the safety of the driver, any passengers in the vehicle, or to others.
"Exclusive driver representative" (EDR) means a qualified driver representative, certified by the Director to be the sole and exclusive representative of all for-hire drivers operating within the City for a particular driver coordinator, and authorized to negotiate, obtain, and enter into a contract that sets forth terms and conditions of work applicable to all of the for-hire drivers employed by that driver coordinator.
"Fare" means anything of economic value that is provided, promised, or donated primarily in exchange for services rendered.
"For-hire transportation services" means services provided by licensees under this Chapter 6.311.
"For-hire vehicle" means any motor vehicle used for the transportation of passengers for hire, and not operated exclusively over a fixed and definite route, except:
1. Taxicabs;
2. School buses operating exclusively under a contract to a school district;
3. Ride-sharing vehicles under chapter 46.74 RCW;
4. Limousine carriers licensed under chapter 46.72A RCW;
5. Vehicles used by nonprofit transportation providers solely for elderly or handicapped persons and their attendants under chapter 81.66 RCW;
6. Vehicles used by auto transportation companies licensed under chapter 81.68 RCW;
7. Vehicles used to provide courtesy transportation at no charge to and from parking lots, hotels, and rental offices;
8. Vehicles licensed under, and used to provide "charter party carrier" and "excursion service carrier" services as defined in, and required by, chapter 81.70 RCW; and
9. Transportation network company endorsed vehicles as defined in Chapter 6.310 and transportation network company vehicles as defined in chapter 46.72B RCW.
"For-hire vehicle company" means a person that represents or owns for-hire vehicles licensed by the City that use the same color scheme, trade name, and dispatch services.
"Lessee" means a person who has a regional for-hire driver's license that leases a taxicab or for-hire vehicle required to be licensed under this Chapter 6.311.
"Lessor" means a person who has leased a taxicab or for-hire vehicle to a lessee.
"License action" means an enforcement action taken by the Director against a licensee that is a suspension, summary suspension, denial, or revocation of the license.
"Licensee" means any person required to be licensed under this Chapter 6.311.
"Medallion" means a license issued by the Director as a plate, decal, or other physical representation, that is evidence that a taxicab or for-hire vehicle medallion is intangible property.
"Medallion owner" means a person who owns a taxicab medallion, a wheelchair accessible taxicab medallion, or a for-hire vehicle medallion, issued by the Director.
"Medallion reciprocity endorsement" means a designation on a medallion issued by King County, or alternatively in the Director's record of the medallion owner, which permits a vehicle to operate in Seattle.
"Medallion system" means the system that deems a taxicab or for-hire vehicle medallion to be intangible property that may be used as collateral to secure a loan from a bank or any other financial institution.
"Motor vehicle" means every motorized vehicle by or upon which any person may be transported or carried upon a public street, highway, or alley. Vehicles used exclusively upon stationary rail tracks or propelled by use of overhead electric wires are not considered motor vehicles for purposes of this Chapter 6.311.
"Operate" or "operating" means owning, leasing, advertising, driving, parking in a taxicab zone, having a top light on, occupying, or otherwise being in control of a taxicab or for-hire vehicle that is available to transport, en route to pick up a passenger, or transporting any passenger for a fare from a point in Seattle. A taxicab association, for-hire vehicle company, transitional regional dispatch agency, or regional dispatch agency is operating if it represents or dispatches any taxicab or for-hire vehicle that at any time transports any passenger for a fare from a point within Seattle.
"Person" means any individual, partnership, association, corporation, firm, institution, or other entity, whether or not operated for profit. "Person" does not include:
1. A government entity of or within the United States;
2. An entity operating exclusively under contract with a government entity; or
3. That portion of an entity that is operating exclusively under contract with a government entity.
"Qualifying driver" means a for-hire driver, who drives for a driver coordinator and who satisfies the conditions established by the Director pursuant to Section 6.311.415. In establishing such conditions, the Director shall consider factors such as the length, frequency, total number of trips, and average number of trips per driver completed by all of the drivers who have performed trips in each of the four calendar months immediately preceding the commencement date, for a particular driver coordinator, any other factors that indicate that a driver's work for a driver coordinator is significant enough to affect the safety and reliability of for-hire transportation, and standards established by other jurisdictions for granting persons the right to vote to be represented in negotiations pertaining to the terms and conditions of employment. A for-hire driver may be a qualifying driver for more than one driver coordinator.
"Qualified driver representative" (QDR) means an entity that assists for-hire drivers operating within the City for a particular driver coordinator in reaching consensus on desired terms of work and negotiates those terms on their behalf with driver coordinators.
"Regional dispatch agency" means a person licensed under this Chapter 6.311 who represents or owns for-hire vehicles, until March 31, 2026, or taxicabs licensed by the City that use the same trade name and dispatch services.
"Regional dispatch agency representative" means a person who a transitional regional dispatch agency or regional dispatch agency has authorized to:
1. File applications and other documents on behalf of the agency; and
2. Receive and accept all correspondence and notices from the Director pertaining to the agency or its taxicabs, taxicab owners, for-hire vehicles, for-hire vehicle owners, or regional for-hire drivers affiliated with the regional dispatch agency.
"Regional for-hire driver" means any person in physical control of a taxicab or for-hire vehicle who is required to be licensed under this Chapter 6.311 and includes a lessee, owner/operator, or employee, who drives taxicabs or for-hire vehicles.
"Regional for-hire driver's license" means a license issued to an applicant for a regional for-hire driver's license who meets all criteria under this Chapter 6.311 for a regional for-hire driver's license.
"Regional for-hire driver's license wheelchair accessible vehicle endorsement" means an endorsement applied to a regional for-hire driver's license that demonstrates that the driver has successfully completed required training regarding the special needs of passengers in wheelchairs, including, but not limited to, loading and tie-down procedures and door-to-door service.
"Smart taximeter" means a system of hardware and software that integrates a taximeter and other components together to perform functions required by this Chapter 6.311.
"Smart taximeter system" means the system a regional dispatch agency uses to dispatch trips to, communicate with, and track the location of, affiliated vehicles and drivers through the smart taximeter. A smart taximeter system may include an application dispatch system.
"Taxicab" means every motor vehicle required to have a taxicab medallion to be used for the transportation of passengers for a fare, where the route traveled or destination is controlled by the passenger, and the fare is based on an amount recorded and indicated on a taximeter, smart taximeter, or on an application dispatch system.
"Taxicab association" means a person that represents or owns taxicabs licensed by The City of Seattle that use the same uniform color scheme, trade name, and dispatch services.
"Taximeter" means any instrument or device by which the fare for a trip provided in a taxicab is measured or calculated either for the distance traveled by the taxicab or for waiting time, or for both, and upon which such calculated charges shall be indicated by means of figures.
"Transitional regional dispatch agency" means taxicab associations and for-hire vehicle companies, or other persons that meet the requirements of a transitional regional dispatch agency in this Chapter 6.311, that do not have a regional dispatch agency license.
"Transparent" means the trip fare, the fare range, and other pricing variables, are made readily available to a passenger before the passenger commits to taking the trip.
"Transportation network company" means the same as it is defined in Chapter 6.310.
"Transportation network company endorsed vehicle" means the same as it is defined in Chapter 6.310.
"Transportation network company vehicle endorsement" means the same as it is defined in Chapter 6.310.
"Uniform color scheme" means the color or colors used by vehicles affiliated with a transitional regional dispatch agency or regional dispatch agency, and approved by the Director for exclusive use.
"Voluntarily converted wheelchair accessible vehicle" means a Director-inspected and Director-approved taxicab or for-hire vehicle that is accessible to passengers in wheelchairs or other mobility devices but that is not required to be so as a condition of the vehicle's medallion.
"Wheelchair accessible taxicab" means a taxicab that is required to be accessible to passengers in wheelchairs or other mobility devices as a condition of its wheelchair accessible taxicab medallion.
"Wheelchair accessible taxicab medallion" means a type of medallion issued by the Director that requires the vehicle operated under the medallion to be accessible to passengers in wheelchairs and other mobility devices.
"Wheelchair accessible vehicle" means a taxicab or for-hire vehicle that has been designed or modified to transport passengers in wheelchairs or other mobility devices, conforms to the accessibility requirements of the regulations of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended, and has been inspected and approved by the Director. "Wheelchair accessible vehicle" includes both voluntarily converted wheelchair accessible vehicles and wheelchair accessible taxicabs.
(Ord. 126977, § 1, 2023.)
Source: City of Seattle, Seattle Municipal Code and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/wa/seattle/codes/municipal_code?nodeId=TIT6BURE_SUBTITLE_IVNELICO_CH6.311FRETRAXFREVEDR_6.311.040DEFetched: 11/1/2026