OPERATIONAL RULES AND REGULATIONS

Greensboro Code of Ordinances ch. 28, art. II, div. 5

in effect

Greensboro Code of Ordinances § 28-91 Insurance.

Sec. 28-91. - Insurance. (a) Any owner, before operating any taxicab under the provisions of this article, shall procure and file with the police chief or his/her/their designee a policy or policies of liability insurance with a reliable and responsible insurance company, authorized to do business in the State of North Carolina, as required by North Carolina General Statutes section 20-280. (b) The policy shall contain a clause obligating the insurance company to give fifteen (15) days' written notice to the police chief or his/her/their designee prior to the cancellation of such insurance on any vehicle. The permit shall ipso facto be revoked by the lapse, cancellation or termination of the policy of insurance, unless the same shall have been renewed or replaced, or a new policy obtained and filed by the owner as herein required. (c) Such liability policy shall contain a provision that the insolvency or bankruptcy of the person insured shall not release the insurance company from payment of damages for injuries sustained, or death by wrongful act, or loss incurred, and in case of recovery against the insured on account of any such injury, death or loss that the insurance company will pay on account of the judgment recovered in any such action an amount equal to but not exceeding the amount of the policy or of the judgment, and that the statute of limitation, as fixed by the state law, shall govern time within which the policy may be sued upon to enforce such judgment. (Code 1961, § 20-26; Ord. No. 88-122, §§ 3, 4, 9-1-88; Ord. No. 20-163, § 3, 12-15-20)

Greensboro Code of Ordinances § 28-92 Reports by certificate holder.

Sec. 28-92. - Reports by certificate holder. Each holder of a certificate of convenience and necessity shall report to the city taxi inspector, on a quarterly basis, the following information: (1) The total number of cabs then licensed and in actual operation on the streets. (2) The number of filled and unfilled telephone requests for taxicab service made during average twenty-four-hour periods. (3) The number and availability or qualified full-time and part-time drivers to operate existing taxicabs. (Code 1961, § 20-3.1)

Greensboro Code of Ordinances § 28-93 Shared taxicab service.

Sec. 28-93. - Shared taxicab service. (a) In this section "shared taxicab service" means the type of taxicab service which can be used by two (2) or more unassociated passengers at a time and who have either a different origin or a different destination or both and which service is provided at a rate which is less than the rate which would normally be charged to each such person for his/her/their individual travel distance. Each passenger shall have his/her/their own fare recorded on a shared taxicab meter at the start of his/her/their individual trip. (b) Shared taxicab service shall only be conducted as provided in this section. (c) Any holder of a certificate of convenience and necessity may apply to the chief of police or his/her/their designee for a special permit which will authorize said holder to operate a shared taxicab service. Only a holder of such special permit may operate taxicab service pursuant to a shared-ride program. No driver of a taxicab shall carry any other person than the passenger first employing such taxicab without the consent of the passenger. (d) Any person making application for the special permit shall present to the chief of police or his/her/their designee a detailed program for providing shared taxicab service which shall outline: (1) The fare to be charged each passenger calculated on a schedule of distance traveled. (2) The method for providing notice to each passenger that the rate of travel is at the reduced rate of shared taxicab service. (3) A description of the method for transporting each passenger by the shortest route possible considering different origins and/or destinations. (e) The chief of police or his/her/their designee shall not issue such special permit unless he/she/they finds that the applicant has devised a shared taxicab service program which will result in a passenger being charged a lesser fare than he/she/they would have been charged without the shared taxicab service rate. (f) Permits issued pursuant to this section shall be valid for the same period of time as the certificate of convenience and necessity. (g) The chief of police or his/her/their designee shall have the right to revoke any special permit issued by him/her/them upon a finding, after notice, that the holder of such special permit is not rendering the public the level of service required by this section. The holder of such revoked special permit shall have the right of appeal. Such appeal shall be in the nature of certiorari. Notice of any appeal must be made within ten (10) days from the decision of the city manager. (Code 1961, § 20-13; Ord. No. 17-27, § 1, 3-21-17; Ord. No. 20-163, § 3, 12-15-20)

Greensboro Code of Ordinances § 28-94 Daily record of calls and trips.

Sec. 28-94. - Daily record of calls and trips. (a) Every dispatcher and telephone operator receiving calls for taxicab service within the city shall keep a daily record of all calls received from persons requesting transportation, including the time such a call was received, number of taxicabs dispatched, and the time the taxicab driver picked up the passenger. Such record shall be open to inspection at all times by the police department. (b) Every owner, driver, and operator of taxicabs within the city shall keep a daily record of all calls received from persons requesting transportation. The driver of every such vehicle shall keep a record of his/her/their trips, including origin, destination, fare charged, time the driver received the passenger, the time the driver completed the trip, and the fare received at the completion of the trip. Such information shall be recorded on his/her/their trip sheet immediately upon the completion of each trip. Such record shall be open to inspection at all times by the police department, and the trip sheets shall be filed chronologically by car and date at the central taxicab office of the operating association within ninety-six (96) hours from first day of use and shall remain on file at the central taxicab office for a period of three (3) months. Every taxicab driver after receiving a call from the dispatcher to pick up a passenger shall notify the dispatcher immediately after picking up the passenger of the time such passenger was picked up. (Code 1961, § 20-14; Ord. No. 20-163, § 3, 12-15-20)

Greensboro Code of Ordinances § 28-95 Limitation on hours of driving.

Sec. 28-95. - Limitation on hours of driving. It shall be unlawful for any driver of any taxicab to continue on active taxicab duty for more than twelve (12) hours, meal time included, during any twenty-four-hour period. Each driver shall enter the time of commencing active duty and ending active duty upon the record provided for in section 28-94. (Code 1961, § 20-15)

Greensboro Code of Ordinances § 28-96 Distinctive vehicle color scheme and markings required.

Sec. 28-96. - Distinctive vehicle color scheme and markings required. (a) Subject to the approval of the chief of police or his/her/their designee, each taxicab association or firm shall adopt a color scheme or identifying markings for painting or for identifying its taxicabs (distinct from that of any other association or firm) and shall file such identification, identifying design, monogram or other insignia thereof with the chief of police. All additional, new or replacement vehicles put in operation by such association or firm shall comply with the color scheme, or identification design, monogram, or other insignia selected. Whether the vehicles are replaced or not, all taxicabs of each association or firm shall conform to the color scheme, design, monogram, or other insignia chosen and filed. No color scheme, design, monogram or other insignia selected shall be used and shall not be accepted and filed by the chief of police if it in any way infringes upon, or would be confused with the color scheme, design, monogram or insignia of another association or firm previously filed, and no vehicle covered by the terms of this article shall be licensed, nor shall a taxicab vehicle permit be issued therefore whose color scheme, identifying design, monogram, or insignia to be used thereon shall, in the opinion of the city manager, conflict with, imitate, or be confused with any color scheme, identification, design, monogram or insignia on file by an association or firm already operating. (b) A name identifying the association or firm, taxicab number and telephone number shall be painted with permanent paint or appear on a permanent decal on both sides and rear of each cab, with letters and numbers four (4) inches high or greater. The taxi cab number must be displayed on all four sides of the vehicle. The cab number on the rear shall be at a location to be designated by the taxicab inspector. There shall be painted on each side of the taxicab in letters and numbers at least three (3) inches high the basic mileage rates. The color to be used for lettering and numbers shall be of sharp contrast to color or surface paint to which this is applied, so as to be easily visible at a reasonable distance, especially at nighttime with street lights. No lettering or numbers shall be acceptable which have been painted upon a sheet of metal or other material which, in turn, can be removed or detached to conceal the identification of the company or taxicab number. (Code 1961, § 20-19; Ord. No. 17-27, § 1, 3-21-17; Ord. No. 20-163, § 3, 12-15-20)

Greensboro Code of Ordinances § 28-97 Receiving and discharging passengers.

Sec. 28-97. - Receiving and discharging passengers. It shall be unlawful for any taxicab driver to receive or discharge passengers in the roadway, but shall pull up as near as practical to the right-hand curb or in the absence of a curb, to the extreme right-hand side of the roadway, or to the extreme right or left-hand side of the roadway on one-way streets, and there receive or discharge passengers; nor shall any driver permit any passenger to enter or leave any taxicab by way of the door or side thereof nearest to the traveled portion of the roadway for the purpose of taking on or discharging the passenger. (Code 1961, § 20-20)

Greensboro Code of Ordinances § 28-98 Two doors for passengers required.

Sec. 28-98. - Two doors for passengers required. (a) It shall be unlawful to operate any motor vehicle upon the streets of the city as a taxicab unless the motor vehicle is equipped with at least two (2) doors for passengers to enter and leave the car, exclusive of the door or doors serving the driver or front seat. (b) The provisions of subsection (a) shall not apply to a vehicle licensed as a taxicab when such vehicle is used exclusively in the conveyance of employees over fixed routes under contract with the employer and the employer pays all charges in connection with such conveyance, and the body type of the vehicle used as a taxicab meets the approval of the employer. (Code 1961, § 20-21)

Greensboro Code of Ordinances § 28-99 General prohibited practices.

Sec. 28-99. - General prohibited practices. (a) It shall be unlawful: (1) Refusal to transport passengers. For the driver to refuse to transport any orderly person applying to him/her/them for transportation within the limits of the city when the taxicab has not been previously engaged by another; provided that the provisions of section 28-93 are complied with. (2) Parking. For a driver to park a taxicab in any limited parking area of the city except as provided in chapter 16. (3) Unauthorized passengers. For a driver to transport in a taxicab any person, male or female, who is not a bona fide passenger. (4) Passenger seating. For a driver to transport in a taxicab more than two (2) passengers in the front seat or more than four (4) passengers in the rear seat at the same time. (5) Illegal use of a cab. For a driver, on or off-duty, to knowingly permit a taxicab to be used for any illegal act listed in North Carolina General Statutes articles 26 and 27 [G.S. §§ 14-177 et seq., 14-203 et seq.], or to transport any person in a taxicab to any place used for such purposes, or to acquire and transport in a taxicab any alcoholic beverage for another, or to transport any person to any place where alcoholic beverages are illegally dispensed or stored. (6) Lost property. For a driver to fail, refuse, or neglect to preserve any property left in a taxicab by any passenger, and to deliver it to the manager of the taxicab association, who shall report the same to the police department within twenty-four (24) hours thereafter. (7) Light and ventilation. For a driver to fail, refuse, or neglect to keep the taxicab he/she/they is operating or driving clean, sufficiently ventilated, and efficiently lighted at night, so as to provide ample light for passengers entering or leaving the taxicab. (8) Deviating from direct route. For a driver to fail, refuse, or neglect to proceed with all reasonable dispatch by the nearest practicable route to the destination of the first person applying to him/her/them for transportation unless the person has granted permission to take on or wait for additional passengers. (9) Solicitation. For any person to solicit passengers for a taxicab except the driver thereof when sitting upon the driver's seat of the vehicle. (10) Illegal rates. For a driver to charge or at tempt to charge a passenger a greater or lesser rate of fare than that which is posted in the vehicle as required by this article. (b) Upon a second conviction of the provisions of this section, the driver's permit of the violator shall be affected as provided in section 28-74. (Code 1961, § 20-22; Ord. No. 20-163, § 3, 12-15-20)

Greensboro Code of Ordinances § 28-100 Vehicle upholstery.

Sec. 28-100. - Vehicle upholstery. It shall be unlawful for the owner or operator of any motor vehicle operating as a taxicab to operate same upon the streets of the city unless the taxicab upholstery is in good repair. (Code 1961, § 20-8; Ord. No. 17-27, § 1, 3-21-17)

Greensboro Code of Ordinances § 28-101 Taximeter—Required; specifications; operation.

Sec. 28-101. - Taximeter—Required; specifications; operation. (a) No person may operate a taxicab upon a street in the city unless the taxi is equipped with a taximeter of a design approved by the chief of police. In order to be approved, a taximeter must show, in figures which are plainly visible to a passenger, the amount of the fare. Each taximeter shall be installed in a sealed, tamper-proof, flexible shaft and housing, and shall be equipped with a tamper-proof switch and electric system so designed that when the taximeter is in operation during a paid trip, the electric light indicator on the top of the taxicab will not be turned on, and when the taximeter is not in operation and the taxicab is for hire, the electric light indicator on the top of the taxicab shall be turned on. (b) No taxicab shall be operated while occupied by a person other than the driver with the signal affixed to such taximeter in such a position as to denote such vehicle is not employed or in such a position as to denote that it is employed at a rate of fare different from that which is required by this article. (Code 1961, § 20-10)

Greensboro Code of Ordinances § 28-102 Same—Repair and inspection.

Sec. 28-102. - Same—Repair and inspection. (a) No person may operate a taxicab upon a street in the city after the seal is broken on the taximeter, after the installation of a new or different taximeter, or after any repairs or alterations are made to the taximeter or to the taxicab, if the repairs or alterations to the taxicab will affect the operation of the taximeter in any manner, until the taximeter has been submitted to a taximeter repair mechanic designated by the chief of police for inspection and test for accuracy. The taximeter repair mechanic shall cause a seal to be affixed to all taximeters that pass inspections. (b) In addition, every taximeter used in the operation of taxicabs shall be subject to inspection at any time by the taxicab inspector. Upon the discovery of any inaccuracy in a taximeter, the operator thereof shall remove or cause to be removed from service the vehicle equipped with the taximeter until such taximeter shall have been repaired and accurately adjusted. (c) No person shall use or permit to be used upon any taxicab a taximeter which shall be in such condition as to be more than five (5) percent from absolute accuracy. (Code 1961, § 20-11)

Greensboro Code of Ordinances § 28-103 Rates and charges.

Sec. 28-103. - Rates and charges. (a) No person operating a taxicab upon a street in the city may charge for each trip in excess of three dollars and eighty cents ($3.80) for the first one-seventh mile or fraction thereof; forty cents ($0.40) for each additional one-seventh mile or fraction thereof; forty cents ($0.40) for each sixty-second period, or fraction thereof, of waiting time; ten cents ($0.10) for each piece of hand luggage in excess of three (3); one dollar ($1.00) for each trunk; and twenty cents ($0.20) for each bag or sack in excess of four (4). The term "bag or sack" shall mean a minimum size equivalent to a six-barrel sack having a dimension of seven (7) inches by twelve (12) inches wide and being seventeen (17) inches in height. The maximum rates shall not be affected by the number of passengers carried, but not more than six (6) passengers may be carried at one (1) time. A sign setting forth these maximum rates shall be posted inside taxicab at a conspicuous place where it will be visible to passengers. The operator of the taxicab shall not reset the taximeter until the fare is paid. (b) When requested by a passenger, every driver shall give a numbered receipt showing the owner's name, date, permit number, and the amount of fare charged. (Code 1961, § 20-12; Ord. No. 88-74, § 1, 6-2-88; Ord. No. 94-116, § 1, 11-7-94; Ord. No. 04-45, § 1, 4-6-04; Ord. No. 08-226, § 1, 8-4-08; Ord. No. 22-235, 11-1-22)

Source: City of Greensboro, North Carolina, Code of Ordinances and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/nc/greensboro/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COOR_CH28TABU_ARTIITA_DIV5OPRUREFetched: 11/1/2026