Virginia Code 46.2-2062: Regulation of taxicab service by localities; rates and charges
A. The governing body of any county, city or town in the Commonwealth may by ordinance regulate the rates or charges of any motor vehicles used for the transportation of passengers for a consideration on any highway, street, road, lane or alley in such county, city or town, and may prescribe such reasonable regulations as to filing of schedules of rates, charges and the general operation of such vehicles; provided that, notwithstanding anything contained in this chapter to the contrary, such ordinances and regulations shall not prescribe the wages or compensation to be paid to any driver or lessor of any such motor vehicle by the owner or lessee thereof.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 46.2-2062
- Certificate: means a certificate of public convenience and necessity or a certificate of fitness. See Virginia Code 46.2-2000
- City: means an independent incorporated community which became a city as provided by law before noon on July 1, 1971, or which has within defined boundaries a population of 5,000 or more and which has become a city as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-208
- Financial responsibility: means the ability to respond in damages for liability thereafter incurred arising out of the ownership, maintenance, use, or operation of a motor vehicle, in the amounts provided for in this chapter. See Virginia Code 46.2-2000
- Highway: means every public highway or place of whatever nature open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel in the Commonwealth, including the streets and alleys in towns and cities. See Virginia Code 46.2-2000
- lane: means that portion of a roadway designed or designated to accommodate the forward movement of a single line of vehicles. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
- Operator: means the employer or person actually driving a motor vehicle or combination of vehicles. See Virginia Code 46.2-2000
- State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
- Town: means any existing town or an incorporated community within one or more counties which became a town before noon, July 1, 1971, as provided by law or which has within defined boundaries a population of 1,000 or more and which has become a town as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-254
- transportation: include the service of, and all transportation by, all vehicles operated by, for, or in the interest of any motor carrier irrespective of ownership or contract, expressed or implied, together with all facilities and property operated or controlled by any such carrier or carriers and used in the transportation of passengers or the performance of any service in connection therewith. See Virginia Code 46.2-2000
- Vehicle: means every device in, on or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn on a highway, except personal delivery devices and devices moved by human power or used exclusively on stationary rails or tracks. See Virginia Code 46.2-100
B. In considering rates or charges pursuant to this section, or financial responsibility as provided by this chapter, the governing body may require the owner or operator to submit such supporting financial data as may be necessary, including federal or state income tax returns for the two years preceding, provided that the governing body shall not require any owner or operator to submit any audit more extensive than that conducted by such owner or operator in the normal course of business. Such financial data shall be used only for consideration of rates or charges, or to determine financial responsibility, and shall be kept confidential by the governing body to which it has been submitted. Nothing in this subsection shall make confidential any certificate of insurance, bond, letter of credit, or other certification that the owner or operator has met the requirements of this chapter or of any local ordinance with regard to financial responsibility.
C. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 3.2-5620, in the absence of any specifications, tolerances, and regulations for software-based taximeter technology published in the National Institute of Standards and Technology Handbook 44, any county, city, or town that has adopted an ordinance regulating taxicabs as provided in subsection A may authorize the use of software-based devices that utilize GPS or other measurement data in the calculation of time-and-distance fares for taxicab service.