City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: MARCH 31, 2021
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: MARK B. JINKS, CITY MANAGER /s/
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Public Hearing, Second Reading, and Final Passage of an Ordinance to amend Title 9 Chapter 12: Taxicabs and Other Vehicles for Hire. [ROLL-CALLVOTE]
BODY
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ISSUE: Consideration of an ordinance to amend taxi regulatory requirements.
RECOMMENDATION: That the City Council approve the proposed taxi regulations modernizing ordinance (Attachment 2) on first reading and set it for second reading, public hearing and final passage on Saturday, April 17, 2021.
BACKGROUND: In 2019, the City's Office of Performance and Accountability (OPA) released the "Taxi Regulation Efficiency Analysis" report (Attachment 3). This report was provided to the City Council. The report was requested by the City Manager to review the City's regulatory role in the taxi industry, examine the regulatory differences between taxicabs and ride-hail operators (such as Uber and Lyft), and recommend modernizing changes to allow taxicabs to better compete against ride-hail operators. The report included recommendations for changes to the City's practices for regulating taxis, including several changes to the City Code. The primary purpose of the changes was to reduce the fees charged to taxis by reducing the scope of the City's regulation and by streamlining the administration of those regulations.
In early 2020, staff convened internal working groups to discuss implementation of the recommendations. Staff developed a set of proposed changes but delayed the implementation due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the corresponding disruption of the taxi industry. In June 2020, the City Manager approved emergency fee relief for taxi companies, waiving a portion of their renewal fees and delaying payment for ...
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