Accessible taxicabs.

Taxicab service in the District shall be accessible to the disabled and in compliance with the ADA and Unit A of Chapter 14 of Title 2 [§ 2-1401.01 et seq.]. Within 90 days of October 22, 2012, the Commission shall establish a Disability Taxicab Advisory Committee to advise the Commission on how to make taxicab service in the District more accessible to the disabled. The Committee shall include representatives from the following: The Office of Disability Rights; The Office of Human Rights; The Commission on Persons with Disabilities; The disability advocacy community; Taxicab companies, associations, or operators; The Office of the Chief Financial Officer, when appropriate; and The Commission. At least half of the Committee shall be comprised of members or representatives of the disability advocacy community. On or before March 30, 2013, the Committee shall transmit to the Mayor and to the Council a comprehensive report and recommendations on the following: The legal requirements for providing accessible taxicab service; The need for accessible taxicab service in the District; How other jurisdictions are providing accessible taxicab service; A timetable and plan to rapidly increase the number of accessible taxicabs to meet the need of accessible taxicabs in the District; A description of the types of grants, loans, tax credits, and other financial assistance and incentives that could be provided to taxicab companies, associations, and operators to offset the cost of purchasing, retrofitting, maintaining, and operating accessible taxicabs; A recommended package of grants, loans, tax credits, or other types of financial assistance and incentives that could be provided to taxicab companies, associations, and operators to offset the cost of purchasing, retrofitting, maintaining, and operating accessible taxicabs; The means by which the District can achieve a fleet of 100% wheelchair-accessible taxicabs; and A proposed timeline and plan, including an analysis of the feasibility, costs, and benefits, for requiring all new taxicabs to be wheelchair-accessible when replacing old taxicabs that are removed from service. On or before September 30, 2013, and each year thereafter, the Committee shall transmit to the Mayor and to the Council a report on the accessibility of taxicab service in the District and how it can be further improved. Each taxicab company with 20 or more taxicabs in its fleet as of July 1, 2012, or anytime thereafter, shall dedicate a portion of its taxi fleet as follows: At least 6% of each taxicab fleet shall be wheelchair-accessible by December 31, 2014. At least 12% of each taxicab fleet shall be wheelchair-accessible by December 31, 2016. At least 20% of each taxicab fleet shall be wheelchair-accessible by December 31, 2018. Based on the recommendations of the Committee, which shall be given great weight, the Commission shall increase the requirements in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of this paragraph to ensure that the District’s taxicab system meets the legal requirements and need for accessible taxicab service. The Commission may withhold the renewal of licenses of taxicab companies or associations that do not meet the requirements of this subsection. With the Committee and the Chief Financial Officer, the Commission shall develop a program to provide grants, loans, and other types of financial assistance and incentives to applicants and owners of licensed taxicabs to offset the cost of buying, retrofitting, maintaining, and operating a vehicle for use as a wheelchair-accessible taxicab. The Commission shall seek to partner with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, and any other governmental entity to provide accessible transportation services using taxicabs, and shall report to the Council within 18 months of October 22, 2012, on the status of such agreements and the estimated cost savings from such agreements. All drivers who operate wheelchair-accessible public vehicles-for-hire shall receive training in how to properly use the equipment and work with disabled passengers. The training shall be coordinated through the Commission or taxicab companies. Wheelchair-accessible public vehicles-for-hire shall: Accommodate wheelchair and personal mobility devices up to 30 inches in width; Have rear-entry or side-entry ramps or lifts that enable a passenger and driver to easily and comfortably gain access to the interior of the vehicle upon entry and exterior upon drop off; Have safety devices to secure the wheelchair or personal mobility device to the vehicle and protect the passenger; and Display the international wheelchair insignia or other insignia approved by the Commission that identifies the vehicle as a wheelchair-accessible vehicle in a minimum of 2 prominent locations on the exterior of the vehicle. Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, every licensed taxicab operator accepting fares shall: Stop and inquire of a prospective passenger in a wheelchair or personal mobility device attempting to street-hail a taxicab whether the passenger wishes to ride in that taxicab or, if the taxicab operator is not driving a wheelchair-accessible taxicab and is affiliated with a taxicab company or association that offers such services, wishes to have the taxicab operator contact a dispatch service to send a wheelchair-accessible taxicab; and Grant priority to requests for service from passengers who use wheelchairs, and once dispatched to a call from a passenger using a wheelchair shall not accept any other fare while traveling to the fare; provided, that in the absence of a request for service to a passenger who uses a wheelchair, a wheelchair-accessible taxicab operator may transport any person. A taxicab operator shall not be subject to the requirements of this subsection while transporting a fare or responding to a dispatched call for service. Any individual, company, or affiliation that owns, leases, rents, or operates wheelchair-accessible taxicabs subsidized by the District shall: Operate wheelchair-accessible taxicabs equipped with dispatch technology and maintain the capacity to communicate with every wheelchair-accessible taxicab operating under its service; Grant priority to requests for service from passengers who use wheelchairs, and once dispatched to a call from a passenger using a wheelchair, shall not accept any other fare while traveling to the fare; provided, that in the absence of a request for service to a passenger who uses a wheelchair, a wheelchair-accessible taxicab operator may transport any person; Promptly dispatch a wheelchair-accessible taxicab in response to a wheelchair-accessible taxicab service request. If a wheelchair-accessible vehicle cannot be dispatched within 20 minutes, dispatch shall call another company with wheelchair-accessible vehicles to handle the request, and contact the customer with the name and telephone number of the dispatch service for the available wheelchair-accessible taxicab. If no wheelchair-accessible taxicabs are currently available to respond to a customer’s request, dispatch shall notify the customer and record the customer’s name and phone number and the names of the other dispatch services contacted; and Record all requests for wheelchair-accessible taxicab service, noting the date and time of the request for service, the service address, the vehicle number dispatched, and the time that the wheelchair-accessible taxicab was dispatched to respond to the call. A taxicab operator of a wheelchair-accessible taxicab shall not deny a dispatch request for wheelchair accessible service unless the taxicab is unavailable to provide service due to already being engaged. The Commission shall enforce this provision through rulemaking. Section 7017 of D.C. Law 20-61 repealed D.C. Law 19-270, § 5. Section 7007 of D.C. Law 20-61 repealed D.C. Law 19-184, § 7. Section 5 of D.C. Law 19-270 provided that the act shall apply upon the inclusion of its fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan, as certified by the Chief Financial Officer to the Budget Director of the Council in a certification published by the Council in the District of Columbia Register. Section 7 of D.C. Law 19-184 provided that the act shall apply upon the inclusion of its fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan, as certified by the Chief Financial Officer to the Budget Director of the Council in a certification published by the Council in the District of Columbia Register.