(a) A person must not operate an accessible taxicab until the Department approves the special equipment required by applicable regulations. (b) Each accessible taxicab must conform to the Americans with Disabilities Act standards and all other applicable federal, state, and County standards.

The licensee must post any interior taxicab vehicle identification required under this Chapter in Braille.

Any licensee who transports passengers who use wheelchairs or scooters must train each driver on the special needs of persons with disabilities. The training program must be approved by the Department after consulting the Commission on People with Disabilities, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Taxicab Services Commission. This training should be made available to any driver who is issued an identification card under this Chapter.

Without limiting the general duty to accept and convey passengers, the driver of an accessible taxicab must respond to a call for service from a person with a disability who uses a wheelchair or scooter and who is located in the same geographic zone before accepting any other call. Each licensee must dispatch an accessible taxicab to a person with a disability who uses a wheelchair or scooter before assigning the accessible taxicab to any other passenger.

Each driver must keep a current record of all accessible taxicab trips on a form approved by the Department. The driver must submit these trip records to the licensee. The licensee must submit quarterly trip records to Department listing the number of wheelchair and scooter users transported in each vehicle.

(a) The overall number of accessible taxicab licenses must not be less than 5% of the total of available County taxicab licenses. (b) The Department must set the number of new accessible taxicab licenses by regulation, based on past and current demand and after consulting the Taxicab Services Commission, the Commission on People with Disabilities, and the Department of Health and Human Services. (c) After considering the recommendations of the Taxicab Services Commission, the Department may establish, by regulation, a method to allow temporary replacement of accessible vehicles with sedans. (d) Each fleet and association must provide an adequate number of accessible taxicabs to meet service demand 24 hours per day, 7 days a week, as required by applicable regulation. (e) The Department must develop a plan for increasing the number of accessible taxicabs, with a goal of having 100% accessible taxicabs in the County by 2025 unless the Director determines that goal to be impracticable.