Pennsylvania Code › Title 52 - PUBLIC UTILITIES › Part I - Public Utility Commission › Subpart B - Carriers of Passengers or Property › Chapter 41 - GENERAL ORDERS, POLICY STATEMENT AND GUIDELINES ON TRANSPORTATION UTILITIES › TRANSPORTATION › Section 41.12 - Issuance of certificates of public convenience for taxicab service in Philadelphia-statement of policy

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(a) The act authorizes the Commission to
					 regulate call or demand common carrier service in this Commonwealth. This
					 authority was recently supplemented by the section 1 of the act of June 19,
					 1980 (P. L. 244, No. 69) which amended
					 66 Pa.C.S. §
												1103
					 (relating to procedure to obtain certificates of public convenience). Act
					 1980-69 authorized the Commission to immediately issue a maximum of 1400
					 certificates of public convenience for taxicab service in the City of
					 Philadelphia. The act further authorized the Commission, as of December 19,
					 1981, to issue in its discretion a maximum of 1700 certificates for taxicab
					 service in Philadelphia.
(b) As a
					 result of the Commission's prior finding of necessity for additional taxicab
					 service in Philadelphia in the proceeding at I. D. 171 and the initial
					 authorization of Act 1980-69, 1400 certificates of public convenience for
					 taxicab service in Philadelphia have been issued. Anticipating Act 1980-69's
					 additional authorization to issue up to 1700 certificates, final orders have
					 been entered issuing a number of these certificates. Moreover, hearings have
					 been scheduled or held on a number of applications requesting taxicab authority
					 in Philadelphia. Consistent with the Commission's practice with applications
					 for taxicab authority in Philadelphia, these applications have been considered
					 in chronological order on the basis of filing date. As of February 6, 1982, the
					 Commission will suspend the scheduling of hearings on applications for taxicab
					 authority in Philadelphia. Applications in which hearings have been scheduled
					 or in which hearings have already been held will proceed to a final
					 disposition. The Commission believes that a suspension is appropriate in view
					 of the number of certificates of public convenience for taxicab service in
					 Philadelphia which the Commission has issued in the recent past.
(c) The act provides the Commission with the
					 discretion to determine the amount of competition which best serves the public
					 interest. Besides issuing a significant number of new certificates in the last
					 year, the Commission has also approved the transfer of several hundred
					 previously unused certificates held by the Yellow Cab Company to new owners who
					 are bound to operate them in compliance with the act and this title. The result
					 of these activities has been a virtual doubling of the number of issued
					 certificates for taxicab service in Philadelphia in the past 18 months. At this
					 point, the Commission deems it appropriate, as detailed in subsection (b) to
					 suspend the issuance of additional certificates and to investigate anew the
					 adequacy of taxicab service in the city of Philadelphia.
(d) Act 1980-69 requires the Commission to
					 institute a formal investigation on the future need for taxi service in
					 Philadelphia in June of 1982 and to report the findings and conclusions of such
					 investigation to the General Assembly. In view of the rapidly increasing number
					 of vehicles in taxicab service in Philadelphia, the Commission deems it
					 appropriate to begin this investigation earlier and to use the results to guide
					 its discretion in increasing the number of certificates for taxi service in the
					 City. The Commission anticipates beginning this investigation in April of 1982.
					 The investigation will be formally announced in the
Pennsylvania
					 Bulletin
.
(e) Act 1980-69
					 ultimately vests the Commission with the discretion to issue a maximum of 2,000
					 certificates for taxi service in Philadelphia on December 19, 1982. Our
					 discretion to reach this maximum will be guided by the results of the
					 investigation into the adequacy of taxi service in Philadelphia. At the present
					 time, the Commission has received approximately 520 applications for
					 certificates of public convenience to provide taxicab service in the city of
					 Philadelphia. These applications will be considered in chronological order on
					 the basis of filing date. Any additional applications for this authority
					 subsequently filed will be considered in a similar fashion. Should the
					 Commission revoke any certificates for taxicab service in Philadelphia as a
					 result of the holder's failure to comply with the act and this title, those
					 certificates will be reissued so as to maintain the number of certificates at
					 the level chosen by the Commission.
The provisions of this §
													41.12 issued under the Public
						  Utility Code,
						  66 Pa.C.S. §
														1103.