Close to 2,200 taxi, shuttle and limousine drivers will likely face fewer regulations in the New Year, when the City and County of Denver is expected to stop requiring them to qualify for and get “Herdic” licenses.

Such licenses were named for the Herdic cab, a horse-drawn carriage invented by Peter Herdicin in 1881. Herdic cabs were designed as passenger vehicles for public transportation, often painted bright yellow, and were predecessors to the modern taxi cab.

The Denver City Council’s Business, Arts, Workforce and Aeronautical Services Committee, at its Wednesday, Nov. 30, meeting, sent an ordinance repealing the Herdic license part of the municipal code to the full Council for consideration. Once approved, the city attorney’s office will drop an appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court of a state preemption ruling against the city regarding the rules and regulations.

The city has 1,457 active taxi licenses, 617 active limo licenses and 115 active shuttle licenses, and while the city excise and license division has issued Herdic licenses since 1950, it has regulated drivers for much longer, and the current ordinance language hasn’t had significant update since then, said Nathan Batchelder, a legislative analyst in the division. He noted Denver and Colorado Springs are the only municipalities in the state that require Herdic licenses.

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission officially began regulating these types of licenses around 1954, he told the committee, and the antiquated license language has made local enforcement and administration challenging.

“We took a deep dive into the regulatory structure of the division and the PUC and found many similarities like driver background checks,” and others, Batchelder said, along with a few differences.

For instance, the PUC regulates companies and drivers, while Denver only licenses each driver.

The PUC regulates transportation network companies, such as Uber and Lyft, while Denver International Airport has its own rules and regulations for commercial operators like taxis and shuttles at the airport, Batchelder noted.

In an effort to gain a better understanding of the local industry earlier this year, Batchelder said the division held several focus groups, all led by an independent facilitator, that included taxi, limo, shuttle company, Uber and Lyft representatives and drivers, along with hospitality and tourism industry representatives.

Batchelder said some general themes included that there are several layers of regulation and redundancy between local and  state requirements, the division’s antiquated licensing framework doesn’t adapt to changing technology trends, requirements don’t reflect current industry changes and dynamics and they are cumbersome for drivers.

Lack of licenses leads to legal rulings

Assistant City Attorney Marley Bordovsky explained the state of Colorado preemption issues grew out of a 2014 case where two limo drivers were cited for not having Herdic licenses at DIA. The drivers decided to challenge the Herdic ordinance, were convicted in municipal court but appealed to Denver District Court, again challenging the Herdic ordinance.

This year, a Denver District Court judge ruled that Denver’s Herdic licensing ordinance was preempted by state law governing such carriers through the PUC, Bordovsky continued. The city appealed the district court’s ruling, and it is currently pending before the Colorado Supreme Court. Recently, the local limo association filed an amicus brief in support of the district court’s ruling that Denver’s ordinance is preempted.

Assistant City Attorney David Broadwell told the committee that “we think the best thing to do is to repeal this ordinance and we will drop the appeal of the lawsuit.”

Ready to unregulate

City Council is scheduled to consider the repeal ordinance regarding Herdic licenses on Dec. 12, with final consideration a week later on Dec. 19. If approved, the repeal will take effect on Jan. 1, 2017, and Batchelder said any pending application fees of $25 will then be refunded.

“I think, clearly, the PUC is asking for what we were expecting in these cases, so there is a lot of duplicated effort by the driver,” Councilwoman Debbie Ortega said. “I see enough safeguards and justifications in place and withdrawing our Herdic license requirement makes sense.”

The division will also talk to the PUC about a possible agreement for enforcement help, Batchelder said, and noted the state regulatory agency has only six inspectors for this industry statewide.