609.1 No vehicle shall be operated as a taxicab in the District unless it is in compliance with the provisions of this section at the time of its required DMV inspection or when an application is filed for its DCTC vehicle license under § 1010, whichever is earlier.

609.2 Notwithstanding the provisions of § 609.1, each standard gasoline-powered vehicle which is licensed and in service on the effective date of this section shall be retired as provided in the “Age of Taxicabs” rule in § 609, published in the D.C. Register on November 28, 2014 at 61 DCR 12279, for which vehicle mileage is not a factor except as provided in part (d), and which provides as follows:

1. (a) Not later than January 1, 2014, or the next regularly scheduled DMV vehicle inspection required by D.C. Official Code § 50-1101(a), whichever is later, all vehicles manufactured in model years 1997 and earlier must be removed from service.
2. (b) Not later than January 1, 2015, or the next regularly scheduled DMV vehicle inspection required by D.C. Official Code § 50-1101(a), whichever is later, all vehicles manufactured in model years 2004 and earlier must be removed from service.
3. (c) Not later than January 1, 2016, or the next regularly scheduled DMV vehicle inspection required by D.C. Official Code § 50-1101(a), whichever is later, all vehicles manufactured in model years 2007 and earlier must be removed from service.
4. (d) Not later than January 1, 2017, or the next regularly scheduled DMV vehicle inspection required by D.C. Official Code § 50-1101(a), whichever is later, all vehicles manufactured in model years 2010 and earlier, or which have accumulated mileage in excess of four hundred thousand miles (400,000), shall be removed from service.

609.3 Each vehicle shall be retired by the end of the calendar year in which the vehicle reaches its maximum service life, as stated in § 609.4, or in which it reaches its maximum vehicle mileage, as stated in § 609.5, whichever is earlier. Service life shall be added to the age of the vehicle based on its model year, which shall be deemed to begin on September 1st, regardless of the vehicle manufacturer’s actual model year.

609.4 Maximum vehicle age:

VEHICLE	WHEELCHAI	SERVICE

PROPULSION	R ACCESSIBLE	LIFE (YEARS)
CNG or Fuel Cell	Yes	12
CNG or Fuel Cell	No	8
Diesel, E85, or LP	Yes	11
Diesel, E85, or LP	No	7
Hybrid Gasoline	Yes	10
Hybrid Gasoline	No	6
Standard Gasoline	Yes	8
Standard Gasoline	No	4
Key: CNG = Compressed Natural Gas Fuel Cell = Hydrogen Fuel Cell Diesel = Diesel or Bio-Diesel E85 = 85% Ethanol LP = Liquid Propane Hybrid Gasoline = Gasoline-Electric Hybrid

609.5 Maximum vehicle mileage: forty five thousand (45,000) miles for each year which the vehicle is allowed to be in service under § 609.4.

609.6 No vehicle shall be placed into service if:

1. (a) It would have one (1) year or less prior to retirement under § 609.4;
2. (b) It has been driven more than one hundred thousand (100,000) miles, regardless of whether it has previously been used as a public vehicle-for-hire; or
3. (c) It has been salvaged or rebuilt.

609.7 The owner of a vehicle already in service may file a single application with the Office requesting a one (1) to three (3) year extension of the deadline by which a vehicle is required to be removed from service pursuant to §§ 609.2-609.5, subject to the following requirements:

1. (a) Only one (1) application may be filed concerning a specific vehicle, regardless of whether the application is granted or denied.
2. (b) The vehicle shall:
3. (1) Have passed its two (2) most recent required DMV inspections;
4. (2) Be in excellent mechanical condition, as determined by the Office, Taxicabs and Public Vehicles for Hire

or by an independent third party inspection service approved by the Office;

(3) Be in excellent condition in appearance, including having no body damage on its exterior;

(4) Not be a salvaged vehicle; and

(5) Not have been driven more than three hundred thousand (300,000) miles at the time the application is filed.

(c) The vehicle and its owner shall be in compliance with all applicable provisions of this title, including without limitation the insurance requirements of Chapter 9 and the equipment requirements of Chapter 8; and

(d) The application shall be filed not later than sixty (60) days prior to the date by which the vehicle must be retired pursuant to §§ 609.2 - 609.5.

(e) The application for extension shall be filed by the owner on a form established by the Office, executed under oath, together with a filing fee of fifty dollars ($50) and accompanied by information and documentation.

(f) If the application is granted, the extension shall not extend the applicable service life based on age by more than three (3) years or based on mileage by more than one hundred thousand (100,000) miles.

609.8 Notwithstanding the provisions of §§ 609.3-609.5, the owner of a vehicle may file an application with the Office for approval of a proposed conversion of the vehicle's propulsion and/or wheelchair accessibility, to be professionally and timely completed by an established business recognized in the public vehicle-for-hire industry as performing such conversions to all applicable industry standards and provisions of this title and other applicable laws, including all ADA standards. If the conversion is approved, it shall be timely performed, and following inspection of the vehicle by the Office, the vehicle's remaining service life pursuant to §§ 609.4 shall be based on the conversion. Written evidence of the approval shall thereafter be carried in the vehicle at all times and presented upon demand by a District enforcement official.

609.9 The Office may issue an instruction, issuance, or guidance pursuant to Chapter 7 concerning this section.

SOURCE: Final Rulemaking published at 45 DCR 2556 (April 24, 1998); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 52 DCR 11289 (December 30, 2005); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 59 DCR 6317 (June 1, 2012); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 60 DCR 1178 (February 1, 2013); as amended by

Final Rulemaking published at 60 DCR 12387 (August 30, 2013); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 61 DCR 12279 (November 28, 2014); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 62 DCR 119 (January 2, 2015).