Schulman questions DCWP on owner license values and transferability
Schulman questions Ortiz on carriage owner licenses: 68 active, transferable, averaging $70,000 in value, with a 59-day grace period for renewal after expiration.
Okay, I'm going to ask some questions for you, Carlos.
How many active carriage owner licenses exist currently?
Our research shows the number at 52.
There are 68 carriage licenses currently.
Okay, Chair.
How many carriages are currently in operation?
I'm not sure how much are operating throughout the day, but there's 68 that are authorized to work.
Is that number different than the number of owner licenses?
68 corresponds to the owner.
It is the owner license.
Okay.
But is that different from what's in operation?
That's what I'm asking.
So there are 68 licenses that relate to the carriage.
Those are the owner licenses.
There are 208 licenses for drivers.
I wouldn't say every driver is operating every day.
The carriages, I think it fluctuates based on what the owner wants to put out that day.
What is the average value of a carriage owner license?
We looked over the bills of sales.
I think on average, over the many years, there's maybe $70,000 approximately.
I think that that could fluctuate.
It could be different negotiating terms in each contract.
So it's something we can continue to evaluate with the council.
Okay.
Are owner licenses transferable?
If so, how?
They are transferable.
Right now there's a cap on the category that I think was instituted 10 or so years ago.
It requires an agreement between the previous owner and the new one and the notification to the agency as well.
What happens to an owner license if it expires?
Can it be renewed?
Yes, I believe we're able to issue up to the cap, which is 68.
So if there's an expiration, we'll be able to issue a license.
Can expired licenses be recovered in any way?
There's typically a grace period we provide after an expiration to allow a business to come back in and renew.
This is applicable to all of our categories.
The grace period is 59 days.
If you're coming back for a license after the 59-day period, generally you're going to have to get a new license.
Thank you.
Councilman Amate?