APPENDIX A
CITY OF NEW YORK POLICE DEPARTMENT
NEW YORK CITY POLICE REGULATIONS
GOVERNING BICYCLES USED FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES
Preamble
Bicycles used for commercial purposes are regulated pursuant to Section 436-15.0 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York. This section requires that each person, firm, partnership, joint venture, association or corporation which, in the course of its business, either on behalf of itself or others, delivers packages, parcels, papers or articles of any type by bicycle, shall provide identification of the business by requiring every bicycle and bicycle operator to be identified. Every bicycle operator shall be issued a numbered photo identification card containing a photograph of the bicycle operator, and the name and address of both the bicycle operator and the company. These photo identification cards must be carried while riding a bicycle for the purpose of making deliveries and must be produced upon the demand of a police officer or other law enforcement officer. A sign shall be affixed to the rear of each bicycle, bicycle seat, or both sides of a delivery basket if on the rear, which shall include the bicycle operator's identification number and company name. The identification number and the company name must be visible from the rear in the course of making deliveries. The owner of such business or any independent prime contractor is responsible for maintaining a log book or computer print-out which contains identifying data for every bicycle operator and a daily trip record, and must file an annual report with the Police Commissioner. Persons under the age of sixteen years who use a bicycle to deliver newspapers or circulars are exempt under the law.
In order to regulate and standardize the procedures for the identification card, the sign and lettering required, the log book or computer print-out which the person, firm partnership, joint venture, association or corporation must file with the Police Commissioner, the Police Commissioner hereby adopts the following statement of standards:
I. Definition
1. "Bicycle" shall be defined as every two or three wheel device upon which a person or persons may ride, propelled by human power through a belt, chain or gears, with such wheels in a tandem or tricycle, except that it shall not include such a device having solid tires and intended for use only on a sidewalk by pre-teenage children.
2. "Person or firm" as used in these regulations shall mean any person, firm, partnership, joint venture, association, corporation or independent contractor when working as a prime contractor.
3 "Making deliveries" as used in these regulations shall apply to that period of time while a bicycle is being used as transportation enroute to and/or from a particular destination for the purpose of transporting packages, parcels, papers or articles or any type.
4 "Log Book" as used in these regulations shall be defined as a set of records which may be combined with a daily trip record or other consecutively numbered compilation of delivery documentation providing the information as required in Section IV below.
II Identification
(a) Every person or firm or bicycle operator engaging in the course of its business, either on behalf of itself or others, in delivering packages, parcels, papers or articles of any type, by bicycle shall issue to every bicycle operator whether an employee or an independent sub-contractor, a weatherproofed, numbered photo identification card which must be carried while making deliveries. The card shall contain a photograph of the bicycle operator along with the name and residence address of the bicycle operator and the name, address and telephone number of the company which employs or for which the bicycle operator is delivering. Such information may be provided on both sides of the identification card. New employees or bicycle sub-contractors may be issued temporary identification cards which shall be valid for a period not to exceed three business days. Such identification cards shall contain all the required information as described above, except that it need not contain a photograph of the individual employee or bicycle sub- contractor.
Lost or stolen identification cards must be reported within 24 hours to the local police precinct wherein the loss occurred. In the case of such lost or stolen identification cards, temporary replacement cards may be issued to the bicycle operator which shall be valid for a period not to exceed three business days. Such temporary identifications cards shall contain all the information as required in the permanent identification cards, except that it need not contain a photograph of the individual employee or bicycle sub contractor.
(b) Such identification card must be carried by the bicycle operator while in the course of making deliveries or otherwise riding a bicycle on behalf of the business, and must be produced upon demand of a police officer or any other law enforcement officer.
III Sign and Lettering
A sign shall be affixed to the rear of each bicycle, bicycle seat or both sides of the delivery basket if in the rear, while making deliveries, which shall be a metal, plastic or other weather-resistant durable sign using contrasting colours for text and background. The sign shall contain in plain block lettering the business name of the company and the bicycle operator's individual three digit identification number in lettering and numbers at least one inch high. A weather-resistant durable sign containing identical information as that affixed to the bicycle, bicycle seat or delivery basket shall also be visible on the bicycle operator from the rear when the operator is making deliveries. The signs shall be readable at a distance of up to ten feet. The business name of the Company may be abbreviated in any form, providing that such abbreviation has been registered and approved by the Police Department at least seven days prior to the start of such usage. Such approval by the Police Department may only be withheld if such abbreviation has previously been registered with the Department.
Lost or stolen signs must be reported within 24 hours to the local police precinct wherein the loss occurred In the case of such lost or stolen signs, temporary replacement signs may be issued to the bicycle operator which shall be valid for a period not to exceed three business days.
IV Log Book
Every person or firm subject to the provisions of this section shall maintain a log book or computerized print-out which shall contain the name and residence address and identification number of every bicycle operator and the date of employment and date of discharge of each bicycle operator; and shall be responsible for maintaining in the log book or computerized print-out sheet a daily trip record in which all entries shall be made legibly in ink and each entry shall be dated and include: the three-digit bicycle operator's identification number, the bicycle operator's name and the name and place of origin and destination for each trip. No entry of the information as required by these regulations shall be rewritten or changed either in whole or in part except that errors may be corrected by an authorized individual. The log book or computer print-out shall contain no erasures, no removal of pages, and no skipped lines or pages; the pages shall be numbered consecutively. Any unauthorized rewriting or reprinting shall give rise to a rebuttable presumption of an act of fraud, deceit or misrepresentation. These records must be maintained for three years from date of filing of annual reports with Police Department covering the applicable period. Each log book or computerized print-out sheet shall be made immediately available for inspection upon request during regular and usual business hours to any agent of the Police Commissioner or any police officer or other person authorized by law.
V. Annual Report
The annual report shall be typewritten, on 8-l/2 by 11 inch stationery or comparable sized computer print-out and shall identify the company by name, address and telephone number, and shall contain the number of bicycles it owns, the number and identity of all bicycle operating employees, and bicycle operating sub-contractors who were retained during the period covered by such annual report, and the identification number assigned to each person pursuant to these regulations. Such annual report shall be submitted to the Police Commissioner on January 1st of each year for the preceding calendar year. The first such annual report shall be submitted for the period commencing on the effective date of these regulations and shall be submitted no later than January 1, 1986.
For an interim period of 30 days after these regulations go into effect, temporary identification cards and bicycle signs may be issued and will be considered valid for that period. On the 31st day, permanent identification cards and bicycle signs as described in this section must be issued.
VI Filing
All filing and/or registration with the Police Commissioner or the Police Department as described in these regulations shall be sent to: Commanding Officer, Traffic Division, 1 Police Plaza, New York, New York 10038.
Benjamin Ward
Police Commissioner
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