Sitka Assembly to consider replacing 1990s taxicab code with three-tier vehicle framework

The City and Borough of Sitka Assembly will hold a first reading of a proposed ordinance on August 11 that would replace the city's late-1990s taxicab code with a unified framework covering every form of commercial passenger transport, from taxis to pedicabs.

The proposal, Ordinance No. 2026-20, creates three service classes: Class A for taxis, Class B for tours, shuttles, and limousines, and Class C for human-powered vehicles such as pedicabs and bicycle taxis. The ordinance would place all commercial passenger transport in Sitka under one chapter of the municipal code.

The ordinance would replace the current variable-fare structure with a zone-based flat-fare schedule, posted inside each vehicle. Wheelchair-accessible vehicles would receive a fee reduction and a registration-fee waiver. Most violations would shift from misdemeanors to civil infractions, though insurance violations would keep misdemeanor status. The proposal would also remove certain duplicative local permitting and inspection requirements where the state already licenses or inspects.

What Prompted the Change

The proposal traces to community concerns raised at Police and Fire Commission meetings and at a July 2023 town hall on commercial transportation. Participants at those sessions identified a shortage of drivers, particularly during evening and nighttime hours; gaps in service to and from the airport; a permitting process that discouraged new entrants; and no regulatory home for tours, shuttles, or human-powered vehicles. Sitka has limited taxi services and no rideshare operations such as Uber or Lyft, according to Visit Sitka, which notes that taxis can be hard to reach on high-volume visitor days.

The ordinance's stated purpose, drawn from the draft code, is "to promote safe and convenient commercial passenger vehicle services, and to establish and enforce reasonable, clear, and consistent standards and procedures for regulating those services."

How to Weigh In

The draft ordinance, the zone-based fare schedule, and the fine schedule are available for public review at cityofsitka.com/CPVOrdinance or in person at Sitka City Hall, 100 Lincoln Street. The public is invited to attend the August 11 Assembly meeting and submit written comments to the Assembly at [email protected]. Additional public testimony opportunities will follow as the ordinance moves toward a public hearing.