Iowa City may ban electronic ads on taxis

IOWA CITY - It may seem like advertisements are everywhere you look, but they would not be allowed on Iowa City taxicabs - at least in electronic form - under a proposal before the City Council.  

Five Stars Taxi has inquired with the city if it could put electronic signs on its vehicles' roofs to sell advertising. The company has 12 taxicabs licensed in Iowa City.City staff, however, are concerned that the ads could be distracting or, from a distance, confused with emergency vehicles, and are recommending the City Council prohibit electronic and animated signs on taxis.

The council on Tuesday is to hold the first of three votes necessary to make the change. Iowa City has 109 licensed taxicabs, according to the City Clerk's Office.

Staff thought flashing lights should be reserved for public safety vehicles, or for safety-oriented work like that done by utility companies or tow trucks, said Sue Dulek, assistant city attorney.

“That's the idea of flashing lights, to alert you to that sort of thing, not to grab your attention to sell a burger, or whatever it is,” she said.

The City Code, however, currently does not prohibit electronic signs on vehicles. The state outlaws “flashing lights” on vehicles like taxis, but it does not define that term.

The city consulted with the Johnson County Attorney's Office, which concluded electronic signs are flashing lights but cautioned a judge may not agree.

Iowa Department of Transportation Spokeswoman Dena Gray-Fisher said if a message on a taxi is flashing, it likely would be illegal under state law. But there's nothing that prohibits scrolling messages.

She wasn't aware of taxis doing this but said there are a couple of vehicles that drive around the Des Moines area whose only purpose is to display ads, including ones that scroll on top.

Five Stars Taxi's owners did not return phone and e-mail messages Thursday. One of the partners, Hatem Moustafa, answered his phone but said he was busy and asked a reporter to call back. He did not answer repeated phone calls later in the day.

They gave Dulek a copy of a flier that advertises for different sizes of signs that have digital scrolling messages.

Cities have the power to license cabs, so staff are also recommending that the council make it so a taxi would not pass inspection unless it complies with City Code, which means it wouldn't be allowed to operate if it has an electronic sign. 

Dulek said she called around to some of Iowa's larger cities and no one had dealt with this with taxis. But other officials agreed they thought it would fall under the state's “flashing lights” law, she said.

Cedar Rapids allows three-sided ads fixed to a taxi's roof, but its Code does not address electronic signs and no one has ever asked that they be allowed, said Diane Weimer, who handle's licenses for the clerk's office. The city is in the process of redoing its taxi ordinance, and electronic signs are not a part of it, she said.