1. A person shall not engage in the taxicab business unless the person:

(a) Holds a certificate of public convenience and necessity from the Public Service Commission of Nevada issued before July 1, 1981, which has not been transferred, revoked or suspended by the Taxicab Authority; or

(b) Currently holds a certificate of public convenience and necessity from the Taxicab Authority as provided in this section.

2. Upon the filing of an application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity, the Taxicab Authority shall fix a time and place for a hearing thereon. The Taxicab Authority shall issue the certificate if it finds that:

(a) The applicant is fit, willing and able to perform the services of a taxicab motor carrier;

(b) The proposed operation will be consistent with the legislative policies set forth in NRS 706.151;

(c) The granting of the certificate will not unreasonably and adversely affect other carriers operating in the territory for which the certificate is sought;

(d) The holders of existing certificates will not meet the needs of the territory for which the certificate is sought if the certificate is not granted; and

(e) The proposed service will benefit the public and the taxicab business in the territory to be served.

3. The applicant for a certificate has the burden of proving to the Taxicab Authority that the proposed operation will meet the requirements of subsection 2. The Taxicab Authority shall not find that the potential creation of competition in a territory which may be caused by the granting of a certificate, by itself, will unreasonably and adversely affect other carriers operating in the territory for the purposes of paragraph (c) of subsection 2.

4. The applicant must submit an application fee of $200, which must not be refunded, with the application. The applicant must also pay those amounts which are billed to the applicant by the Authority for reasonable costs incurred by it in conducting an investigation or hearing regarding the applicant.

5. The Taxicab Authority may attach to the exercise of the rights granted by the certificate any terms and conditions which in its judgment the public interest may require.

6. The Taxicab Authority may dispense with the hearing on the application if, upon the expiration of the time fixed in the notice of the hearing, no protest against the granting of the certificate has been filed by or on behalf of any person.

7. Any person who has been denied a certificate of public convenience and necessity after a hearing may not file a similar application with the Taxicab Authority covering the same type of service and over the same route or routes or in the same territory for which the certificate of public convenience and necessity was denied except after the expiration of 180 days from the date the certificate was denied.

(Added to NRS by 1969, 1242; A 1971, 729; 1975, 1325; 1977, 748; 1979, 837; 1981, 2054; 1987, 2259; 1991, 1962)