Regional Dispatch Agencies

License application and requirements

A TRDA or RDA requires an annual license, which is a regional license jointly issued by the City and King County. The license year runs from April 1 to March 30, but a new dispatch agency not previously licensed may apply for a license at any time. Fees for the annual license are charged by both the City and King County. The City also requires a TRDA or RDA to maintain an annual business license tax certificate.

Please see SMC 6.311.340 for more information on license application requirements.

Operating requirements

A TRDA or RDA must follow a standard set of operating requirements. These requirements include holding a valid annual license; ensuring affiliated drivers hold a regional for-hire driver’s license; prioritizing dispatch services to passengers in wheelchairs; complying with data reporting requirements; satisfying every request for service so long as an affiliated vehicle is available; and requiring affiliated vehicles to operate on an approved taximeter, smart taximeter, or application dispatch system.

Please see SMC 6.311.360 for a complete list of operating requirements.

Smart taximeters

No later than March 31, 2026, a TRDA or RDA must operate with an approved smart taximeter system in place. A smart taximeter system means the system a regional dispatch agency uses to dispatch trips to, communicate with, and track the location of, affiliated vehicles and drivers through the smart taximeter. A smart taximeter system may include an application dispatch system.

This checklist (link to PDF) contains questions to be answered by the TRDA or RDA and the smart taximeter vendor and an overview of the process to receive director approval of a smart taximeter system. An RDA changing smart taximeter vendors must also go through the approval process.

If a TRDA does not currently use a smart taximeter system but must provide transition information to the director to meet new licensing and operating requirements, then please complete this plan (link to PDF).

Please see SMC 6.311.330 and SMC 6.311.340 for more information about the requirements for adopting a smart taximeter system and what such a system needs to be capable of doing.

Data reporting

A TRDA or RDA must maintain accurate and complete operational records for all affiliated vehicles and will submit quarterly reports to the director. Data in the quarterly reports cover trips, collisions involving affiliated vehicles, crimes committed against driver, and passenger complaints.

More information about data is available here (link to data reporting webpage).

Rates

Regional taximeter rates have been established and are as follows:

• Drop charge: $2.60 for passengers for the first one-ninth of a mile.
• Per mile: 30 cents for each one-ninth of a mile or fraction thereof after the first one-ninth of a mile.
• Waiting time, charged when the taxicab speed is less than 11 miles per hour, or when the customer asks the driver to wait: 50 cents for every one minute of waiting time, charged at 30 cents per 36 seconds.
• Additional per passenger charge for more than two persons, excluding children under twelve years of age: 50 cents.

Taxicabs and for-hire vehicles must pay a surcharge of 10 cents per ride originating within the Seattle city limits for the Wheelchair Accessible Services Fund. Any toll or charge established for roads, bridges, tunnels, or ferries may be added to the final trip fare.

The mandated flat-rate/fare structure used by for-hire vehicles remains in effect until March 31, 2026. Further, any trip fare provided to passengers through an application dispatch system (i.e., app) must be transparent to the passenger before the passenger confirms trip.

Finally, legislation adopted by the City and King County in late 2023 retained regional taximeter rates but now encourages dispatch agencies to dynamically price trips using new smart taximeter technology and integrated apps. Before the end of 2024, an updated director’s rule on fares and rates will clarify permitted variations from regional taximeter rates.

Recordkeeping

A TRDA or RDA must store, and upon request permit the director to review, records for affiliated drivers and vehicles, including, but not limited to, copies of regional for-hire driver’s licenses, taxicab and for-hire vehicle medallions, lists of all affiliated drivers and their affiliated vehicles, passenger feedback, new driver training records, dispatch records, and proof of vehicle insurance and vehicle registration. In addition, the transitional regional dispatch agency or regional dispatch agency will:

• Retain records, electronically or otherwise, for the current year and at least the prior two calendar years;
• Provide the director with any other information the director may reasonably require upon request; and
• Timely respond to the director’s request for information.

Penalties and appeals

Most penalties applicable to a TRDA or RDA carry a $1,000 civil penalty for an offense. Please see SMC 6.311.430 for more information.

Relations with affiliated owners and drivers

A TRDA or RDA must meet certain requirements concerning its relationships with affiliated medallion owners and drivers. These requirements cover putting all relevant policies in writing, providing a copy of and ample time to review a policy proposed to change, making known to drivers the amount of fare for each trip provided by that driver and any applicable deductions from that fare, and establishing a written policy governing the deactivation of any driver.

Please see SMC 6.311.370 for more information.

Other requirements

A TRDA or RDA must also keep in mind the licensing and operating requirements for its affiliated owners, drivers, and vehicles.