Oak Park is looking into placing some new restrictions on taxi drivers and companies, such as a loose dress code and a ban on smoking by either the driver or the customer.

The ordinance, which was discussed by the board Tuesday night, would adapt the current policy and introduce some new requirements for drivers. The village may tighten rules that a passenger wouldn’t notice, such as issues regarding failure of taxicab inspections and driver employment. Some changes passengers could see is requirement that all cabs take credit card payments, a ban on smoking and a list of clothes that could not be worn.

Village President David Pope said the rules are important because clean and well-regulated cabs give a good impression to visiting tourists. Parts of the ordinance were directly taken from similar rules in Evanston.

According to the draft proposal, which may see changes before it eventually comes to a vote, all cabs would need to have credit card processing equipment, no person, driver or passenger, could smoke in the vehicle and the driver is prohibited from using a cell phone while driving, although there was some debate on whether that should only apply when a passenger is in the cab.

Cabbies may also be prohibited from wearing some clothes, such as tank tops, swimwear, jogging suits, body shirts and sandals without socks. They will still be authorized to wear “Bermuda or post-office type” shorts during the summer, but cannot wear underwear as an outer garment.

The current regulations only state that the cab driver must be “clean in dress and person.”

Clothing requirements aren’t unique. New York City has them and Chicago Ald. Ed Burke once pushed for a strict dress code for city cab drivers. Some taxi affiliations also already have their own clothing standards.

But the proposal didn’t fly with everyone. Trustee Collette Lueck disagreed with the idea of enforcing what cabbies can and cannot wear, saying that it is not the responsibility of the village.

“I think it’s getting into perhaps a level of detail that isn’t appropriate for us to be managing,” she said. “I think that goes beyond the responsibility of the board of trustees.”

Pope responded by supporting the dress restrictions, believing that the New York City model, which also has a dress code, should be the standard for other towns like Oak Park.

“New York is the gold standard,” Pope said.

The Tuesday discussion was the first village board reading of the draft proposal, and will be addressed again at a later date.