This chapter shall be known and may be cited
as the "Woodcliff Lake Taxicab Ordinance."
As used in this chapter, the following words
shall have the following meanings:
CRUISING
The driving of an empty taxicab along a public street at
a slow rate of speed for the obvious purpose of soliciting passengers.
OPERATION OF A TAXICAB
Consists of transporting in a taxicab one or more persons
for hire. Accepting a passenger to be transported for hire from a
point of departure within the Borough to a destination within or without
the Borough or discharging a passenger transported for hire from a
point outside of the Borough to a point within the Borough shall be
considered operation of a taxicab within the Borough. The operation
of taxicab by one other than the owner shall be deemed operation by
the owner as well as by the person actually driving the taxi. The
transportation of any person other than the owner or driver in any
motor vehicle bearing a sign using the words "taxi," "taxicab," "cab"
or "hack" shall be presumed, in the absence of evidence to the contrary,
to be operation of a taxicab.
OWNER
Any person in whose name title to any taxicab is registered
with the New Jersey Division of Motor Vehicles or who appears in the
Department's records as a conditional vendee or lessee or has any
other proprietary interest in a taxicab.
TAXICAB or TAXI
A motor vehicle used to transport passengers for hire which
does not operate over a fixed route and is not hired by the day or
hour.
No person shall operate a taxicab within the
Borough of Woodcliff Lake unless both the taxicab and the driver are
licensed in accordance with the requirements of this chapter.
There shall be two classes of licenses: a taxicab
driver's license and a taxicab owner's license. A taxicab driver's
license shall entitle the person licensed to operate within the Borough
of Woodcliff Lake any taxicab duly licensed in accordance with the
provisions of this chapter. A taxicab owner's license shall entitle
the taxicab so licensed to be operated in the Borough of Woodcliff
Lake by any person licensed as a taxi driver.
Both classes of licenses designated in §
343-4 shall apply only to the person or taxicab to whom or to which they are issued and shall not be transferable. Both classes of licenses shall expire on December 31 of the year of issue at 12:00 midnight local time, and applications for the renewal of both classes of licenses shall be made before December 1 of the year of issue.
The number of taxicab owner's licenses shall
not exceed that number which the Mayor and Council, in the exercise
of reasonable judgment, determine to be the maximum number which can
be issued without creating undue congestion in the public streets,
including areas adjacent to bus or railroad stations or other locations
at which taxicabs frequently pick up or discharge passengers. The
number of taxicab driver's licenses shall be unlimited.
Application for a license of either class shall
be made to the Borough Clerk upon a form provided by him and shall
contain the following information:
A. Licenses of either class.
(1) The name and address of the applicant. If the applicant
is a corporation, its name, the address of its principal place of
business and the name and address of its registered agent.
(2) A statement as to whether the applicant or, in the
case of a corporation, its officers, directors and principal stockholders
has ever been convicted of violating any criminal or quasi-criminal
statute, including traffic laws and municipal ordinances. If the applicant
has been so convicted, a statement as to the date of the conviction,
the nature of the offense and the punishment imposed.
(3) A list of all the places where the applicant has ever
applied for or been granted a license of either class required by
this section, regardless of by what name such license was called,
together with the date of the application, a statement as to whether
the application was granted or denied and a statement as to whether
the license was subsequently suspended or revoked or a renewal of
the license refused. In the event that the applicant has ever had
an application for the issuance or renewal of a taxicab owner's or
taxicab driver's license denied or has had such a license revoked
or suspended, a statement as to the date and place of such denial,
refusal, revocation or suspension and the reasons for it.
(4) Sufficient appropriate evidence as to the applicant's
good character and business responsibility so that an investigator
may properly evaluate it.
B. Taxicab owner's license. In addition to the information required by Subsection
A, an applicant for a taxicab owner's license shall supply the following information:
(1) The number of vehicles to be operated or controlled
by the applicant and the location of any proposed depots or terminals.
(2) Appropriate evidence that the applicant is insured
as required by N.J.S.A. 48:16-1 et seq.
(3) Any other appropriate information which the Mayor
and Council may, by resolution, require.
C. Taxicab driver's license. In addition to the information required by Subsection
A, an applicant for a taxicab driver's license shall supply the following information:
(1) The number of the applicant's New Jersey motor vehicle
operator's license.
(2) The names and addresses of all persons by whom the
applicant has been employed for the past five years, the position
held and the nature of the work performed.
(3) Two photographs at least 3 1/2 inches in size,
showing the head and shoulders of the applicant in a clear and distinguishing
manner.
(4) If the Mayor and Council consider it necessary for
the proper identification or investigation of the applicant, the applicant
shall be fingerprinted and the fingerprints immediately processed
for classification and identification.
D. Applications shall be verified by oath or affirmation.
Applications by a partnership shall give the information required
by this section for each partner and shall be verified for all partners.
Applications by corporations shall give the information required for
and be verified by all officers, directors and principal stockholders
of the corporation as well as by the corporation itself.
The application shall be referred by the Borough
Clerk to the Chairman of the Police Committee, or a police officer
designated by him, who shall, as soon as practicable, institute an
investigation of the facts stated in the application. If the investigating
officer decides that the applicant is not a responsible person of
good character or cannot be relied upon to render safe and reasonably
prompt, efficient and convenient taxicab service or cannot be relied
upon to safely drive or operate, as the case may be, a taxicab in
the Borough of Woodcliff Lake, he shall disapprove the application.
Otherwise, he shall approve the application and recommend the issuance
of a license.
The report of the investigation shall be transmitted
to the Mayor and Council, who shall, within a reasonable time after
the application has been filed, consider the same. The Mayor and Council
may then proceed to grant the application or, if they are not satisfied
that the applicant is entitled to a license, they may determine to
hold a hearing on the matter. In that event, the applicant and any
other person having a special interest in the matter shall be given
at least five days' notice of the time and place of the hearing. After
the hearing, the Mayor and Council shall, by resolution, grant or
deny the license.
[Amended 4-15-1985 by Ord. No. 85-4]
The fee for a taxicab driver's license and the fee for a taxicab owner's license shall be as provided in Chapter
163, Fees. Fees shall not be prorated.
Any application for the issuance or renewal
of a license required by this section may be denied and any license
issued under this chapter may be revoked or suspended by the Borough
Council, after notice of a hearing, for any of the following reasons:
A. Licenses of either class.
(1) Conviction of the licensee of any felony or high misdemeanor
or any misdemeanor or disorderly persons offense involving moral turpitude.
(2) Violation of any provision of Title 39 of the New
Jersey Statutes or any ordinance of the Borough of Woodcliff Lake
dealing with the regulation of traffic, provided that such violation
is of such a nature as to show a disregard by the applicant or licensee
for the safety of others. In addition, there shall be grounds to refuse
to issue or renew or to revoke or suspend a license if the applicant
has been guilty of repeated violations of Title 39 or of the ordinances
of the Borough related to traffic, regardless of the nature of the
violation.
(3) Violation of any provision of this chapter.
(4) The existence at a judgment unsatisfied of record
against the applicant or licensee arising out of an automobile accident.
(5) Fraud or misrepresentation in any application for
the issuance or renewal of a license.
(6) Failure to render reasonably prompt, safe and adequate
taxicab service.
B. Taxicab driver's license. In addition to the causes for the denial, revocation or suspension of a license specified in Subsection
A, a taxicab driver's license may be denied, suspended or revoked for the following reasons:
(1) Negligence by the licensee or applicant in the operation
of a motor vehicle resulting in damage to property or injuries to
persons. Such denial, revocation or suspension may be made regardless
of whether or not there has been a criminal conviction or a finding
of civil liability against the applicant or licensee for such negligence.
(2) Contraction by the applicant or licensee of a communicable
or contagious disease.
C. Taxicab owner's license. In addition to the causes specified in Subsection
A, a taxicab owner's license may be denied, revoked or suspended for any of the following reasons:
(1) If, by reason of unsafe or unsanitary conditions,
the motor vehicle licensed or to be licensed is dangerous to the safety
or health of the occupants or others.
(2) If the policy of insurance or bond or power of attorney
required by N.J.S.A. 48:16-1 et seq. has not been furnished or kept in force.
(3) Violation of any applicable law of the State of New
Jersey or ordinance of the Borough of Woodcliff Lake relating to the
operation of taxicabs.
[Amended 4-15-1985 by Ord. No. 85-4]
For violation of any provision of this chapter,
the maximum penalty upon conviction of the violation shall be a fine
not exceeding $1,000 or imprisonment in the county jail for a period
not exceeding 90 days, or both in the discretion of the court.