As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated in N.J.S.A. 48:16-1, as amended and supplemented: "autocab," "person"
and "street."
The applicable provisions of N.J.S.A. 48:16-1 to 48:16-12, both inclusive,
as amended and supplemented, shall be complied with in the licensing and regulating
of autocabs in this article.
A.
Owners' licenses. The Borough Council is hereby authorized
to issue licenses to owners of autocabs who are of good moral character and
who otherwise qualify according to the provisions of this article.
B.
Operators' licenses. The Borough Council is hereby authorized
to issue licenses to operators of autocabs, whether or not they are owners,
who are capable and of good moral character and who otherwise qualify according
to the provisions of this chapter. Such license shall hereinafter be referred
to as an "operator's license."
A.
Neither an owner's nor an operator's license shall be
granted to any person unless the application for such license has been submitted
to the Borough Council. An applicant for an owner's license shall be thoroughly
investigated by the Chief of Police and shall be fingerprinted and photographed.
An applicant for an operator's license shall be investigated for any criminal
or motor vehicle violations by the Chief of Police and shall be fingerprinted
and photographed. A complete report of said investigation shall be submitted
to the Borough Council for its action thereon.
(1)
If, as a result of such investigation by the Chief of
Police, the applicant's character or, in the case of an applicant for an operator's
license, the applicant's driving record is found to be unsatisfactory, the
Chief of Police shall endorse on such application his disapproval and his
reasons therefor.
(2)
If, as a result of such investigation, the applicant
is found to be satisfactory, the Chief of Police shall endorse his approval.
B.
In the event of denial, the Borough Council shall instruct
the Borough Clerk to notify the applicant, by certified mail, setting forth
the reasons for denial. Within five days thereafter, the applicant may file
with the Borough Council a written request for a hearing on said application,
together with written exceptions to the findings of fact upon which the Chief
of Police based his investigative report. Upon the filing of such a request,
the Borough Council shall fix the time and place for a hearing and shall notify
the applicant thereof, which hearing shall be held within 10 days after the
request is filed. Within 10 days after the conclusion of the hearing, the
Borough Council shall make its final decision whether to issue the license
or sustain the denial of said application.
A.
Owners' and operators' licenses shall be numbered consecutively
in their own respective classifications and shall expire on December 31 of
the year of issuance. Licenses not suspended or revoked may be renewed annually,
subject to all of the same conditions, provisions and charges as required
for the original license. Every license shall contain the following:
B.
Every owner's license shall also include the character
and description of the vehicle.
C.
The Borough Clerk shall keep a register of all licenses
granted, which register shall contain the details required by this section.
License fees, to cover the administrative costs associated with processing
the application, are nonrefundable. The annual license fees for taxi owners
and taxi drivers shall be $80 and $17, respectively, which shall be paid to
the Clerk, who shall deliver the same to the Treasurer.
No license shall be issued by the Borough Clerk unless the applicant
has filed an insurance policy with the Clerk in accordance with the requirements
of N.J.S.A. 48:16-3.
The owner of the autocab shall execute and deliver to the Borough Clerk
a power of attorney, wherein and whereby the owner shall appoint the Chief
Financial Officer of the municipality as his true and lawful attorney for
the purpose of acknowledging service of any process, out of a court of competent
jurisdiction, to be served against the insured by virtue of the indemnity
granted under the insurance policy or bond filed pursuant to N.J.S.A. 48:16-3
and 48:16-4.
A.
The Borough Clerk, upon the filing of the required insurance
policy or bond, shall issue a certificate, in duplicate, showing that the
owner of the autocab has complied with the terms and provisions of this article.
B.
The certificate shall recite the name of the insurance
company, the number and date of expiration of the policy or bond, a description
of the autocab insured thereunder and the registration number of the same.
C.
The duplicate certificate shall be filed with the Department
of Motor Vehicles before any such car is licensed as an autocab.
D.
The original certificate shall be posted in a conspicuous
place within the autocab.
A.
Every operator, whether an owner or otherwise, shall
be supplied a badge containing the number of the license, which he shall wear
in a conspicuous place upon his person while operating such autocab.
B.
Every owner and operator shall display the owner's license
in a conspicuous place in the autocab licensed.
No owner or operator of any autocab, while waiting for employment at
any place other than the garage or residence of the owner thereof, shall refuse
conveyance to any person without just cause.
No operator shall permit any person or persons other than the person
or persons first employing the autocab to occupy or ride in said autocab unless
the person or persons first employing the autocab shall consent to the acceptance
of such additional passenger or passengers.
Each passenger shall be entitled to have carried and conveyed upon any
licensed autocab, without charge, his ordinary traveling baggage, not exceeding,
in any case, 25 pounds of baggage.
Every owner's or operator's license granted hereunder may be suspended or revoked by the Borough Council, after notice and hearing, for the violation of any of the provisions of this article or of the statutory provisions incorporated in § 246-2 hereof or for other good and sufficient cause. During said suspension and after revocation, the license shall be inoperative and of no effect, and the license shall be surrendered to the Borough forthwith, along with the badge supplied by the Borough pursuant to § 246-10 hereof.
A.
Any person violating or failing to comply with any of
the provisions of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be punishable
by a fine of not more than $1,000, by imprisonment for a term not to exceed
90 days or by community service of not more than 90 days, or any combination
of fine, imprisonment and community service as determined by the Municipal
Court Judge. The continuation of such violation for each successive day shall
constitute a separate offense, and the person or persons allowing or permitting
the continuation of the violation may be punished as provided above for each
separate offense.
B.
The violation of any provision of this article shall
be subject to abatement summarily by a restraining order or injunction issued
by a court of competent jurisdiction.
