[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council
of the Township of West Milford 3-26-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-010.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fees and costs — See Ch. 135.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed
former Ch. 353, Taxicabs, adopted as Ch. 9 of the 1976 Revised General
Ordinances, as amended.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meaning indicated:
Any person who drives a taxicab within this Township.
Of a taxicab, shall consist of transporting in such taxicab
at least one but not more than nine persons, exclusive of the driver,
for hire on any of the streets in this Township; accepting a passenger
to be transported for hire within this Township or from a point within
the Township to a point outside of the Township limits. The operation
of a taxicab as above described by one other than the owner shall
be deemed operation by the owner thereof as well as by the person
actually driving the same. The transportation of any person other
than the owner or driver in a taxicab as hereinafter defined shall
be prima facie evidence of operation.
Any person in whose name title to any taxicab is registered
with the New Jersey Division of Motor Vehicles or who appears in such
record to be the conditional vendee or licensee thereof.
Any person 62 years of age or older.
Includes any street, avenue, park, parkway, local, county,
state or federal highway or other public roadway located within the
Township, whether or not the same is an improved road.
Any automobile or motor car capable of carrying up to nine
passengers, exclusive of the driver, and which may commonly be referred
to as a "taxi," "cab," "van" or "hack," duly licensed by the Township
and engaged in the business of carrying passengers for hire, which
is held out, announced or advertised to operate or run or which is
operated and run over any of the streets within the Township of West
Milford and which accepts passengers for transportation from points
and places within the Township to points and places within or without
the same Township; provided, however, that nothing herein contained
shall include autobuses or buses or designated routes, public deliveries
or jitneys or such public conveyances as are by law exclusively subject
to state and/or federal regulation.
The Township of West Milford, Passaic County, New Jersey.
No person shall operate a taxicab or engage
in the taxicab business within the Township without first obtaining
a license from the Township Council. The license shall expire December
31 of the year in which it was issued, unless sooner suspended or
revoked by the Township Council.
A.
Driver's license. The holder of a taxicab driver's
license shall be entitled to operate within the Township any taxicab
whose owner has been licensed under this chapter.
B.
Owner's license. The holder of a taxicab owner's license
shall be entitled to operate a taxicab owned by him within the Township,
provided that the person driving the cab holds a valid taxicab driver's
license.
A.
Application information. Applications for licenses
shall be made by the owner, lessee or bailee of the vehicle in writing
to the Township Administrator and shall be sworn to and filed with
the Township Clerk. The application shall state:
(1)
The name and address of the owner, lessee or bailee
of the vehicle.
(2)
The name and address of the applicant.
(3)
The physical location of the vehicle(s).
(4)
Type of vehicle and date of last inspection.
(5)
Length of time the vehicle has been in use.
(6)
The number of persons the vehicle is capable of carrying.
(7)
The motor power, make and value of the vehicle.
B.
Insurance.
(1)
Each application for a taxicab owner's license shall
be accompanied by a policy of insurance naming the Township of West
Milford as an additional insured, with the premium prepaid thereon,
written by an insurance company duly licensed to transact business
under the insurance laws of the State of New Jersey, which shall be
submitted to the Township Clerk and to the Township Attorney for approval
as to form and sufficiency. A certificate of insurance must be submitted
to the Township Clerk prior to a license being approved.
(2)
Such policy shall be conditioned for payment of a
sum required to satisfy all claims for damage by reason of bodily
injury to or the death of all persons or property damage as follows:
up to a six-passenger vehicle: not less than $500,000 combined single
limit.
(3)
Such policy shall provide coverage for every driver
of each vehicle listed in the policy, and the acceptance of said policy
by the Township of West Milford and the issuance of the license by
the Township shall constitute an agreement by and between the applicant
and the Township that applicant holds and saves harmless the Township
from any and all claims from damages arising out of personal injury
and/or property damage made by third parties as the result of the
issuance of said license and the operation of a taxicab. In the event
that such policy is canceled for any reason, a notice of such action
must be delivered to the West Milford Township Clerk 20 days prior
to the effective date of cancellation by the insurance company providing
coverage to the taxi operator.
C.
License fee. A separate license application shall be filed and a separate license fee shall be paid for each vehicle. The annual license fee per vehicle is set forth in Chapter 135, Fees and Costs.
D.
Issuance of license; contents; display.
E.
Limitation on number of licenses issued. The number
of taxicab owner's licenses outstanding shall be limited to one per
1,200 residents of the Township, as shown by the last preceding federal
census. Licenses shall be nontransferable.
A.
Applications.
(1)
Applications for a taxicab driver's license shall
be made to the Township Administrator. The forms and information required
shall be established by the Township Administrator.
B.
Issuance of license; contents. Upon approval of the
application by the Township Administrator, the Clerk shall immediately
issue the applicant a taxicab driver's license. The license shall
contain a licensee's name and address, physical description, signature
and photograph.
C.
Term of license; fees. An initial license to drive a taxicab shall be valid for the remainder of the calendar year in which it is issued. A taxicab driver's license may be renewed annually, unless it has been revoked or suspended, upon the payment of the fee set forth in Chapter 135, Fees and Costs.
The Township Council shall, from time to time,
make rules and regulations for the operation of taxicabs.
The Township Administrator may, after due notice and hearing, suspend or revoke the license of any person who violates any provision of this chapter or who violates any of the rules or regulations adopted by the Township Council pursuant to § 353-6.
A.
The Township Council or its designee may, in its discretion,
refuse to issue or renew or may, after notice and hearing, revoke
or suspend any license issued under the provisions of this article
if the applicant has been convicted of any crime, disorderly persons
offense or petty disorderly in this state or in any other state or
territory, or has been convicted of a violation under Title 39, Motor
Vehicles and Traffic Regulation of the Revised Statutes of New Jersey,
or who violates any provision of this article or has any judgment
unsatisfied of record arising out of an automobile accident or who
has made false answers in the application for such license or any
renewal thereof or who has failed or fails to render reasonably prompt,
safe and adequate taxi services or who has not complied fully with
the requirements of this article for such class of licensure, or if
the licensee or applicant has in any degree contributed to any injury
to person or damage to property arising out of negligent operation
of a motor vehicle or as to any taxicab owner's license if the motor
vehicle licensed or to be licensed by reason of unsafe or unsanitary
conditions is dangerous to the safety or health of the occupants,
and others, or if the policy of insurance required herein has once
lapsed or such coverage is not maintained at all times, or a taxicab,
at any time, carries more passengers than the same is authorized to
carry by the terms of this article.
B.
Any taxicab owner's or driver's license which remains
unused for a period of at least one year shall automatically revert
to the Township and shall be deemed null and void.
C.
No taxicab owner's license or driver's license shall
be issued to, or renewed for, any taxi owner or taxi driver unless
and until proof shall have been given to the Township Clerk that the
owner and/or driver has adequately provided for the safety of children
under the age of five years who are passengers in the taxicab or cabs
owned and/or operated by them. In the case of a taxi owner who owns
more than one taxi, such proof shall consist of a written policy and
posted notice at the base of operation and in all taxicabs owned by
him, conspicuous to drivers, setting forth that, prior to the operation
of the taxicab, children 18 months of age or younger, who are passengers
in a taxicab, shall be placed in a federally approved child restraint
seat, and children over the age of 18 months, but under the age of
five years, must be placed in a car seat, if riding in the front seat
of the taxicab, or in a lap and/or lap and shoulder harness seat belt,
if riding in the rear seat of the taxicab. The owner of more than
one taxicab must, at all times, keep and maintain in his vehicles
or at the base of operation a total number of federally approved car
seats equal to 25% of the number of licensed taxicabs owned by him,
which shall at all times be available for use by drivers of the cabs
owned by said taxicab owner. In the case of an owner of a single taxicab,
such proof shall consist of proof that the owner keeps and maintains
a federally approved car seat in the passenger compartment or trunk
of the licensed vehicle at all times, for use in accordance with this
provision.
Every person or persons, firm or corporation
found guilty in a municipal court of competent jurisdiction of violating
any of the provisions of this article shall be fined not less than
$100 nor more than $2,000 and/or imprisoned for a period not to exceed
90 days and/or required to complete community service for not less
than five days nor more than 30 days and/or suspension of an owner's
and/or driver's license for a period not to exceed 60 days and/or
a recommendation of a revocation of an owner's and/or driver's license
to the Municipal Council. Each succeeding day of a violation shall
be constructed as a new violation.
Nothing in this article shall be construed to
exempt any person, firm or corporation owning or operating a taxicab
from complying with the laws relating to the ownership, regulation
and operation of automobiles in the State of New Jersey.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
A limousine.
Any person who drives a limousine within this Township.
A motor vehicle used in the business of carrying passengers
for hire to provide prearranged passenger transportation at a premium
fare on a dedicated, nonscheduled, charter basis that is not conducted
on a regular route and with a seating capacity in no event of more
than 14 passengers, not including the driver, provided that such a
vehicle shall not have a seating capacity in excess of four passengers,
not including the driver, beyond the maximum passenger seating capacity
of the vehicle, not including the driver, at the time of manufacture.
Nothing in this definition shall be construed to include taxicabs,
hotel buses or buses regulated by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
Includes the business of carrying passengers for hire by
limousine.
Includes any individual, copartnership, association, corporation
or joint-stock company, their lessees, trustees or receivers appointed
by any court whatsoever.
Includes any street, avenue, park, parkway, highway, boulevard
or other public place.
The Township of West Milford, Passaic County, New Jersey.
No person shall operate a limousine or engage
in the limousine business within the Township without first obtaining
a license from the Township Council. The license shall expire December
31 of the year in which it was issued, unless sooner suspended or
revoked by the Township Council.
There are hereby established two classes of
limousine licenses, to be known as "limousine driver's license" and
"limousine owner's license."
A.
Driver's license. The holder of a limousine driver's
license shall be entitled to operate within the Township any limousine
whose owner has been licensed under this chapter. There shall be no
limit to the number of limousine driver's licenses issued by the Township.
B.
Owner's license. The holder of a limousine owner's
license shall be entitled to operate a limousine owned by him within
the Township, provided that the person driving the cab holds a valid
taxicab driver's license. There shall be no limit to the number of
limousine owner's licenses issued by the Township.
A.
Application information. Applications for licenses
shall be made by the owner, lessee or bailee of the vehicle in writing
to the Township Administrator and shall be sworn to and filed with
the Township Clerk. The application shall state:
(1)
The name and address of the owner, lessee or bailee
of the vehicle.
(2)
The name and address of the applicant.
(3)
The physical location of the vehicle(s).
(4)
Type of vehicle and date of last inspection.
(5)
Length of time the vehicle has been in use.
(6)
The number of persons the vehicle is capable of carrying.
(7)
The motor power, make and value of the vehicle.
B.
License fee. A separate license application shall be filed and a separate license fee shall be paid for each vehicle. The annual license fee per vehicle is set forth in Chapter 135, Fees and Costs.
C.
Issuance of license; contents; display.
(1)
Limousine owner's licenses shall be granted by the
Township Council, and a license certificate shall be issued by the
Clerk. The certificate shall contain:
(2)
The certificate shall be affixed to a conspicuous
part of the interior of the limousine and shall be open to the view
of all passengers.
A.
Insurance requirements.
(1)
No limousine shall be operated wholly or partly along
any street in this Township until the owner of the limousine shall
have filed with the Township Clerk, in which the owner has his/her
principal place of business within this Township, a certificate of
insurance naming the Township of West Milford as an additional insured,
by a company duly licensed to transact business under the insurance
laws of this state, in the sum of $1,500,000 against loss by reason
of the liability imposed by law upon every limousine for damages on
account of bodily injury or death suffered by a person as result of
an accident occurring by reason of the ownership, maintenance or use
of the limousine upon any public street.
(2)
The operation shall be permitted only so long as the
insurance policy remains in full force and effect as to the full and
collectible amount of $1,500,000. Limousine owners, or anyone on their
behalf, shall not undertake to cancel or have canceled any such policy
without giving the Township Clerk 10 days' notice of the intention
to do so. No such policy shall be filed by the Township Clerk unless
such policy shall contain a provision to the effect that the Township
Clerk shall be afforded at least 10 days' notice of the intention
of the insurance company which issued such policy to cancel same.
(3)
The insurance policy shall provide for a payment of
any final judgment recovered by any person on account of the ownership,
maintenance and use of such limousine upon any public street or any
fault in respect thereto and shall be for the benefit of every person
suffering loss, damage or injury as aforesaid.
B.
Every person operating a limousine, whether an owner
and/or driver, who is transporting a child under five years on roadways,
streets or highways of this Township shall be responsible for the
protection of the child by properly using a child passenger restraint
system that complies with federal vehicle safety standards. No driver
shall operate a limousine in which a child five years of age or younger
is a passenger unless:
(1)
A child 18 months of age or younger is in a car seat
regardless of whether such child is in the front or rear seat;
(2)
A child over 18 months of age but less than five years
is in a car seat, if a front seat passenger, or is in a lap belt or
lap belt and shoulder harness, if a rear seat passenger.
C.
Issuance of license of operation; drivers to be licensed.
(1)
The Township Clerk, upon the filing of the required
application and certificate of insurance, shall issue a license, in
duplicate, showing that the owner of the limousine service has complied
with the terms and provisions of this chapter.
(2)
The license shall state the name of the insurance
company, the number and date of expiration of the policy and a description
and the registration number of each limousine service insured thereunder.
The duplicate license shall be filed with the Division of Motor Vehicles
before any such vehicle is registered as a limousine service.
(3)
A limousine shall not be operated by anyone for service
within the Township unless the driver thereof has been issued a valid
limousine driver's license.
D.
Availability of license for inspection; minimum equipment
standards.
(1)
The original license shall be retained within the
limousine and shall be available for inspection by any police officer
of the state.
(2)
No limousine shall operate on the highways of this
state unless it has a license issued and the limousine is equipped,
in accordance with minimum standards established by the Director of
the Division of Motor Vehicles in the Department of Transportation,
with:
(a)
A two-way communications system, which, at a
minimum, shall provide for communication to a person outside the vehicle
for a distance of not less than 100 miles and which requirement may
be satisfied by a mobile telephone.
(b)
A removable first-aid kit and an operable fire
extinguisher, which shall be placed in an accessible place within
the vehicle.
(c)
Sideboards attached to the permanent body construction
of the vehicle if the height of the vehicle floor is 10 inches or
more above ground level.
A.
Applications.
(1)
Applications for a limousine driver's license shall
be made to the Township Administrator. The forms and information required
shall be established by the Township Administrator.
B.
Issuance of license; contents. Upon approval of the
application by the Township Administrator, the Clerk shall immediately
issue the applicant a limousine driver's license. The license shall
contain a licensee's name and address, physical description, signature
and photograph.
C.
Term of license; fees. An initial license to drive a limousine shall be valid for the remainder of the calendar year in which it is issued. A limousine driver's license may be renewed annually, unless it has been revoked or suspended, upon the payment of the fee set forth in Chapter 135, Fees and Costs.
The Township Council or its designee may, in
its discretion, refuse to issue or renew or may, after notice and
hearing, revoke or suspend any license issued under the provisions
of this article if the applicant has been convicted of any crime,
disorderly persons offense or petty disorderly in this state or in
any other state or territory, or has been convicted of a violation
under Title 39, Motor Vehicles and Traffic Regulation, of the Revised
Statutes of New Jersey, or who violates any provision of this article
or has any judgment unsatisfied of record arising out of an automobile
accident or who has made false answers in the application for such
license or any renewal thereof or who has failed or fails to render
reasonably prompt, safe and adequate limousine services or who has
not complied fully with all requirements of this article for such
class of licensure, or if the licensee or applicant has in any degree
contributed to any injury to person or damage to property arising
out of negligent operation of motor vehicle or as to any limousine
owner's license if the motor vehicle licensed or to be licensed by
reason of unsafe or unsanitary conditions is dangerous to the safety
or health of the occupants, and others, or if the policy of insurance
required herein has once lapsed or such coverage is not maintained
at all times, or a limousine, at any time, carries more passengers
than the same is authorized to carry by the terms of this article.
No lettering, emblem or advertising may be placed
on a licensed limousine.
Limousine drivers shall not knowingly solicit
business in a manner similar to that of a taxicab or attempt to solicit
business by knowingly misleading a prospective passenger.
Nothing in this article shall exempt any person
owning or operating a limousine from complying with the laws relating
to the ownership, regulation and operation of limousines in the State
of New Jersey.
A person who shall own and operate a limousine
in any street in this state in violation of the provisions of this
article shall be subject to the following penalties:
A.
For operating a limousine without a license issued
by a municipality, operating a limousine without authority to operate
a limousine in interstate service granted by the Federal Highway Administration,
or the Interstate Commerce Commission, knowingly permitting a driver
to operate a limousine without a validly issued driver's license or
a validly issued commercial driver's license, if required, failure
to have filed an insurance policy, operating a limousine in which
the number of passengers exceeds the maximum: a fine of $1,000 for
the first offense and a fine of $2,000 for the second or subsequent
offense.
B.
For operating a limousine without the special registration
plates required or operating a limousine without the limousine being
properly inspected: a fine of $1,000 for the first offense and a fine
of $2,000 for the second or subsequent offense.
C.
For operating a limousine without the attached sideboards,
if required, failure to retain within the limousine appropriate proof
of insurance or failure to execute and deliver to the Director of
the Division of Motor Vehicles the power of attorney required: a fine
of $250 for the first offense and $500 for the second and subsequent
offense.
D.
For failure to be equipped with a two-way communications
system, a removable first-aid kit or an operable fire extinguisher:
a fine of $50 for the first offense and $100 for the second and subsequent
offense.
In the event that the limousine is being operated
by a party who does not have the license called for in this article,
both the driver and the owner of the limousine shall be subject to
the penalty provisions hereinabove set forth.
