[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Glen Rock 4-22-1974 as part of Ord. No. 792 (Ch. XI of the 1971 Revised General Ordinances). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fees — See Ch. 101.
Licensing — See Ch. 133.
Vehicles and traffic — See Ch. 216.
Zoning — See Ch. 230.
As used in this chapter, the following words shall have the meanings indicated:
OPERATION OF A TAXICAB
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 shall be considered operation of a taxicab within the borough. The operation of a 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 prima facie evidence of operation.
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 Division's records to be 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 unless both the owner and the driver of the taxicab are licensed under this chapter.
A. 
Driver's license. The holder of a taxicab driver's license shall be entitled to operate within the borough 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 or her within the borough, provided that the person driving the cab holds a valid taxicab driver's license.
A. 
Application information.
(1) 
Application for a taxicab owner's license shall be made to the Borough Clerk on forms provided by him or her and referred to the Chief of Police. The forms and the information required thereon shall be established by the Council by resolution.
(2) 
Applications shall be verified by oath or affirmation. Applications by a partnership shall give the information required for each partner and shall be verified by all partners. Applications by a corporation shall give the information required for and be verified by all officers and directors and all persons holding more than 10% of the corporation's common stock, as well as the corporation itself.
B. 
Notice of hearing. The Chief of Police shall advise the Council of the filing of all applications. The Council shall set a date for a hearing on the application and shall notify the applicant. The date set shall be within a reasonable time after the filing of the application and the applicant shall be required to give at least five days' notice of the hearing by publication in a newspaper circulating in the borough.
C. 
Investigation. The Chief of Police or a police officer designated by him or her shall investigate the application. A report containing the results of the investigation and evaluation, a recommendation by the Chief of Police that the license be granted or denied and the reasons for his or her recommendation shall be forwarded to the Council at least three days before the date set for the hearing. A copy of the report shall also be sent to the applicant.
D. 
Conduct of hearing. At the hearing, any person who is a resident or taxpayer of the borough may appear in person and make a brief statement or submit a written statement in support of or in opposition to the granting of a license. In addition, the applicant and any other person who will be affected by the granting or denial of the license other than as a borough resident or taxpayer shall have the right to be represented by any attorney, to testify himself or herself or to present witnesses in support of his or her position, to cross-examine opposing witnesses and, at his or her own expense, to have a stenographic record made of the proceedings.
E. 
Factors considered. In determining whether to grant or deny the license, the Council shall take into consideration the following factors:
(1) 
The character, business and financial responsibility and experience of the applicant and the probability that, if granted a license, the applicant will operate his or her taxicab in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
(2) 
Any other factors directly related to the granting or denial of the license which would substantially affect the public safety or convenience.
F. 
Issuance of license. The Council shall by resolution grant or deny the license. If the application is approved, the Clerk shall issue the license on forms established by the Council by resolution. The taxicab owner's license herein provided shall bear a number and state the name of the person licensed; it shall briefly describe the vehicle licensed and contain the motor vehicle license number as well as the manufacturer's number of the motor vehicle.
G. 
License term; fees. A taxicab owner's license shall expire on March 31 succeeding the date of issue. If applied for after January 1, the fee shall be 1/2 the full amount. The license fee shall be as provided in Chapter 101, Fees, payable upon the filing of the application for the issuance or renewal of the license.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
H. 
Renewals. A taxicab owner's license may be renewed by the Council without a hearing upon the licensee's filing with the Chief of Police a sworn statement that there have been no changes in the information contained in the initial application.
A. 
Applications.
(1) 
Application for a taxicab driver's license shall be made to the Borough Clerk upon forms provided by him or her and referred to the Chief of Police. The forms and the information required thereon shall be established by the Council by resolution.
(2) 
The application shall be accompanied by a fee as provided in Chapter 101, Fees, for the initial license period.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
B. 
Photograph required. Each applicant for a driver's license shall file with his or her application two recent photographs of himself or herself of a size which may be easily attached to his or her license. One photograph shall be attached to the license when issued; the other shall be filed with the application in the Clerk's office. The photograph shall be so attached to the license that it cannot be removed and another photograph substituted without detection. Each licensed driver shall at all times have openly and conspicuously exhibited in the cab his or her license and photograph.
C. 
Investigation. The Chief of Police or a police officer designated by him or her shall investigate the application and report the results to the Council within a reasonable time. The report shall include a recommendation that the license be granted or denied and the reasons for the recommendation.
D. 
Issuance of license; contents. Upon approval of the application by the Council, the Clerk shall immediately issue the applicant a taxicab driver's license. The license shall contain the licensee's name and address, physical description, signature and photograph.
E. 
Term of license; fees. An initial license to drive a taxicab shall expire on March 31 succeeding the date of issue. If applied for after January 1, the fee shall be 1/2 the full amount. A taxicab driver's license may be renewed annually, unless it has been revoked or suspended, upon the payment of a fee as provided in Chapter 101, Fees.[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
A. 
Initial inspection. Before any vehicle is used as a taxicab within the borough, it shall be inspected by the Chief of Police or a police officer designated by him or her to ascertain that it is in a safe, clean and sanitary condition and contains all safety devices required by law.
B. 
Reinspections. All taxicabs shall be reinspected annually or more often if the Council so requires by resolution. In addition, any police officer may inspect any taxicab at any reasonable time to determine if it is clean, sanitary and in a safe and proper operating condition.
C. 
Failure to pass inspection. Any taxicab which fails to pass inspection shall be immediately taken out of service and shall not be operated again within the borough until the defects which led to its rejection are corrected. In the case of minor defects which do not constitute an immediate danger to the health or safety of the public, the taxicab may continue to operate for a period of one week, at the end of which time it shall be reinspected. If the defect has not by then been corrected, the vehicle shall immediately be taken out of service and shall remain out of service until the defect is corrected.
A. 
Identification required. Each taxicab operated in the borough shall have a sign painted on each rear door. The sign shall contain the owner's name and the words "Taxicab" or "Taxi" in letters which shall not be less than four nor more than eight inches in height.
B. 
Imitation of color scheme or insignia. No taxicab operated in the borough shall imitate the color scheme or any identifying design or insignia of another taxicab lawfully operating in the borough, nor shall one taxicab have a color scheme or identifying design or insignia which is so similar to that of another taxicab as to be likely to have a tendency to mislead the public. The person first using a particular color scheme or identifying design or insignia for his or her taxicab shall have the prior right to it.
A. 
Rates of fare. The fare that may be charged by the driver or owner of a taxicab for a trip wholly within the limits of the borough shall not exceed the rates approved by the Council by resolution. A schedule of the approved rates shall be displayed in the taxicab in a manner so as to be easily read by all passengers.
B. 
Receipts. The driver of a taxicab upon request shall give the passenger a receipt for the amount charged. The receipt shall show the name of the owner, the license number of the taxicab, the amount of the fare and the date of the transaction.
C. 
Refusal to pay fare. No person after hiring a taxicab shall refuse to pay the legal fare, nor shall any person hire a taxicab with the intent not to pay the legal fare.
The Council may establish by resolution rules and regulations relating to the operation of taxicabs and the conduct of licenses. A copy of the rules and regulations shall be furnished to each licensee.
A. 
Soliciting passengers. No driver or other person interested in or connected with any licensed vehicle shall solicit customers in a noisy or offensive manner, nor at any place other than public hack stands in any manner whatsoever.
B. 
Refusal to carry passengers. No driver of any licensed vehicle which is disengaged shall refuse to carry any orderly person upon the payment of the rate of fare herein fixed.
A. 
Generally. In addition to the causes for revocation of a license set forth in Chapter 133, Licensing, any license issued under this chapter may be revoked or suspended or any application for the issuance or renewal of a license denied for any of the following reasons:
(1) 
Failure to render reasonable, prompt, safe and adequate taxicab service.
(2) 
The existence of a judgment unsatisfied of record against the licensee or applicant in any suit arising over the operation of a motor vehicle.
(3) 
Permitting any taxicab owned or driven by the licensee to become unsafe, unsanitary or dirty.
(4) 
Failure to comply with all applicable laws of the State of New Jersey, the ordinances of the borough or the rules and regulations adopted in accordance with this chapter.
B. 
Drivers. If the licensee is a driver, his or her license may also be revoked or suspended for the following reasons:
(1) 
Revocation or suspension of his or her New Jersey motor vehicle operator's license.
(2) 
Contraction by the licensee of a communicable or contagious disease.
(3) 
Operating a taxicab in a reckless or grossly negligent manner or habitually operating a taxicab in a negligent manner.
[Added 4-26-1982 by Ord. No. 967]
A. 
Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
AUTOCAB
Includes any automobile or motorcar with a carrying capacity of not more than nine passengers, not including the driver, used in the business of carrying passengers for hire, which is held out, announced or advertised to operate or run or which is operated or run over any of the streets or public highways of this state and which is hired for charter for a particular contract or by the day or hour or other fixed period or to transport passengers to a specified place or places or which charges a fare or price agreed upon in advance between the operator and the passenger.
LIMOUSINE OR LIVERY SERVICE
Includes the business of carrying passengers for hire by autocabs.
[Added 10-11-1995 by Ord. No. 1255]
PERSON
Includes any individual, copartnership, association, corporation or joint-stock company, their lessees, trustees or receivers appointed by any court whatsoever.
[Added 10-11-1995 by Ord. No. 1255]
STREET
Includes any street, avenue, park, parkway, highway or other public place.
[Added 10-11-1995 by Ord. No. 1255]
B. 
Filing of required information.
[Amended 10-11-1995 by Ord. No. 1255]
(1) 
All persons, firms or corporations operating an autocab, limousine or livery service within the borough as defined under the provisions of N.J.S.A. 48:16-13 et seq., as amended, are hereby required to file annually with the Borough Clerk the following:
(a) 
A full description of all vehicles used in its operation.
(b) 
The registration number and serial number of all such vehicles.
(c) 
The seating capacity of each vehicle.
(d) 
A certificate of insurance in the amount of $50,000 covering bodily injury or death suffered by any person as a result of an accident occurring by reason of ownership, maintenance or use of such autocab, limousine or livery service upon any public street or in such other amounts as shall be fixed from time to time by the provisions of N.J.S.A. 48:16-14, as amended.
(2) 
The owner of the autocab, limousine or livery service having the principal place of business located in the Borough of Glen Rock shall, concurrent with the filing of the certificate of insurance referred to in Subsection B(1)(d) above, execute a power of attorney wherein and whereby the owner shall appoint the chief fiscal officer of the municipality as the true and lawful attorney of the owner 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 filed herewith.
(3) 
The owner of the autocab, limousine or livery service having the principal place of business located in the Borough of Glen Rock shall provide to the Borough Clerk a copy of a certificate of occupancy issued in accordance with Chapter 230, Zoning, Article XXI, Certificates of Occupancy, as amended.
[Added 4-10-1996 by Ord. No. 1266]
(4) 
The license will be granted only after a criminal background investigation and evaluation has been completed and approved by the Chief of Police. A certificate of approval shall be issued by the Chief of Police to the Borough Clerk memorializing his or her findings.
[Added 4-10-1996 by Ord. No. 1266]
(5) 
The applicant shall submit a fee as provided in Chapter 101, Fees, to the Borough Clerk.
[Added 4-10-1996 by Ord. No. 1266[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
(6) 
The term of the license shall be for a period of one year, with all licenses to expire on March 31.
[Added 10-23-1996 by Ord. No. 1279]
C. 
Requirements for operation. The operation of any such autocab, limousine or livery service in which the owner has his or her principal place of business located in the Borough of Glen Rock shall be permitted only so long as the Borough Clerk has issued a certificate of compliance showing that the owner of the autocab, limousine or livery service has complied with the provisions of this chapter and applicable state statutes. In addition, the owner may only continue to provide autocab, limousine or livery service so long as the insurance referred to in Subsection B above remains in full force and effect. The certificate of compliance shall be in a form and posted in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 48:16-17, as amended.
[Amended 10-11-1995 by Ord. No. 1255]
Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be punishable by any combination of the following: a fine not exceeding $1,000, imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days or a period of community service not exceeding 90 days.
[1]
Editor's Note: Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).