[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Franklin 5-5-1986
as Title Four, Ch. XXIII of the 1986 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Vehicles and traffic — See Ch. 284.
A.
Every motor vehicle used or to be used for the conveyance
of persons for hire from place to place within the City of Franklin, except
motor vehicles defined below, shall be deemed a taxicab or bus within the
meaning of this chapter.
B.
Exceptions:
(1)
A motor vehicle subject to regulations by the Public
Utilities Commission of the State of New Hampshire.
(2)
Sightseeing buses designed to carry eight or more persons
from a fixed place to places of interest about the city.
(3)
Motor vehicles collecting fares by tickets or coupons
sold for interstate transportation.
(4)
Cars for hire used for carrying passengers for attendance
at marriages, funerals and christenings and for use in ceremonial parades.
No person, firm or corporation shall operate or cause to be operated
a taxicab or bus unless licensed as herein provided. Application for such
certificate shall be made on forms provided by the City Clerk, who shall keep
a record of all applications and licenses granted, and all licenses shall
be numbered in order as granted. All applications shall set forth the name,
age and address of the applicant; the trade name under which the applicant
does or proposes to do business; where proposed stands and garages, if any,
are to be located; the number of vehicles the applicant desires to operate,
with a clear description of each vehicle; and such other facts as the Mayor
and Council may require. No license granted hereunder shall be sold, assigned
or transferred.
[Added 12-2-1996 by Ord. No. 96-9]
All taxicab drivers will be licensed annually. Taxi drivers or owners
of any taxi company licensed in the City of Franklin will provide the City
Clerk with the name, address, date of birth and license number of all persons
who are to drive the vehicles for the purpose of transporting customers. The
City Clerk shall submit such names to the Police Department for a check of
each driver's criminal record and motor vehicle record. If such driver
is found to be qualified, the Police Department shall issue a taxi driving
license.
A.
Qualifications of driver. No person shall be permitted
to drive taxis or be issued a license to operate a taxi unless that person:
(1)
Is at least 18 years of age and has had a minimum of
two years' experience driving a motor vehicle.
(2)
Holds a valid New Hampshire driver's license.
(3)
Has submitted the required information on a form provided
to the Franklin Police Department.
(4)
Can read and speak the English language sufficiently
to converse with the public, to understand highway traffic signs and signals,
to respond to official inquiries and to make entries on required reports and
records.
(5)
Is physically qualified to operate a motor vehicle and
can produce a copy of a physical examination report done by a licensed physician,
if requested by the Police Department.
B.
Disqualification of drivers. An applicant for a taxi
driver's license or any person who has been issued a taxi driver's
license shall be disqualified for the issuance or retention of a license if:
(1)
He or she has been convicted without annulment or pardon
of any of the following:
(a)
Any felony.
(b)
Any offense under RSA 632-A (Sexual Assault and Related
Offenses).
(c)
Any offense under RSA 318-B (Controlled Drug Act).
(d)
Within the preceding five years, of operation of a motor
vehicle under the influence of alcohol or controlled drugs.
(e)
Leaving the scene of an accident.
(f)
Reckless operation of a motor vehicle.
(g)
Driving so as to endanger.
(h)
Making a false statement under RSA 73 or RSA 641-2, 641-3
or 641-7.
(i)
Operating after suspension or revocation.
(j)
Such other combination of convictions of any criminal
or motor vehicle laws that the Chief of Police or his or her designee believes
may have a direct bearing on the driver's fitness to be licensed to drive
a taxi.
(2)
It is determined that there is evidence of a previous
accident involvement that may have a direct bearing on the driver's fitness
to drive.
C.
Notification of drivers.
(1)
In cases involving refusal to issue a license or revocation
or immediate temporary suspension of a driver's permit, the Police Department
shall prepare a notice of action and deliver a copy of said notice to the
driver and taxicab owner, if different, either in person or by regular postal
service, of his or her entitlement to an informal administrative hearing.
Such notice shall be provided within 10 working days prior to an informal
administrative hearing being conducted, unless sooner held by mutual agreement.
(2)
The Chief of Police or his or her designee may issue
or reissue a license if the applicant or licensee satisfies him/her that he/she
is fit to hold such license after the administrative hearing.
(3)
Application for a license must be made to the City Clerk within 72 hours of a driver being hired by the owner of the company, and the driver may operate without a permit for up to 15 working days from the date of hire. The license will be issued automatically upon meeting all qualifications, otherwise the procedures established in this this Subsection C must be followed.
(4)
Any denial of a license to operate a taxi may be appealed
to the Franklin District Court within 15 days of the date of the denial notice.
Said notice shall contain a statement of this right of appeal.
D.
Fee. The City Clerk shall charge an annual fee in the
amount of $10 for each taxi driver's license application presented.
A.
Upon presentation of such certificate within 30 days
from its date and satisfactory evidence that license fees herein required
have been paid and that an insurance policy or certificate hereinafter required
has been approved and filed and that the applicant is thoroughly familiar
with the topography of the City of Franklin as hereinafter required, the City
Clerk may issue to the applicant a license for each taxicab set out in said
certificate.
B.
The license fee shall be $25 annually from the date of
issuance for each taxicab and $100 for each bus.
[Amended 9-9-1996 by Ord. No. 96-8; 12-2-1996
by Ord. No. 96-9]
Every applicant for a license to operate a taxicab or bus in the City
of Franklin shall file with the City Clerk a policy or certificate of liability
insurance covering each vehicle to be operated by the licensee for the duration
of the license. The policy or certificate of liability insurance is to be
accepted and approved by the Chief of Police and issued by a company authorized
to do business in the State of New Hampshire and shall indemnify the applicant
in the sum of at least $250,000 for injury to one person and $500,000 for
any injuries arising out of one accident and for property damage in the amount
of $70,000 from any one accident involving a vehicle of the applicant. The
policy or certificate of liability insurance shall have incorporated in it
as part of the policy that it will not be canceled except upon 10 days'
written notice to both the insured and the City Clerk of the City of Franklin.
The City Clerk shall not issue a license to operate a taxicab unless
the applicant satisfies the Clerk or his or her duly designated representative
that said applicant is thoroughly familiar with the topography of the City
of Franklin.
[Amended 9-9-1996 by Ord. No. 96-8; 12-2-1996
by Ord. No. 96-9]
A.
The Chief of Police of the City of Franklin may, in the
interest of safety, require that any vehicle licensed as public transportation
by the City of Franklin be taken out of service and presented for mechanical
inspection by the city to ensure that the vehicle conforms to all inspection
requirements and is otherwise in safe working order. Before the city issues
a license for a vehicle, the Chief of Police may require that any vehicle
intended for use as public transportation be inspected for safety by the city.
B.
The Chief of Police of the City of Franklin shall immediately
revoke the license to operate upon receipt from the licensee's insurance
provider of notice that the annual aggregate for the insurance coverage has
been reached or has claims against it in excess of the aggregate.
C.
Owners of any vehicle company licensed by the City of
Franklin shall provide to the Chief of Police, and keep current, a list of
all vehicle drivers, to include his or her name, date of birth and driver's
license number.
[Amended 9-9-1996 by Ord. No. 96-8; 12-2-1996
by Ord. No. 96-9]
Upon the conviction of a violation of the laws of the State of New Hampshire
or of this chapter, the Chief of Police may, at the Chief's discretion,
suspend or revoke such license.
Parking for taxicabs and buses on city streets shall be where and as
directed by the Chief of Police, and no other spaces may be used by such vehicles
except while loading or unloading passengers.
