[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.