[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the Borough of Totowa 3-19-1957 by Ord. No. 630 (Ch. 124 of the 1974 Code).
Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Vehicles and traffic — See Ch. 398.
A.
PERSON
TAXICAB
Terms defined. The following terms used herein shall
be taken and construed to mean as follows:
Includes natural persons, partnerships and corporations.
Any automobile, taxicab or other vehicle propelled by motor
power and engaged in the business of the transportation of passengers
per hour for pay within the Borough of Totowa.
B.
Word usage. Words used in the singular number shall
include the plural, and words used in the plural number shall include
the singular.
The licensing, regulating and inspecting of
taxicabs, the examining of applicants for licenses who own and operate
such taxicabs, the licensing of drivers as hereinafter provided and
the enforcing of the provisions of this chapter shall be under the
control of the Borough Council of the Borough of Totowa.
A.
No person shall hire out, keep or use for hire or
pay, or cause to be kept or used for hire or pay, any taxicab without
first having obtained a license for that purpose from the Borough
Council for each and every taxicab. Such license shall be known as
a "taxicab license." It shall be identified by a suitable sign and
shall be issued for a particular taxicab.
B.
The number of such licenses outstanding shall not
exceed five at any one time.
A.
Every person obtaining a taxicab license must be at
least 21 years of age and a citizen of the United States. If a corporation,
such corporation must be organized and existing under the laws of
the State of New Jersey and shall maintain an office in the County
of Passaic, New Jersey. If a partnership, each and every member of
the partnership must be eligible for a license for an application
by an individual.
B.
No license shall be issued until the said taxicab
has been thoroughly inspected and found to be in safe condition for
the transportation of passengers and of good appearance. There must
be submitted, with the application, a certified check for the annual
license fee for such license and a written statement from the Police
Department of the Borough of Totowa that the said taxicab is in clean
and sanitary condition and has met the inspection requirements of
the State of New Jersey.
A.
All applications for taxicab licenses shall be in
writing and shall contain the full name and address of the owner,
the serial number, type, color, age and make of the taxicab; the number
of persons it is to carry; and the names and addresses of two responsible
property owners of the County of Passaic as references.
B.
Any and every change of address of the owner shall
be reported in writing to the Clerk of the Borough within three days
after such change, and the Borough Clerk shall immediately report
such change of address to the Borough Council at its next regular
meeting.
C.
All applications shall be filed with the Borough Clerk
who shall submit said applications to the Borough Council at the next
succeeding meeting for action, and any or all applications may be
granted or refused by the vote of the said body present at such meeting.
No taxicab shall be licensed until an insurance
policy, or certificate in lieu thereof, and power of attorney executed
shall be filed with the Clerk of Borough of Totowa as provided for
taxicabs pursuant to the provisions of the N.J.S.A. 48:16-1, as amended
and supplemented.
A.
No taxicab licensed under this chapter shall be maintained
or operated on the streets of the Borough of Totowa except by a driver
licensed by the Borough Council. The driver of every such taxicab
shall, at all times, when the same is designated in public, carry
the license bearing the inscription "The Borough of Totowa, License
No..." (inserting the driver's license number), which license shall
be furnished and issued by the Borough Council upon payment of the
driver's license fee.
B.
The driver shall not lend his license to another.
A.
Every applicant for a driver's license shall, in addition
to the requirements herein provided and the statutes of this state
made and provided, prove to the satisfaction of the Borough Council
that he is over the age of 21 years; that he is in good health, with
good eyesight, and not addicted to the use of intoxicating liquors
or drugs; that he is able to read and write the English language;
that he is of good character; that he has not been convicted of an
indictable offense or of reckless or drunken driving in this state
or any other state; and that he has knowledge of the State Motor Vehicle
Department's traffic regulations and of the ordinances and geography
of the Borough of Totowa.
B.
He must furnish with the application for such driver's
license a recent photograph of himself of a size not less than 1 1/4
inches in height and 1 3/4 inches in length, which shall be filed
with the application, and names and addresses of two responsible property
owners of the County of Passaic as references.
C.
Every license so issued shall be revoked upon conviction
of two violations of the state motor vehicle code.
[Amended 5-16-1972 by Ord. No. 991]
[Amended 5-16-1972 by Ord. No. 991]
All licenses to be issued under the provisions
of this chapter shall be issued in the name of the Borough of Totowa
and under the hand of the Clerk, and all licenses issued under this
chapter shall expire on June 30 of each year unless sooner suspended
or revoked.
There shall be affixed in every taxicab, in
such manner that the same can be conveniently read by any person therein,
a card at least three inches in height by five inches in length, containing
the name of the owner, the license number of the vehicle and the year
of issue.
No taxicab shall be permitted to park in the
public streets within the Borough, and the Borough Council may, in
its discretion, designate by resolution such places off the public
streets as may be used for taxi parking or as a taxi stand.
No licensed taxicab, while waiting employment
by passengers, shall stand on any public street nor shall any taxicab,
while being driven, seek employment by repeatedly or insistently driving
to and fro in a short space, before, or by otherwise interfering with,
the ordinary and proper access to or egress from any public place;
but employment may be solicited by driving through any public street
or place without stops, other than those due to obstructions or traffic,
and at a rate of speed that will not interfere with or impede traffic.
The rate of fare to be charged within the limits
of the Borough of Totowa shall be posted so that it is conspicuously
seen by any passenger in any part of the taxicab. The Borough Council
shall have the right to set, by resolution, from time to time, a maximum
rate of fare which may be charged.
Every driver of such taxicab shall have the
right to demand payment of legal fare in advance and may refuse employment
unless so prepaid, but no driver of such vehicle shall otherwise refuse
or neglect to convey any orderly person or persons upon request anywhere
in the Borough unless previously engaged or unable to do so. No driver
of any such taxicab shall carry any other person than the passenger
employing him, without the consent of said passenger.
A.
Any license may be revoked or suspended at any time,
for cause, by the Borough Council of the Borough of Totowa.
B.
Any person or persons, firm or corporation found guilty
of a violation of the provisions of this chapter more than three times
in the aggregate may have said license suspended or revoked after
a hearing held before the Borough Council, at which time the licensee
shall have a right to retain counsel and to have witnesses appear
in his behalf.
