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Borough of Rutherford, NJ
Bergen County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Code
New Laws (0) Index Notes (1)
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough of Rutherford Council 9-16-1947 by Ord. No. 1503, effective 9-17-1947. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Vehicles and traffic — See Ch. 126.
No person, firm, partnership, association or corporation shall operate a taxicab within the Borough of Rutherford without first having obtained a license to operate said taxicab from the Mayor and Council.
[Amended 5-2-1967 by Ord. No. 1973]
A. 
All applications for licenses shall be in writing on forms furnished by the Borough of Rutherford, signed by the applicant or the agent of the applicant and presented to the Borough Clerk.
B. 
Applications to conduct a taxicab business shall set forth the name of the applicant, the correct name under which the business is being operated, the residence of the applicant and such other pertinent information as may be considered necessary to properly consider the application.
C. 
Applications to operate a taxicab shall state the name of the applicant and the residence of the applicant and shall provide that the applicant be fingerprinted. A fingerprint check shall not be required when applying for the renewal of an existing taxi-driving license.
[Amended 12-6-1994 by Ord. No. 2720-94]
D. 
The operator of each taxicab shall present the certificate of a physician showing that he has been examined within 60 days and he is of sound physique, with good eyesight, and not subject to epilepsy, vertigo, heart trouble or any other infirmity of body or mind which might render him unfit for the safe operation of a taxicab.
E. 
All new applicants for driver's licenses shall present evidence of being a licensed driver for a period of at least three years, or two years if a holder of either a driver's education certificate or a defensive driver's course certificate, to be entitled to the issuance of a taxi driver's license.
[Amended 6-5-1979 by Ord. No. 2260-79]
All applications received by said Borough Clerk shall be presented by him to the Mayor and Council at its next regular meeting, and said Mayor and Council shall consider the same or may adjourn action thereon to a later meeting, and at the meeting at which the same is considered the Mayor and Council may grant or refuse said application.
If said application is approved, the Council shall order the Borough Clerk to issue the license upon payment to him of the license fee as hereinafter provided.
[Amended 12-6-1994 by Ord. No. 2720-94]
All licenses issued pursuant to this chapter shall expire one year from the date of issuance.
[Amended 2-19-1952 by Ord. No. 1594-52; 4-17-1979 by Ord. No. 2254-79; 10-3-1989 by Ord. No. 2553-89; 12-6-1994 by Ord. No. 2720-94]
The following nonrefundable fees shall be paid to the Borough Clerk:
A. 
One hundred dollars upon issuance of a taxicab license.
B. 
Twenty-five dollars upon the filing of an annual application for a taxi-driving license, to cover the cost of investigation.
[Amended 2-28-2006 by Ord. No. 3105-06]
C. 
A fee for providing State of New Jersey fingerprint checks at the rate permitted by State of New Jersey law at the time said request is made. A fingerprint check shall not be required when obtaining a renewal of an existing taxi-driving license.
[Amended 12-6-1994 by Ord. No. 2720-94]
A. 
All licenses issued hereunder shall be exhibited in a prominent place inside the vehicle.
B. 
The taxi-driving license issued by the Borough shall have affixed thereto, at time of issuance, a photograph of the driver. Said photograph shall be a print 1 1/2 inches by 2 inches, with a head size of not less than one inch, taken against a light background.
[Amended 2-16-1965 by Ord. No. 1933; 3-17-1970 by Ord. No. 2040; 9-4-1974 by Ord. No. 2152-74; 6-5-1979 by Ord. No. 2260-79; 6-17-1980 by Ord. No. 2282-80; 9-5-1984 by Ord. No. 2378-84; 6-5-1986 by Ord. No. 2441-86; 11-19-1996 by Ord. No. 2778-96]
The following listed metered fares shall be the maximum charge for conveying passengers within the Borough of Rutherford:
A. 
A metered fee of $2 for the first 1/10 mile and $0.35 for each additional 1/10 mile for conveying a passenger from one pickup point within the Borough of Rutherford to one destination within the Borough of Rutherford.
[Amended 2-28-2006 by Ord. No. 3105-06]
B. 
A waiting time fee of $1 may be charged for up to the first five minutes and $0.15 per minute thereafter, with a maximum waiting time fee of $9 per hour.
[Amended 2-28-2006 by Ord. No. 3105-06]
C. 
Fares are to be posted on the outside of the vehicle on both the passenger's side and the driver's side.
[Added 2-16-1965 by Ord. No. 1933]
The number of passengers being conveyed at any one time in one taxicab shall not exceed five, exclusive of the operator thereof.
Every vehicle licensed hereunder shall have posted on the inside thereof, where the same may be easily read by passengers, a printed card in a frame showing the rates of fare, the name of the owner, the name of the driver, his badge number and a photograph of the driver. Said photograph shall be a print 2 inches x 3 inches, with a head size of not less than one inch, taken against a light background.
[Added 2-16-1965 by Ord. No. 1933]
Every vehicle licensed under the ordinance of which this section is supplementary shall be clearly marked on each side thereof, which said marking shall include the word "taxi" and an identifying number in letters and numbers at least three inches in height.
[Added 2-16-1965 by Ord. No. 1933; 2-7-1989 by Ord. No. 2526-89]
The owner of any taxicab licensed to operate the same in the Borough of Rutherford shall keep a record or log wherein notations shall be made setting forth the dates and times of operation of said taxicab and the names of the operators thereof during said periods of operation. It shall be the responsibility of the owner of any taxicab licensed to operate the same in the Borough of Rutherford to ensure that all operators of said taxicab or taxicabs shall have obtained a taxi-driving license in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 113-13, Badge required, as amended, was repealed 12-6-1994 by Ord. No. 2720-94.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 113-14, Taxicab stands, was repealed 10-24-2006 by Ord. No. 3122-06.
The soliciting of taxi business shall be carried on only by licensed operators and for taxicabs which are immediately available.
All licensed vehicles shall be available for at least eight hours a day and six days a week.
No person other than passengers for hire shall be permitted to ride in any licensed taxicab while it is in service.
The provisions of this chapter shall be severable, and if any of the provisions hereof shall be held to be unconstitutional, the decision of the court respecting such provision or provisions shall not affect the validity of any other provisions which can be given effect without such invalid provision or provisions.
[Amended 2-7-1989 by Ord. No. 2526-89]
A. 
Any operator of a taxicab operating within the Borough of Rutherford violating the provisions of this chapter relating to the obtaining of a taxi-driving license shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a fine not exceeding $50 and, in default of the payment thereof, may be sentenced to imprisonment in the county jail for a term not exceeding 30 days. Every day on which said violation continues shall constitute a separate offense.
[Amended 12-6-1994 by Ord. No. 2720-94]
B. 
Any person, firm, partnership, association or corporation violating any of the provisions of this chapter, excepting those persons covered under Subsection A of this section, shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a fine of not exceeding $500 and, in default of the payment thereof, may be sentenced to imprisonment in the county jail for a term not exceeding 30 days. Every day on which such violation continues shall constitute a separate offense.
[Added 5-5-1992 by Ord. No. 2646-92[1]; amended 2-28-2006 by Ord. No. 3105-06]
A. 
No approval by the Mayor and Council for the issuance or renewal of a taxicab license shall become effective until the owner of the taxicab shall have filed with the Borough Clerk an insurance policy of a company duly licensed to transact business under the insurance laws of this state. The Mayor and Council's approval shall become effective and operation thereunder shall be permitted only so long as the insurance policy shall remain in force to the full and collectible amounts as stated herein.[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection B, which contained specific minimum amounts of insurance coverage, and which immediately followed this subsection, was repealed 5-26-2009 by Ord. No. 3182-09.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also provided for the renumbering of former § 113-20, Fees for autocab insurance certificates, as § 113-21.
[Added 12-4-1979 by Ord. No. 2271-79; 4-27-2010 by Ord. No. 3200-10]
The fee for the issuance of an autocab insurance certificate by the Borough Clerk, required under N.J.S.A. 48:16-17, shall be $50, plus $1 for each additional certificate which may be requested for filing in any other municipality.