[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee
of the Township of Hazlet 3-16-1982 by Ord. No. 555-82 as Ch. X of the 1982
Revised General Ordinances (Ch. 293 of the 1993 Code). Amendments
noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following words
shall have the meanings indicated:
Consists of 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 Township to a destination within or
without the Township shall be considered "operation of a taxicab"
within the Township. 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.
Any person in whose name title to any taxicab is registered
with the New Jersey Division of Motor Vehicles, who appears in the
Division's records to be a conditional vendee or lessee or has any
other proprietary interest in a taxicab.
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.
A.
No person shall operate a taxicab within the Township
unless both the owner and the driver of the taxicab are licensed under
this chapter.
B.
The Township Clerk shall keep a register of all licenses
granted. The register shall indicate the character of the license,
its number, date of issue, name of person licensed and any other information
pertaining thereto. He or she shall keep all applications, and upon
those which may be granted he or she shall endorse the number of the
license issued.
[Amended 9-21-1993 by Ord. No. 923-93]
A.
Driver's license. The holder of a Hazlet Township
taxicab driver's license shall be entitled to operate within the Township
any taxicab whose owner has been licensed with the Township under
this chapter.
B.
Owner's license. The holder of a Hazlet Township taxicab
owner's license shall be entitled to operate a taxicab owned by him
or her within the Township, provided that the person driving the cab
holds a valid Hazlet Township taxicab driver's license.
[Amended 9-21-1993 by Ord. No. 923-93]
A.
Application information.
[Amended 9-3-2002 by Ord. No. 1235-02]
(1)
Application for a taxicab owner's license shall be
made to the licensing agent on the forms provided by him or her.
(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 by the corporation itself.
B.
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 or 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 licensing
agent.
[Amended 9-3-2002 by Ord. No. 1235-02]
C.
Factors considered. In determining whether to grant
or deny the license, the licensing agent shall take into consideration
the following factors:
[Amended 9-3-2002 by Ord. No. 1235-02]
(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.
D.
Issuance of license. The licensing agent shall grant
or deny the license. If the application is approved, the licensing
agent shall issue the license upon the forms established by the Township.
[Amended 9-3-2002 by Ord. No. 1235-02]
E.
License term; fees.
(1)
A taxicab owner's license shall expire on the first
day of July succeeding the date of issue.
(2)
The license fee shall be $50 per year or portion thereof
per vehicle, payable upon the filing of the application for the issuance
or renewal of the license.
(3)
The license provided shall bear a number and shall
state the name of the person licensed. It shall briefly describe the
vehicle licensed and contain the motor vehicle license number and
the manufacturer's number of the motor vehicle.
F.
Transfer of owner's license; fee. A taxicab owner's
license may be altered or amended after the initial issuance or renewal
to reflect a change of vehicle by submission of a written request
and the filing of an amended certificate of insurance. A fee of $20
shall accompany each request.
B.
Investigation. The Chief of Police or a police officer
designated by him or her shall investigate the application and shall
report the results to the licensing agent within a reasonable time.
The report shall include a recommendation that the license be granted
or denied and the reasons for the recommendation.
[Amended 9-3-2002 by Ord. No. 1235-02]
C.
Issuance of license; contents. Upon approval of the
application by the Chief of Police or a police officer designated
by him or her, the licensing agent shall immediately issue the applicant
a taxicab driver's license. The license shall contain the licensee's
name and address, signature and photograph and shall be signed by
the licensing agent and have the Township Seal affixed thereto. Every
holder of a driver's license shall have the license in his or her
possession while operating a taxi.
[Amended 9-3-2002 by Ord. No. 1235-02]
D.
Term of license; fee. An initial license to drive
a taxicab shall expire on July 1 succeeding that date of issue. A
taxicab driver's license may be renewed annually, unless it has been
revoked or suspended, upon the payment of a fee of $15.
[Amended 9-21-1993 by Ord. No. 923-93]
E.
Transfer of license. A taxicab driver's license shall
be nontransferable.
A.
Initial inspection. Before any vehicle is used as
a taxicab within the Township, 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 Township Committee shall so require 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 Township 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.
Public taxi stands may be established only at such
places as may from time to time be designed by the Township Committee.
The Committee may designate the character of vehicles which may stand
at any public taxi stands and may exclude all other vehicles from
the stands. The location and capacity of any taxi stands shall be
indicated by a sign substantially as follows:
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"PUBLIC TAXI STAND, CAPACITY . . . . . . . .
. ."
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B.
No vehicle other than one licensed hereunder and prepared
to accept passengers upon request shall stand at any public taxi stand.
A.
The fare that may be charged by the driver or owner
of a taxicab for a trip wholly within the limits of the Township shall
not exceed the rates approved by the Township Committee in the application
for owner's license.
B.
A schedule of the approved rates shall be displayed
in the taxicab in a manner so as to be read easily by all passengers.
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.
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.
No driver or other person interested in or connected
with any vehicle licensed hereunder shall solicit customers in a noisy
or offensive manner, nor at any place other than public taxi stands
in any manner whatsoever.
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.
No driver of any vehicle licensed hereunder
shall permit such vehicle, when disengaged, to stand in any public
street or place other than at a public taxi stand, provided that nothing
herein shall prevent the driver from waiting for a passenger in front
of any building or place.
A.
Generally. In addition to the causes for revocation of a license set forth in § 249-8 of this Code, 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 an unsatisfied judgment 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 Township 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 reckless or grossly
negligent manner or habitually operating a taxicab in a negligent
manner.
[Amended 5-21-1990 by Ord. No. 790-97; 9-21-1993 by Ord. No.
923-93; 8-2-2005 by Ord. No. 1337-05]
Before a taxi owner's license shall be issued,
the applicant must file with the Township Clerk, a policy of insurance
with the premium prepaid thereon from a company duly licensed to transact
business under the insurance laws of the State of New Jersey, in the
amount of not less than $10,000 to satisfy all claims for damages,
by reason of bodily injury to, or the death of, any one person, resulting
from an accident, and a sum of not less than $20,000 to satisfy all
claims for damages, by reason of the bodily injuries to, or the death
of, all persons, on account of any such accident, by reason of the
ownership, operation, maintenance, or use of such autocab upon any
public street; and conditioned for the payment of a sum not less than
$5,000 to satisfy any claim for damages to property of any one person,
resulting from an accident, and a sum not less than $5,000 to satisfy
all claims for damages to property of all persons, on account of any
such accident, by reason of the ownership, operation, maintenance,
or use of such autocab upon any public street. The permit shall continue
effective and operative only as long as the insurance policy shall
remain in force and effect, and the full amounts thereunder shall
remain collectible.
[Added 9-21-1993 by Ord. No. 923-93]
For violation of any provision of this chapter, the maximum penalty, upon conviction, shall not exceed the maximum penalties set forth in Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article III. Each and every violation of any provision of this chapter shall be considered a separate violation and shall subject the person so charged to the maximum penalty.
