[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Grand Island 3-3-1958 (Ch. 41 of the 1963 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Vehicles and traffic — See Ch. 372.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
The authorization, in writing, as provided herein which permits
a person to operate a business for the transportation of persons for
hire and which may also provide for authorization for a natural person
to operate a motor vehicle for the transportation of persons for hire
as provided for herein.
Includes a purchaser under a reserve title contract, conditional
sales contract or vendor's lien agreement or a lessee who is entitled
to obtain in his own name proper New York State registration of the
vehicle.
Includes natural persons, corporations, copartnerships, unincorporated
associations, joint-stock companies, societies and all other entities
of any kind.
No person shall engage in or carry on the business
of transporting persons for hire by motor vehicle from point to point
within the Town of Grand Island, nor shall a person drive or operate
a motor vehicle in the business of transporting persons for hire from
point to point within the Town of Grand Island unless a license therefor
shall have been issued or reissued by the Town Clerk authorizing same
as set forth herein.
[Amended 5-2-1988 by L.L. No. 1-1988]
A.
Owner-operator. If the owner of a motor vehicle is
also the operator thereof, the license shall so state. The fee shall
be in that amount as set forth in the Schedule of Fees adopted by
Town Board resolution and filed in the office of the Town Clerk.
B.
Owner only. The fee shall be in the amount as set
forth in the Schedule of Fees adopted by Town Board resolution and
filed in the office of the Town Clerk.
C.
Operator only. The fee shall be in the amount as set
forth in the Schedule of Fees adopted by Town Board resolution and
filed in the office of the Town Clerk.
An operator license or an owner-operator license
shall be conspicuously posted and securely fastened in the interior
of the vehicle so as to be in the view of all passengers.
Each license shall contain the following information:
A.
The name and address of the owner of the vehicle.
B.
The name and address of the license holder.
C.
The date of issuance of such license and the number
thereof.
D.
The make, type and seating capacity of the vehicle.
E.
The New York State registration number of the vehicle.
F.
A photograph of the operator of the vehicle at least
two inches by two inches.
G.
A schedule of rates.
A verified application shall be made to the
Town Clerk upon forms prepared and furnished by the Town Clerk, which
applications shall contain the following information: the name and
address of the applicant and of the officers and directors of the
applicant, if any; the make, type, seating capacity and New York registration
number of each vehicle to be used in said business; the owner of such
vehicle; whether the applicant has ever been convicted of a misdemeanor
or a felony and the date thereof and the type of crime; and such other
information as may be required by the Town Clerk to assist in determining
the applicant's fitness for carrying on such trade, as well as a schedule
of the rates the applicant intends to use. Two photographs shall be
supplied by the applicant is he or she desires an operator or a combination
owner-operator license, showing head and shoulders, which shall be
two inches by two inches in size, one of which photographs shall be
attached to the license if issued, and the other photograph will be
kept in the files of the Town Clerk. All applications shall be accompanied
by the affidavits of at least two reputable citizens of the Town who
have known the applicant for at least one year preceding the date
of the application, showing that the applicant is of good character
and that they believe the applicant a fit and desirable person to
be granted a license in such occupation. No affidavits shall be required
in the case of a renewal. All applications and renewals thereof shall
be accompanied by a certificate of a garage, service station or dealer
of said vehicle, setting forth in detail the fitness of the motor
vehicle for operation in transporting persons for hire. No license
shall be issued in the event that such certificate shall show any
defect in such vehicle which would render it unsafe for the use intended.
Such certificate shall not be conclusive against the Town but shall
be evidence only that the owner of the vehicle has had an inspection
made, for the protection of the traveling public. Nothing herein shall
prevent the proper authorities, at the direction of the Supervisor,
from making further inspections.
A.
The Town Board may, by resolution or by amendment
hereto and from time to time, set, establish, change, amend or otherwise
prescribe the rates which may be charged hereunder by the owners or
operators of all motor vehicles operated in the business of transporting
persons for hire.
B.
The Town Board may, by resolution, prescribe that
all rates as contemplated hereunder shall be determined by a standard
metering device.
C.
The Town Board may, by resolution, prescribe methods
for computing rates, rate zones or other means for determining all
rates as contemplated herein.
D.
The Town Board may, by resolution, require the posting
within vehicles of rate cards, maps, diagrams or other information
designed to advise passengers of the proper fares or rates.
The Town Clerk may refuse to issue any license
hereunder but only for a specific reason, and only for the protection
of the public safety, health, or general welfare, or in the event
the applicant or its officers or directors have been convicted of
a misdemeanor or felony which in the opinion of the Town Clerk renders
the applicant unfit or undesirable to carry on the occupation being
licensed hereunder. Any applicant who is aggrieved hereunder may appeal
the decision of the Town Clerk to the Town Board, by filing a written
request for appeal to the Board and requesting a hearing before the
Board to determine his or her fitness to hold such license. The Town
Board shall thereafter grant such license or deny the appeal.
A.
After a hearing held thereon, at which time a licensee
may be heard, the Town Board may revoke any license issued to any
person, when the Town Board shall determine such person to be an undesirable
person or incapable of properly conducting the occupation or business
licensed herein.[1]
B.
A license shall not be assigned or loaned and the
assignor and the assignee of such license both shall each be guilty
of a violation of this chapter.
Whenever a license shall be lost or destroyed,
a duplicate license in lieu thereof may be issued by the Town Clerk
upon the filing by the license of an affidavit setting forth the circumstances
of the loss or destruction and what search, if any, has been made,
with the Town Clerk. All lost or destroyed licenses shall be reported
to the Town Clerk within 24 hours of the discovery of the loss or
destruction thereof, or the holder will be deemed to be operating
without a license.
All licenses shall expire at midnight of the
31st day of December next following the date of issuance. Renewal
of licenses shall be from November 1 to midnight of July 1 next succeeding.
Any application made after July 1 shall be considered a new application.
No operator shall allow more passengers in the
vehicle than the seating capacity, nor operate said vehicle when his
or her chauffeur's license is suspended or revoked, nor allow any
other persons to ride in the motor vehicle after the entry into the
vehicle of the person or persons first accepted for transportation
unless their initial consent is obtained.
An owner of a motor vehicle licensed hereunder
shall cause to be inspected each such motor vehicle at least monthly
for mechanical defects and shall make all repairs immediately, and,
upon demand of the Town Board, shall produce a certificate of such
inspection or evidence thereof; shall not permit an unauthorized person
to operate a motor vehicle for the transportation of persons for hire,
and shall be equally responsible with the operator for any violations
of this chapter.
Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to
require a license for the transportation of persons for hire by motor
vehicle from a point within the Town to a point without the Town,
or from a point without the Town to a point within the Town, or from
a point without the Town to a point beyond the Town via a route being
through the Town.
[Amended 12-7-1964][1]
Violation of this chapter shall be an offense.
Any violation of this chapter shall be punishable by a fine of not
more than $250 or by imprisonment for not more than 15 days, or by
both fine and imprisonment.
