Township of Manchester, NJ Chapter 387 Taxicabs

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township of Manchester by Ord. No. 70-3 (Sec. 4-3 of the 1996 Revised General Ordinances). Amendments noted where applicable.]

§ 387-1 Definitions.

[Amended by Ord. No. 77-70-3B]

A. As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

LIMITED TAXICAB LICENSE

A taxicab license issued pursuant to this chapter which expressly restricts the pickup of passengers to certain areas within the Township, so as to primarily serve the needs of residents who live within the same particular development or general area, either operated by radio dispatch, on a point-to-point demand, or fixed-loop service, or in any other manner.

PERSON

Includes a firm, copartnership, association and corporation and the singular or plural, the masculine, feminine or neuter, unless the contrary is clearly expressed.

PLENARY TAXICAB LICENSE

A taxicab license issued pursuant to this chapter which authorizes operation of a licensed taxicab throughout the entire area of the Township, either from stands on a public street or public place, by radio dispatch, or in any other manner.

PUBLIC TAXICAB STAND

A section of a public street or public place set apart for the exclusive use of a limited number of taxicabs when such section is distinctly marked as such by a metal sign attached to a stanchion on the curb or other conspicuous place or by clearly visible marks upon the surface of the street or public place.

TAXICAB

Any automobile, taxicab, or other vehicle propelled by mechanical motor power engaged in the business of transportation of passengers for hire or pay within the Township of Manchester.

B. Unless expressly limited to either a plenary taxicab license or a limited taxicab license, all general references in this chapter with respect to taxicab licenses shall be deemed to include both plenary and limited taxicab licenses.

§ 387-2 Administration and enforcement.

The licensing of taxicabs shall be by the Township and such licenses when granted by the Township Council shall be countersigned by the Township Clerk, and all fees payable to the Township of Manchester received for licenses shall be paid to the Township Clerk. The regulating and inspection of taxicabs the application for license to own and operate such taxicabs, the licensing of drivers as hereinafter provided for in this chapter, shall be under the control of the Township Council of the Township of Manchester. The Township Council is authorized and empowered to establish reasonable rules and regulations for the inspection of taxicabs and requirements of construction and condition of fitness for the safe and adequate transportation of passengers and the general cleanliness of such taxicabs.

§ 387-3 License required.

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 within the Township of Manchester without first having obtained a license for that purpose.

§ 387-4 Application for license; requirements.

[Amended by Ord. No. 75-68]

A. Application for licenses for taxicabs shall be made by the owner, lessee or bailee upon a form to be furnished by the Township Clerk and such application shall contain the full name and address of the owner, lessee or bailee and the applicant, the year, type and model of vehicle for which the license is desired and the number of persons it is capable of carrying and shall be accompanied by the required fee. No vehicle shall be licensed unless it can accommodate a minimum of four passengers or a maximum of 10 passengers.

B. Not more than 25 plenary taxicab licenses, and not more than six limited taxicab licenses shall be issued and outstanding at any time.

C. The license fee for each taxicab as herein defined shall be the sum of $100, which shall be payable on or before December 1. The licensing period shall extend from January 1 until the following December 31. The fee herein fixed for the issuance of such license is imposed for revenue.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. III).

D. No vehicle covered by the terms of this chapter shall be licensed until it has been thoroughly and carefully inspected and examined by a person designated by the Township Council and found to be in a thoroughly safe condition for the transportation of passengers. Side curtain or shades shall not be permitted on any such vehicles.

E. Upon approval and granting of a license for the operation of a taxicab within the Township of Manchester by the Township Council, the Township Clerk shall provide the licensee with a card containing the name of the applicant, a front straight view photograph of the licensee, the Township license number, a notice that in case of any complaint, the Police Department shall be notified of the same and the rates of fares under which said taxicab is operated. There shall also be issued one metal plate or tag to the licensee, which plate or tag shall be affixed on some visible portion of the rear part of the motor vehicle.

F. No vehicle known as a Tudor body shall be licensed as a taxicab.

G. No car five years old or older shall be licensed as a taxicab.[2]

[2] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. III).

H. No license shall be issued to any person who is not a bona fide resident of Ocean County, or any corporation, firm or association which does not have its principal place of business in Ocean County.

§ 387-5 Transfer of license.

A. It shall be unlawful for any owner of a licensed taxicab to sell, lease, rent, assign, transfer or in any other manner dispose of a taxicab license without the permission of the Township Council, nor shall any owner of a taxicab hire out or rent a taxicab to a taxicab driver or any other person for use within the Township of Manchester for a stipulated sum over a definite period of time.

B. No taxicab license shall be transferred without the approval of the Township Council. Any license heretofore or hereafter issued may be transferred with the payment of a transfer fee of $50 upon obtaining the approval of the Township Council.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. III).

§ 387-6 Insurance required.

A. In order to insure the safety of the public, it shall be unlawful for the owner, the lessee or the bailee of any taxicab to operate or cause to permit such taxicab to be operated, nor shall any license be issued hereunder until and unless the applicant shall have complied with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 48:16-1.

B. Upon the failure of the licensee to file the insurance certificate with the Township Clerk or upon notice served to the Township Clerk that the insurance coverage of the licensee has been revoked or suspended, the Township Clerk shall refuse to issue the license or shall notify the Chief of Police, who shall forthwith have the license withdrawn from the licensee and shall notify the licensee to cease and desist from the operation of the taxicab.

§ 387-7 Records to be kept by Township Clerk and Police Department.

A. The Township Clerk shall keep a register of the name of each person owning or operating a vehicle or vehicles licensed under this chapter, together with the license number and the make and description of such vehicle with the date and complete record of inspection of it.

B. The Police Department of the Township of Manchester shall maintain constant vigilance over all taxicabs to see that they are kept clean and in a condition of safety for the transportation of passengers, and to this end, shall have the right at any and all such licensed vehicles and shall maintain a record of all such inspections, and a copy of such inspection records shall be kept in the Township Clerk's office in compliance with Subsection A of this section. The records shall also include any and all violations of this chapter and the Motor Vehicle Act by the licensee.

§ 387-8 Revocation and suspension of license.

Licenses granted under this chapter may be revoked or suspended at any time after hearing by the Township Council if the vehicles shall not be in a clean and safe condition for the transportation of passengers and kept to conformity with the terms of this chapter or any of the rules and regulations adopted by the Township Council.

§ 387-9 Application for driver's license.

[Amended by Ord. No. 75-68]

A. The license fee for each driver of a taxicab shall be the sum of $50 for each year or part thereof. The licensing period shall be from January 1 to December 31 of the following year. The fee herein fixed for the issuance of such license is imposed for revenue.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. III).

B. Each applicant for a driver's license under the terms of this chapter must conform to the following regulations:

(1) Be of the age of 18 years or over and be a bona fide resident of the County of Ocean for at least one year preceding the application.

(2) Present the certificate of a reputable physician showing that he has been examined within 60 days and that he is of sound physique with good eyesight and not subject to epilepsy, vertigo, heart trouble or other infirmity of body or mind which might render him unfit for the safe operation of a taxicab.

(3) Be a citizen of the United States.

(4) Has not been convicted of a crime and has not violated any provision of this chapter.

(5) Not be addicted to the use of narcotics or intoxicating liquors.

(6) Produce affidavits of his good character from at least two reputable citizens who have known him personally for at least two years and a further affidavit from his last employer unless, in the estimation of the Township Council, sufficient reason is given for its omission.

(7) Fill out, upon a form provided by the Township Clerk, his full name, residence, places of residence for the preceding five years, age, color, height, color of eyes and hair, place of birth, previous employment, whether he has ever been convicted of a crime or a violation of this chapter and whether his license has ever been revoked and for what cause, which statement shall be signed and sworn to by the applicant and filed with the Township Clerk as a permanent record. He shall also furnish four copies of photographs, size two inches by two inches, front view.[2]

[2] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. III).

(8) The applicant shall also indicate in the application form any conviction for violation of any of the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Statutes of the State of New Jersey for a period of five years antedating the date of the application, and if the answer be in the affirmative, he shall furnish the details with respect to such conviction.

(9) He must be fingerprinted by an approved private contractor approved by the State of New Jersey.[3]

[3] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. III).

§ 387-10 Issuance of driver's license.

Upon satisfactory fulfillment of the foregoing requirements, there shall be issued by the Township Clerk, after the approval of the Township Council, to the applicant, a driver's license card which shall contain the photograph and Township license number of the licensee and the bumper decals.

§ 387-11 Revocation or suspension of driver's license.

A. If at any time within the licensed year a taxicab driver has been convicted of a crime, the Township Council shall immediately suspend or revoke the driver's license.

B. The Township Council, after hearing, may suspend or revoke a license of any taxicab driver whose taxicab shall loiter within any space prohibited by law or ordinance, or who shall personally stand or park his taxicab in the prohibitive place soliciting or waiting for new passengers, or who shall violate any of the provisions of the motor vehicle laws of the state or this chapter or any of the rules and regulations made by the Township Council.

§ 387-12 Taxicab stands.

A. The Township Council may designate public taxicab stands as provided by law and the number of taxicabs permitted therein. The taxicabs shall operate on the first-in, first-out basis at such taxicab stands. No taxicab company or corporation shall have more than one taxicab at any designated taxicab stand.

B. The Township Council may establish other stands when in their judgment that course shall be necessary. The continuance of such stand shall thereupon be subject to the approval or disapproval of the Township Council.

C. Any owner of a taxicab license who shall change his place of business subsequent to the effective date of this chapter shall provide off-street parking for all of his taxicabs.

§ 387-13 Rates.

For the purpose of setting taxicab rates to be charged by all holders of plenary taxicab licenses, the Township of Manchester shall determine and adopt uniform rates by resolution. Rates charged by the holders of limited taxicab licenses shall be subject to the approval by the Township of Manchester by resolution, but need only be uniform within the area covered by each limited taxicab license.

§ 387-14 Operation of taxicabs.

[Amended by Ord. No. 66-70-3B]

A. No driver of any taxicab shall seek employment by repeatedly and persistently driving his taxicab to and fro in a short space or otherwise interfering with the proper and orderly access to or egress from any theater, hall, hotel, public resort, railway station or other place or public gathering, and no driver shall solicit passengers for a taxicab.

B. Every driver of a taxicab who shall discover any property lost or left in the taxicab must report in writing to the Police Department with brief particulars and description of the property, within 24 hours after his finding thereof, unless sooner claimed or delivered to the owner.

C. Any licensed driver or any person or corporation operating a licensed vehicle for the transportation of passengers for hire in the Township of Manchester shall not enter into any agreement or arrangement with the proprietor of any hotel, motel, boardinghouse, or any other place of business in the Township of Manchester or with any person connected with such hotel, motel, boardinghouse, or any other place of business whereby such licensed driver or person or corporation operating any licensed vehicle to receive any fee, commission or money consideration for return or soliciting patronage for such hotel, motel, boardinghouse, or any other place of business or for inducing persons to patronize such hotels, motels, boardinghouses, or any other place of business, and it shall be unlawful for any licensed driver to receive any fee, commission or money consideration for securing patronage for any such hotel, motel, boardinghouse, or any other place of business.

D. Every taxicab operator, pursuant to a plenary taxicab license, shall have a permanent illuminated taxicab sign and be plainly marked as a taxicab, and the illuminated taxicab sign shall be in operation when the taxicab is commercial employed.

E. Every holder of a plenary taxicab license shall operate and render service at least 12 hours every day of the week. Every holder of a limited taxicab license shall operate and render service at least eight hours every day for at least five days each week.

F. Every holder of a plenary taxicab license shall operate his business from an established place of business or such designated taxi stands.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Original Sec. 4-3.14g, regarding the attire and appearance of taxicab drivers, which previously followed this subsection, was deleted at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. III).

§ 387-15 Displaying of license and rates.

No taxicab shall be operated upon the streets of the Township of Manchester at any time hereafter without displaying the license and a card of such character and placed in a manner as to be conveniently read by any passenger containing the maximum rates of fare to be charged, the name and license number of the licensee and the name, address and front straight-view photograph of the driver of the taxicab.

§ 387-16 Advertising.

No taxicab shall carry any signs of advertising of any kind.

§ 387-17 Joint liability.

Any violation of this chapter by any driver shall constitute a similar violation on the part of the owner of such taxicab.

§ 387-18 Violations and penalties.

A. Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be liable for each offense by a fine not to exceed $200 or by imprisonment for any term not exceeding 90 days in the county jail, or both.

B. Any corporation violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be liable for a fine of not more than $200.

C. Any person who aids, assists or abets in the violation of any of the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to the penalty herein provided for.