[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of Bath 2-2-1954. Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, words and phrases shall have the following
meanings:
Any vehicle offered for hire in the Village of Bath and so
designed and constructed as to seat seven persons or fewer in the
interior thereof.
The operator of a taxicab.
Any establishment maintained for the purpose of receiving
calls for and dispatching of taxicabs to transport fares.
A.
No person, firm, copartnership or corporation shall keep for hire
within the limits of the Village of Bath any taxicab livery, and no
person shall operate any taxicab along any street, avenue or public
place in the Village of Bath, without first obtaining the licenses
hereinafter provided for.
B.
The Village Clerk is hereby authorized to issue such licenses as
are hereinafter provided for upon receipt of a proper application
countersigned and approved by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of Bath and the payment of the annual fee is hereinafter provided
for.
Any license required by this chapter may, for any good and sufficient
reason, be refused to any applicant, and any license that shall have
been granted may, before the expiration thereof, be revoked by the
Board of Trustees of the Village of Bath upon recommendation of any
person and for good cause shown, and such license may be taken up
and all privileges thereof terminated after a hearing and opportunity
given to the holder thereof to be heard.
Nothing herein contained shall be construed to limit or restrict
any person, firm, copartnership or corporation from operating and
maintaining any motor bus transportation system upon the streets of
the Village upon regular routes and schedules, provided that such
owner or operator of such motor buses or other motor transportation
system has been duly authorized by the Public Service Commission of
the State of New York to maintain and operate such transportation
system.
All applications for taxicab licenses, as hereinbefore provided
for, shall contain a brief description of the car to be operated in
substantially the same form as appears on the registration of the
vehicle for which a license is sought, a certificate of inspection
by a qualified mechanic that the car is in a safe mechanical condition,
the owner's name, address and registration number and such other
information as the Board of Trustees so desires of the vehicle.
Any motor vehicle licensed under this chapter may be withdrawn
from service during the term of the license and some other motor vehicle
substituted in the place thereof, provided that notice is filed with
the Village Clerk and authorization is obtained from the Board of
Trustees before such substituted motor vehicle is placed in service.
The requirements for the substituted vehicle shall be the same as
the requirements hereinbefore specified for the vehicle originally
licensed.
Applications for a taxicab driver's license, as hereinbefore
provided for, shall contain the applicant's name and address,
his age, the number of his chauffeur's license issued by the
State of New York, the name and address of his employer, if any, and
such other information as may be required by the Board of Trustees.
Each applicant shall also furnish not fewer than two unmounted photographs
two inches by three inches in size, which shall be recent photographs
and be a substantial likeness of the applicant. Each applicant shall
also present recommendations of two reputable citizens certifying
the good record of the applicant, his honesty, sobriety and good moral
conduct.
No taxicab driver shall, while waiting for employment in any
place, engage in any disorderly conduct or obstruct any sidewalk.
[Amended 3-25-1996 by L.L. No. 3-1996]
The following regulations shall apply to all licenses and to
all persons, firms, copartnerships or corporations holding any license
or licenses issued pursuant to this chapter:
A.
Every taxicab licensed under this chapter shall have affixed in a
conspicuous place in the interior thereof the license issued by the
Village Clerk and the taxicab driver's license of the person
driving and operating the same.
B.
No taxicab driver shall induce any person to be carried by any taxicab
by willful misrepresentation.
C.
Each taxicab shall have the name of the taxicab company which owns
or operates the vehicle conspicuously and permanently affixed to the
outside of the vehicle. All letters and markings shall be at least
three inches in height and legible.
D.
Every taxicab driver shall keep the inside of taxicabs operated in
his business in a clean and sanitary condition, and every driver shall
at least once each day thoroughly clean the inside of every taxicab
operated in his business.
E.
Every taxicab shall provide windows in the tonneau of the cab sufficient
in number and of such size and dimensions so that at all times persons
may be readily seen through the windows with sufficient distinctiveness
as to identify such persons.
F.
No taxicab driver shall seek employment by repeatedly and persistently
driving a cab to and fro in a space before or by otherwise interfering
with the proper and orderly access to or egress from any theater,
hall, hotel, public resort, railroad station or terminal or other
place of public gathering, nor shall any taxicab driver solicit employment
by driving at such low speed as to interfere with or impede traffic;
provided, however, that taxicab drivers shall obey the instructions
of police officers who may in an emergency give instructions relating
thereto as will relieve traffic congestion and conserve the safety
and convenience of the public.
G.
No taxicab to which a trailer is attached shall be driven or operated
for hire.
H.
No taxicab driver shall drive or operate a taxicab while he is intoxicated,
nor shall be drink intoxicating liquor while on duty.
I.
No taxicab driver shall at any time so fasten or lock the doors on
the cab that it is impossible for a passenger to open the same from
the inside, and every cab shall be provided with means for fastening
the doors so that they may be readily opened on the inside by a passenger.
J.
No taxicab driver shall permit any person, other than the passenger
who hires the use of the cab and such person or persons as such passengers
shall designate or a member of the driver's immediate family,
to be or remain in or upon said cab while any passenger is or passengers
are being solicited therefor and conveyed therein.
K.
All taxicab drivers shall neither refuse nor neglect to convey any
orderly person or persons upon request, unless previously engaged
or unable to do so.
L.
All taxicab owners shall keep a written record of all taxicab calls
on a form approved by the Chief of Police, and all records must be
kept for at least one year.
M.
Every taxicab driver shall search the interior of the cab after termination
of each trip for any article left or lost in the cab and shall immediately
take such property to the Bath Police Station.
N.
No taxicab driver or owner shall permit any other persons to use
his license.
O.
No taxicab driver shall operate any cab for more than 12 hours continuously
in any twenty-four-hour period.
P.
Every taxicab driver shall, at the conclusion of each period of duty,
inspect all lights on the taxicab he has been driving, test the horn
or other signaling device and report any failures, together with any
brake failures or other mechanical failures, to his employer, and
any and all such failures shall be corrected before the cab is again
placed in service.
All taxicabs shall be inspected as often as the Chief of Police
shall direct. If a taxicab shall be found not reasonably safe for
operation, the Chief of Police shall order the cab withdrawn from
service, and no such cab shall thereafter be used or operated as a
taxicab until such defects are remedied and approved by the Chief
of Police.
[Amended 4-30-1979 by L.L. No. 9-1979]
A.
Any person, firm, corporation or corporation committing an offense
against any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof,
be guilty of a violation pursuant to the Penal Law of the State of
New York, punishable by a fine not exceeding $250 or by imprisonment
for a term not exceeding 15 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
The continuation of an offense against the provisions of this chapter
shall constitute, for each day the offense is continued, a separate
and distinct offense hereunder.
B.
In addition, or as an alternative to the above-provided penalties,
the Board of Trustees may also maintain an action or proceeding in
the name of the Village in a court of competent jurisdiction to compel
compliance with or to restrain by injunction the violation of this
chapter.
