[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Bellmawr 3-16-1972 by Ord. No. 4-72 as Ch. 97 of the 1972 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Vehicles and traffic — See Ch. 440.
The following words and phrases and their derivatives, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings hereafter ascribed to them:
BOROUGH
The Borough of Bellmawr, in the County of Camden, State of New Jersey.
DRIVER
Any person who drives a taxicab within the Borough of Bellmawr.
LICENSED
Licensed in accordance with the appropriate section of this chapter.
OPERATION OF A TAXICAB
Shall consist of transporting in such taxicab one or more persons for hire along any of the streets or highways of the Borough of Bellmawr and accepting said passenger to be transported for hire within the Borough of Bellmawr to a point either within or without the Borough of Bellmawr. The operation of a taxicab in the above-described manner by one other than the owner shall be deemed operation by the owner as well as by the person actually driving the same. The transportation of any person other than the owner or driver in any motor vehicle bearing a sign or signs therein or thereon using the word "taxi," "taxicab," "cab" or "hack" shall be prima facie evidence of operation.
OWNER
Any person, corporation or association in whose name title to any taxicab is registered with the New Jersey Department of Motor Vehicles or who appears in such record to be the conditional vendee or lessee thereof.
PERSON
Includes the singular as well as the plural, and any individual, copartnership, association, corporation or joint-stock company and its lessees, trustees or receivers appointed by any court whatsoever.
STREET and HIGHWAY
Any street, avenue, park, parkway, highway or other public place or part thereof.
TAXICAB
Any automobile or motorcar commonly called a "taxi," engaged in the business of carrying passengers for hire, which is held out, announced or advertised to operate or run or which is operated or run over any of the streets or highways of the Borough of Bellmawr and particularly accepts such persons as may offer themselves for transportation from points within the Borough of Bellmawr to points within or without the Borough of Bellmawr.
From and after the effective date of this chapter, no person shall operate a taxicab within the Borough of Bellmawr unless the taxicab is licensed pursuant to this chapter and conforms to all the provisions hereof.
Any and all licenses issued pursuant to the terms of this chapter shall expire at 12:00 midnight on the 31st day of December of the year for which the same shall be issued, unless sooner surrendered, suspended or revoked.
All applications for the issuance or renewal of any license shall be made to the Borough Council of the Borough of Bellmawr on forms adopted by said Borough Council and obtained from the Borough Clerk and designed to elicit information respecting the identification, responsibility and law-abiding habits of the applicant. Applications may be made within the two-month period prior to the expiration of any license which was previously issued, or applications may be made at any time should no license have previously been issued to said applicant.
Each applicant for a license shall supply the information required on the application, in full, and verify the correctness thereof by his oath or affirmation and thereafter file the completed application with the Borough Clerk, together with the full amount of the proper fee hereinafter fixed.
A. 
The annual fee for one taxicab or the first taxicab owned and proposed to be operated by such applicant shall be as provided in Chapter 210, Fees. For each additional taxicab owned and proposed to be operated by such applicant, the fee shall be as provided in Chapter 210, Fees, for each year for which said license or licenses shall be issued or renewed.
B. 
Where any license or licenses shall issue on or after July 1 of any year, the license fee shall be as provided in Chapter 210, Fees. No part of such fees shall be refunded for any reason except upon the denial of an application for the issuance or renewal of a license by the Borough Council.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
The Borough Council may, in its discretion, refuse to issue or renew or may, after notice and hearing, revoke or suspend any license:
A. 
If the applicant or licensee has been convicted of a crime in this or any other jurisdiction, or has been convicted of being a disorderly person or of a violation of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes of New Jersey titled "Motor Vehicles and Traffic Regulation," or if such applicant or licensee violates any provision of this chapter, or has any judgment unsatisfied of record against him arising out of an automobile accident, or is not a citizen of the United States of America, or has made false answers in his application for such license or any renewals thereof, or has failed or fails to render reasonably prompt, safe and adequate taxicab service, or has not complied fully with all the requirements of this chapter.
B. 
If the motor vehicle licensed or to be licensed is dangerous to the safety or health of the occupants thereof or others by reason of unsafe or unsanitary condition, or if the financial requirements of the statutes of the State of New Jersey have not been complied with or have lapsed, or if the financial responsibility required thereby is not maintained at all times.
Each applicant granted a taxicab license shall be issued a license plate or card made of such material and in such form as the Borough Council shall decide which shall at all times be kept clearly legible and be displayed on the taxicab so licensed. Said license or tag shall at all times be and remain the property of the Borough and, on direction of the Borough Council, shall at once be surrendered to and deposited with the Borough Clerk.
Every person driving a public taxicab or other vehicle operated for hire must carry a municipal driver's license issued by the Borough Clerk, but only after report by the Chief of Police and approval of the Borough Council.
[1]
Editor's Note: Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
An applicant for a driver's license must be not less than 18 years of age, of sound physique, with good eyesight, and not subject to epilepsy, vertigo, heart trouble or any other deformity of body or mind which might render him unfit for the safe operation of a public taxicab. He must be of good moral character, able to read and write the English language, clean in dress and person and not addicted to the use of intoxicating liquors, habit-forming narcotics or other drugs.
[1]
Editor's Note: Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
Applications for such licenses must be made to the Borough Clerk on Borough forms and accompanied by a fee as provided in Chapter 210, Fees, by affidavits from two reputable citizens of the Borough who have known the applicant and observed his character for more than a year and by two identification photographs, size one inch by one inch, of the head and shoulders of the applicant. Each license so issued shall be provided with a blank space upon which the record shall be made by the Police Department of any suspension or revocation thereof or of any arrest or complaint.
[1]
Editor's Note: Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
With each license there shall be delivered to the licensee a license card which shall contain a copy of the photograph of the licensee, the license number and the signature of the licensee. Said card shall be affixed to a conspicuous and indispensable part of the interior of the taxicab being operated by said licensee and shall not be defaced, removed, concealed, obliterated or altered in any way.
[1]
Editor's Note: Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
No license shall be issued until the owner of the taxicab shall have filed with the Borough Clerk an insurance policy with a company duly licensed to transact business under the insurance laws of this state, conditioned for the payment of not less than $100,000 to satisfy all claims for damages by reason of bodily injuries to or the death of any one person resulting from an accident and a sum of not less than $300,000 to satisfy all claims for damages by reason of 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 taxicab upon any public street in the Borough, and conditioned for the payment of a sum of not less than $10,000 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 taxicab upon any public street in the Borough.
[1]
Editor's Note: Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
Every taxicab so licensed shall have displayed on both sides thereof the word "Taxi" or "Cab" in letters at least six inches high or the name of the operating owner containing the word "Taxi" or "Cab" or "Taxicab."
Any person who obtains a license pursuant to the terms of this chapter may maintain a clearly marked taxi stand or place of business in order that he may engage in the business of carrying passengers for hire, provided that prior approval is obtained from the Borough Council for each taxi stand or place of business within the Borough of Bellmawr. The application for said taxi stand or place of business shall clearly set forth its geographical location and the method by which it will be marked, including what signs, if any, will be located at said taxi stand or place of business. There shall be no additional fee required in order to obtain permission to locate a taxi stand or premises to be utilized as the place of business for a taxicab within the Borough of Bellmawr. A taxi stand may not be located in front of, nor may a taxicab business be engaged in, any residential property.
Any person violating any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or imprisonment in the county jail for a term not exceeding 90 days or a period of community service not exceeding 90 days, or any combination thereof, in the discretion of a court of competent jurisdiction. Each and every day that such violation shall continue shall be a further and separate offense under the terms of this chapter, subject to the penalties herein prescribed.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).