A. 
No person shall operate any motor vehicle as a taxicab upon any public way in the City unless such motor vehicle is licensed as a taxicab in accordance with this article.
B. 
No person owning, leasing, renting or otherwise having control of a motor vehicle shall allow any person to operate such motor vehicle as a taxicab unless such motor vehicle is licensed as a taxicab in accordance with this article.
[Amended 6-12-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-20]
Application for a taxicab license shall be made to the City Council. The application shall require the following information: name of the applicant; home and business address of the applicant; name, home and business address of the registered owner of the vehicle, if not the applicant; make, model and vehicle identification number of the vehicle; and any other such information, under oath, as required by the City Council.
[Amended 6-12-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-20]
Upon application of the license holder of a licensed taxicab to transfer a taxicab license from one vehicle to another, the City Clerk, upon payment of the licensing fee, is authorized to issue a license for the new vehicle.
[Amended 6-12-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-20; 1-25-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-1; 6-12-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-22]
Every taxicab license shall be signed by the City Clerk, who shall assign a permanent taxicab license number to each taxicab at the time the license is first issued. The number shall be used for each subsequent license renewal. It shall set forth the name, residence and place of business of the licensee, the owner of the motor vehicle to be operated under it, if not the licensee, a description of the motor vehicle to be operated under it, the current registration number, the engine number of the vehicle, and the number of persons, exclusive of the operator, which it may carry; and, unless sooner revoked or rendered void, it shall continue in effect until January 1 next after the date thereof. All taxicab licenses assigned to a taxicab business shall be picked up each year by March 1 of that year. The owner of a vehicle that has a taxicab license assigned to it shall, within 15 days of the vehicle being removed from service or taken off the road, either apply to transfer that license to another vehicle or return the license and plate to the City Clerk's office. The transfer process must be completed no longer than 15 days after submission to the City Clerk.
The fee for a taxicab license shall be as provided in Chapter A110, Fee Schedule, of the City Code. No such license shall be issued until such fee has been paid to the City Clerk.
[Amended 6-12-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-20]
A. 
The City Clerk shall issue to the licensee with each license issued as provided in this division a metal plate for each vehicle to be operated thereunder, bearing the words: "Taxi Vehicle License No. __________, Fall River, Mass.," and setting forth the serial number of the license and the year of its issuance. Such taxi vehicle license plate shall be attached near the registration plate on the rear of the taxicab, and the cost of such plate shall be borne by the licensee.
B. 
Every licensed vehicle shall have the name of the licensee and of the owner, if not the licensee, the name of the City and its taxicab license number painted on the sides thereof in letters not less than four inches high and 1/2 inch wide in a color contrasting with the background.
[Added 6-12-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-22]
A. 
A license issued under the provisions of this article shall be subject to renewal annually.
B. 
Applications for vehicle licenses and plates shall be made at the office of the City Clerk. Applications for licenses and plates shall set forth such information as the City Clerk may require, in addition to the following information: name of the applicant; home and business address of the applicant; name of the registered owner of the vehicle; home and business address of the vehicle owner, if not the applicant; make, model, vehicle identification number and registration number of the vehicle. A valid certificate of registration must accompany all applications.
[Added 6-12-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-22]
Notwithstanding City Council approval of any new application, no taxicab license, including any renewal thereof, shall be issued by the City Clerk without the following:
A. 
The applicant for a license has presented for examination, in the case of each vehicle to be licensed, a valid certificate of registration.
B. 
The applicant for a license has presented for examination, in the case of each vehicle to be licensed, a valid certificate of inspection.
C. 
Each vehicle to be licensed has been inspected and approved by the Sealer of Weights and Measures and found to have a taximeter as required by § 78-32 and MGL c. 98, § 45.