[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Rye 5-31-1966. Amendments noted where applicable.]
No person, partnership or corporation shall operate or permit
to be operated in the Town of Rye, outside the limits of the incorporated
Village of Port Chester and the limits of the incorporated Village
of Mamaroneck a taxicab which is not licensed under the provisions
of this chapter.
No person shall operate a taxicab in the Town of Rye without
first securing a license under the provisions of this chapter.
Taxicab licenses and taxicab drivers' licenses shall be issued
by the Town Clerk upon receipt of the license fee as hereinafter provided,
upon written application in the form required by the Town Board, and
which said application shall have annexed thereto a photograph and
fingerprints of the applicant. Each application for taxicab license
shall have endorsed thereon a certificate of the Police Committee,
that the vehicle sought to be licensed is in good mechanical condition
and that the applicant for such license is a person of good moral
character and in the opinion of said Police Committee capable of rendering
efficient service. Every vehicle so licensed shall have prominently
displayed thereon a metal tag, certificate or medallion or other device
as may be determined by the Town Board. Each application for a taxicab
driver's license shall have endorsed thereon a certificate of the
Chief of Police of the Town of Rye that such applicant is a person
of good moral character and in the opinion of such Chief of Police
a competent driver.
Any license issued shall expire on the first day of January
next succeeding its issuance.
No application for a taxicab license shall be issued unless
proof of financial responsibility as provided by Article 6-A of the
Vehicle and Traffic Law is first given. No taxicab license or taxicab driver's
license shall be issued to a person, partnership or corporation where
any person, partner, officer or officers have been convicted of a
felony.
Every taxicab licensed hereunder shall be inspected by the Chief
of Police of the Town of Rye or by a member of the Town Police designated
by the said Chief of Police for that purpose at least once in each
six month's period and a certificate or a notation of such inspection
shall be endorsed on the license.
No vehicle licensed as a taxicab shall be parked upon any street
or highway in the unincorporated area in the Town, except in such
areas as may be previously designated by the Chief of Police for that
purpose.
No taxicab owner or driver, while awaiting hire by passengers,
shall cruise or solicit while driving upon the public streets. Every
such owner or driver while soliciting passengers for hire for a taxicab
parked or standing upon any public street shall remain inside said
vehicle or upon that portion of such public street lying directly
along the side, front or rear of such vehicle, or such other place
or places as may from time to time be designated.
The fee for a taxicab license shall be $25 for each taxicab
and the fee for a taxicab driver's license shall be $10.
The Town Board may by resolution limit the number of taxicab
licenses and taxicab driver's licenses to be issued by the Town Clerk
and also may by resolution provide that the holders of licenses shall
be preferred or have priority in the issuing of licenses.
Any taxicab license or taxicab driver's license may be suspended
or revoked at any time for cause by the Town Board. Upon any such
suspension or revocation the holder of such license shall immediately
surrender the same to the Town Clerk. The suspension or revocation
of such licenses for cause shall include but shall not be limited
to the use of any licensed vehicle for immoral or illegal purposes,
the violation of any ordinance or state law governing the operation
of a motor vehicle and the conviction of any licensee of a felony.
No order of suspension or revocation shall be made by the Town Board
except upon at least 10 days' notice in writing delivered either personally
to the licensee or by registered mail addressed to the licensee at
the address designated by the licensee in his application, which said
notice shall provide for a hearing at which the said licensee shall
be entitled to be present and to be represented by counsel.
No taxicab license may be transferred.
This chapter shall not apply to taxicabs and drivers of such
taxicabs actually engaged in transporting a passenger or passengers
for hire within or through the Town of Rye, provided such transportation
originated outside the unincorporated limits of the Town of Rye, nor
upon returning from such trips; nor shall this chapter apply to any
taxicab or the driver of any such taxicab entering the unincorporated
limits of the Town of Rye for the purpose of transporting a passenger
or passengers provided transportation of such passenger or passengers
is not wholly confined to the unincorporated limits of the Town of
Rye.
A. Each and every violation of any of the provisions of this chapter
of the Town of Rye shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed $100
or by imprisonment for not more than six months, or by both, unless
a lesser penalty is provided by statute.
B. In the case of continuing violation of this chapter of the Town of
Rye, each day that such violation exists, shall constitute a separate
and distinct violation.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent herewith
are hereby repealed except that such repeal shall not affect the validity
of any criminal prosecution or civil action commenced or pending.
If any section, paragraph, subdivision or provision of this
chapter shall be invalid, such invalidity shall apply only to the
section, paragraph, subdivision or provision adjudged invalid and
the rest of this chapter shall remain valid and effective.
This chapter shall become effective immediately upon publishing
and posting or upon personal service as provided in § 133
of the Town Law.
[Added 3-16-1971]
A. Taxi rates shall be established and approved by the Rye Town Board
and said rates shall be uniform and shall be prominently displayed
in each taxicab.
B. A set of regulations dealing with the essentials of the operation
of each taxicab shall be permanently displayed in each taxicab, which
regulations the Town Board shall promulgate from time to time and
which shall, among other things, clearly state that the person who
orders the taxicab or who is the first passenger in the taxicab shall
have full control over the number of passengers to be transported
therein.
C. A front-window sign shall be placed in each taxicab, which shall
be uniform, to designate that the said vehicle is a taxicab; provided,
however, that such window sign does not violate any rule, regulation
or statute of the Department of Motor Vehicles of the State of New
York.
D. Each taxicab shall have a photograph of the driver and a duplicate
of his license prominently displayed inside each taxicab and visible
to the passenger, and the name of the taxi company, if there be one,
who employs the driver.