[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[1] 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.
[1]
Editor's Note: See now § 202 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law.
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.