[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township
of Union (now Barnegat) 12-17-73. Amended 8-19-85 by Ord. No. 1985-22. Amended 3-2-98 by Ord. No. 1998-4]
TAXICAB
A motor vehicle engaged in the business of transportation
of passengers for hire within the Township, operated from public places
or from calls to a central location.
No person, partnership, company, corporation or entity shall
hire or use for hire or pay or cause to be used for hire or pay any
taxicab without having obtained approval for a license by the Township
Committee. No person shall operate or drive a taxicab within the Township
without having obtained approval for an operator's permit from
the Township Committee.
Application for licenses for taxicabs or operators' permits
shall be made to the Township upon a form provided by the Township
Clerk. The application shall contain the full name and address of
the owner or lessee and the applicant, the year, type and model number
of the vehicle for which the license is sought, and the number of
passengers the manufacturer of the vehicle states may be legally transported.
The application shall be accompanied by the fees prescribed in this
chapter. Each applicant shall be fingerprinted and photographed by
the Township Police Department. No license may be issued for any vehicle
that is more than nine (9) model years old or for a vehicle that cannot
accommodate a minimum of three (3) passengers. Each applicant for
a taxicab license or operator's permit shall submit to a police
investigation, including a criminal background investigation.
Each taxicab shall be required to be licensed and the fee for
each license shall be five hundred dollars ($500.).
Each application for a taxicab license shall be accompanied
by an insurance certificate. The insurance required for each taxicab
shall be in compliance with N.J.S.A. 48:16-1 et seq. Each taxicab
shall have as a minimum requirement, an insurance policy which will
guarantee payment for damages for an individual claim for bodily injury
or death for at least one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) and
for multiple claims for bodily injury or death for at least three
hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) for arising from a single incident,
and for the payment of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) for the payment
of property damage from a single incident. Upon issuance of the taxicab
license this insurance must be maintained and the insurance certificate
kept current and on file with the Township Clerk.
Upon issuance of a license the owner or lessee of a taxicab
shall file with the Chief Financial Officer a power of attorney whereby
the owner or lessee shall appoint the Chief Financial Officer as the
lawful authority for service of process upon the taxicab licensee.
Each operator or driver of a taxicab must be licensed by the
Township. The fee for such operator's or driver's license
shall be fifty dollars ($50.). Each operator's permit shall be
numbered by the Township Clerk. The Township shall issue an operator's
permit that shall contain the name, photograph and permit number of
the operator.
The Township Clerk shall maintain a numerical register of the
name and address of each person owning, leasing or operating a taxicab
as well as the year, model and manufacturer of each taxicab.
Taxicab licenses and operator permits shall expire on December
31 of the year of issuance. Licenses may be renewed on an annual basis
if applicants comply with the fees, terms and conditions of this chapter.
Each operator shall be supplied a badge upon issuance of the
operator's permit which shall be on conspicuous display within
the taxicab while the taxicab is in operation for fee or hire. The
owner license shall also be on conspicuous display within the licensed
taxicab.
No owner or operator of any taxicab, while waiting for employment
at any place other than the garage or residence of the owner thereof,
shall refuse conveyance to any person without just cause.
No operator shall permit any person or persons other than the
person or persons first employing the taxicab, to occupy or ride in
said taxicab unless the person or persons first employing the taxicab
shall consent to the acceptance of such additional passenger or passengers.
Every owner's or operator's license granted hereunder
may be suspended or revoked by the Township Committee, after notice
and hearing, for the violation of any of the provisions of this chapter
or for other good and sufficient cause. During said suspension and
after revocation, the license shall be inoperative and of no effect
and the license shall be surrendered to the Township forthwith.
Any person in violation of any provision of this chapter shall,
upon conviction, be subject to a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars
($1,000) or by incarceration in the county jail not to exceed ninety
(90) days and/or revocation of the taxicab license or operator's
permit.