[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township
of Raritan as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
[Adopted by Ord. No. 01-4 (Ch. 5.48 of the 2000 Code)]
This article is created pursuant to N.J.S.A. 48:16-1 et seq.
and shall be known as the "Township of Raritan Limousine Ordinance."
As used in this article the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
Limousine.
Any automobile or motor car used in the business of carrying
passengers for hire to provide prearranged passenger transportation
at a premium fare on a dedicated, nonscheduled, charter basis that
is not conducted on a regular route and with a seating capacity in
no event of more than 14 passengers, not including the driver, provided,
that such a vehicle shall not have a seating capacity in excess of
four passengers, not including the driver, beyond the maximum passenger
seating capacity of the vehicle, not including the driver, at the
time of manufacture. Nothing in this article contained shall be construed
to include taxicabs, hotel buses or buses employed solely in transporting
schoolchildren or teachers or autobuses which are subject to the jurisdiction
of the Department of Transportation, or interstate autobuses required
by federal or state law or regulations of the Department of Transportation
to carry insurance against loss from liability imposed by law on account
of bodily injury or death.
The business of carrying passengers for hire by limousines.
Any individual, copartnership, association, corporation or
joint-stock company, their lessees, trustees or receivers appointed
by any court whatsoever.
Any street, avenue, park, parkway, highway, or other public
place.
No person shall operate a limousine service utilizing the Township
of Raritan as its principal place of business, as expressed in N.J.S.A.
48:16-18, without having first obtained a limousine license from the
Township Clerk. Such license shall be for a term of one year from
the date of issuance and shall be renewable annually and shall be
nontransferable. Each limousine vehicle shall be required to have
its own limousine license.
The Township Clerk shall issue a limousine license in duplicate, after satisfactory compliance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 48:16-14 to and including 48:16-22.2 and the provisions of the Township of Raritan general license provisions as set forth in Chapter 301, Licensing (unless herein modified in this article); and
A.
An insurance policy from a company
duly licensed to transact business under the insurance laws of the
State of New Jersey shall be provided in the sum of $1,500,000 against
loss by reason of the liability imposed by law upon every limousine
owner for damages on account of bodily injury or death suffered by
any person as a result of an accident occurring by reason of the ownership,
maintenance or use of the limousine upon any public street.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
B.
A copy of the insurance policy
with proof of payment of premium throughout the license period shall
be filed with the Clerk of the Township of Raritan.
C.
The owner of the limousine shall
execute and deliver a power of attorney to the Motor Vehicle Commission
concurrently with the filing of the insurance policy with the Township
Clerk, appointing the Chief Administrator of the Motor Vehicle Commission
as its lawful attorney to acknowledge service of process.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
D.
The owner of the limousine shall
equip each limousine vehicle in accordance with the minimum standards
established by the Chief Administrator of the Motor Vehicle Commission
pursuant to N.J.S.A. 48:16-22.1.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
E.
Prior to the operation of any
limousine the owner shall cause the driver (operator) thereof to conduct
a general examination of the condition of the vehicle in accordance
with N.J.S.A. 48:16-22.2.
F.
The owner of the limousine shall
satisfy the minimum inspection requirements as outlined in N.J.S.A.
39:8-1 and 48:16-22.2.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
Upon the paying of the license fee as hereinafter established,
the Township Clerk shall issue, in duplicate, a license to operate
showing that the owner of the limousine has complied with the terms
and provisions of this article. In addition to the basic information
on the identity of the license holder, the license shall recite the
name of the insurance company, the number and date of expiration of
the required insurance policy, a description of every limousine insured
thereunder, and the registration number of each limousine. The duplicate
license shall be filed with the Motor Vehicle Commission before any
such car is registered as a limousine.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
[Adopted by Ord. No. 07-37 (Ch. 5.46 of the 2000 Code)]
This article is created pursuant to N.J.S.A. 48:16-1 et seq.
and shall be known as the "Township of Raritan Taxicab Ordinance."
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A person who operates or drives for a taxicab business or
causes such business to be operated is based in a municipality if
the business:
Has its principal office or principal place of business in that
municipality; "principal place of business" means, in reference to
a municipality, a) the location of the main place of business of the
taxicab service in the municipality where taxicab service is conducted,
b) where taxicabs are dispatched, or c) where taxicab drivers report
for duty;
Maintains a telephone listing that tends to identify the listing
with a particular municipality or locale in a municipality;
Advertises itself in a manner that states or suggests it is
located in the municipality; or
With respect only to a person who works for but does not operate
a taxicab business, the business has a license or certificate from
that municipality to operate a taxicab business.
A person who operates or drives for a taxicab business or
causes such business to be operated is based in Raritan Township if
the business:
Has its principal office or principal place of business in Raritan
Township; "principal place of business" means, in reference to the
Township, a) the location of the main place of business of the taxicab
service in Raritan Township where taxicab service is conducted, b)
where taxicabs are dispatched, or c) where taxicab drivers report
for duty;
Maintains a telephone listing that tends to identify the listing
with Raritan Township; or
Advertises itself in a manner that states or suggests it is
located in Raritan Township.
The driving of an empty taxicab back and forth along a public
street at a slow rate of speed for the obvious purpose of soliciting
passengers.
Includes a firm, copartnership, association, corporation
and limited liability company or partnership, and the singular or
plural and the masculine, feminine or neuter thereof, unless the contrary
is clearly expressed.
Any motor vehicle used in the business of transporting persons
for hire, from or to points within the Township, including taxicabs,
limousines and other vehicles hired by call, charter or special contract,
whether the fare or price is agreed upon in advance or not.
A.
No person who is based in the Township, as that term is defined in § 435-8, shall operate or drive a taxicab or cause any taxicab to be operated or driven in the Township without having first obtained a license, issued by the Township Clerk with the consent of the Township Committee, for every operator and every vehicle to be so operated.
B.
No person who is not based in the Township shall operate or drive a taxicab or cause any taxicab to be operated or driven in the Township without first having obtained the license or certificate, if any, that is issued to or required of persons wishing to engage in such activities by the municipality in which such person is based, as that term is defined in § 435-8.
C.
This section shall not be construed
to prohibit the operation of a taxicab within the Township solely
for the purpose of bringing passengers from points outside the Township
to destinations within the Township.
D.
The obtaining of a license under
this section shall not relieve the licensee of the obligation to comply
with any applicable provisions of Title 16, Land Development, of this
Code.
Before the Township Committee shall issue any license for a
taxicab, other than the renewal of an existing license, it shall be
satisfied that public convenience and necessity so require.
Every application for a license shall be filed with the Township
Clerk on a form to be furnished by the Township, and no application
shall be considered unless the same is fully and completely filled
out and is accompanied by the required fee. Every application shall
include a statement, to be signed by the applicant, consenting to
the Township's obtaining copies of the applicant's driving record
and record of criminal and disorderly persons convictions and domestic
violence proceedings from the official public agencies which maintain
such records. The applicant shall be fingerprinted by the Chief of
Police, since fingerprints are necessary to determine proper identification,
which fingerprint record shall be immediately processed for classification
and identification. Every applicant who is required to submit to fingerprinting
under this subsection shall pay to the Township Clerk the administrative
cost of taking and processing the applicant's fingerprints, which
shall be in addition to the license fees specified by this article
for taxi licenses.
A.
An applicant for a taxicab license
shall be the owner of the vehicle and shall be at least 18 years of
age. In passing upon any application for a taxicab license, the Township
Committee may consider any information which has relevance to the
applicant's moral character, business reputation or ability to properly
conduct a taxicab business in an honest and responsible manner or
which may reflect upon the safety of the proposed vehicle for use
as a taxicab. Approval of any application for a taxicab license shall
not be given unless at least one proposed driver named in the application
holds a current Township taxicab driver's license or is approved for
such license at the same time the application for the taxicab license
is considered. Before a license is issued or renewed, the applicant
must file with the Township Clerk an insurance policy and a power
of attorney, as required by N.J.S.A. 48:16-3 and 48:16-5, as amended
from time to time.
B.
An applicant for a taxicab driver's
license shall be at least 18 years of age. In passing upon any application
for a taxicab driver's license, the Township Committee may consider
any information which has relevance to the applicant's moral character,
judgment, business reputation or ability of the applicant to transport
passengers for hire in a safe, honest and businesslike manner, including
but not limited to records relating to the applicant's driving history,
convictions for any moving violation and convictions for any crime
or disorderly persons offense involving any matter which reflects
upon such matters, and whether the applicant has been subject to a
restraining order in any domestic violence matter.
A.
Every person when operating a
taxicab shall have a valid taxicab driver's license or certificate
and the name of the issuing municipality in his possession and shall
exhibit the same upon request to any public officer, taxicab passenger
or other duly authorized agent of the Township.
B.
Any police officer of the Township
may inspect any taxicab at any time.
C.
Every licensed taxicab shall
exhibit a card containing the name of the owner of the vehicle, the
number of the owner's license and the rates of fare to be charged.
D.
Every licensed operator shall,
on demand, give to any passenger a receipt indicating the name of
the owner, the driver's license number and the fare charged.
A.
No person other than the licensed driver of the taxicab shall drive or sit in the compartment of the taxicab reserved for the driver, nor shall the driver engage in cruising as defined in § 435-8; nor shall any driver or owner invite or permit loitering within or near his taxicab.
B.
Smoking shall not be permitted
in any taxicab without the permission of the passenger.
A.
The prices that may be charged
by the owners or drivers of taxicabs equipped with taxi meters, for
the transportation of passengers for hire, shall not exceed the rates
filed with the Township Clerk, and may not be changed or modified
without written approval from the Township Committee.
B.
All prices charged shall be subject
to a 25% discount for persons over the age of 62.
A.
All taxicab licenses shall be
issued by the Township Clerk and shall be issued to expire December
31 next exceeding the date of issuance, unless it is sooner suspended
or revoked by the Chief of Police.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
C.
Changes in ownership or title
to any taxicab licensed under this article shall automatically revoke
the license for such vehicle or vehicles. The purchaser of such vehicle
must apply for a license authorizing the operation of the vehicle
as heretofore set forth.
