[Ord. # 68-10; Ord. # 2011-18]
No person shall drive, keep or use for hire or wages, any hack,
omnibus, stage, motor vehicle or other vehicle for the transportation
of passengers, wholly or in part, within the limits of the Township,
without being first licensed therefor, according to the provisions
of this chapter, provided that none of the requirements contained
in this chapter shall apply to the owners or drivers of any livery
stable or garage vehicles, other than those vehicles kept by them
for the use of passengers solicited at public stands or elsewhere
within the limits of the Township.
[Ord. # 68-10; Ord. # 2011-18]
One license and one only shall be required for each hack, omnibus,
stage, motor vehicle or other vehicle for the transportation of passengers,
but for each driver, other than the owner of such licensed vehicle,
a separate license shall be required.
[Ord. # 68-10; Ord. # 2011-18]
Every application under this chapter for license of any kind
shall be in writing and where such application is made by the owner
it shall state his place of residence, the character of vehicle proposed
to be licensed, the correct name of the owner thereof and such other
facts as may be required by the Township Council, and where the application
is made for a driver's license, it shall state his full name, residence,
and submit the names of at least two citizens of the County who have
known him for at least one year prior to the making of such application,
and such applicant must be at least 18 years of age.
[Ord. # 68-10; Ord. # 2011-18]
Every applicant under this chapter for a license of any kind
shall definitely agree in his application to conform to and abide
by any and all regulations now or hereafter adopted by the Township
Council, including the amount charged for hire, the regulation of
traffic upon the public streets and with respect to the standing and
movement of vehicles at or near places designated by the Township
Council where passengers may be solicited and to solicit passengers
only at such places so designated.
[Ord. # 68-10; Ord. # 2011-18]
The Township Council is hereby authorized to grant the licenses,
herein provided for, to so many and to such persons as it shall think
proper, of good moral character and otherwise qualified according
to the provisions of this chapter.
[Ord. # 68-10; Ord. # 2011-18]
Any license granted under this chapter may be suspended or revoked
by the Township Council upon proof to its satisfaction that said licensed
person, or in case of a corporation, any person acting on its behalf,
has violated any of the Laws of the State of New Jersey, of this or
any other Township ordinance, or any rule or regulation adopted by
the Township Council respecting such licenses; provided that no license
shall be so suspended or revoked without reasonable opportunity first
afforded to the licensed person or corporation to be heard on his
or its own behalf; and no person or corporation shall, during the
suspension or after the revocation of his license, continue to exercise
the privilege for which such license was granted.
[Ord. # 68-10; Ord. # 2011-18]
The Township Council is hereby authorized to prescribe and promulgate
rules and regulations covering persons and vehicles licensed hereunder
and to designate and limit stands and places where passengers may
be solicited by persons so licensed, and to fix amount of charges
to be made for the hire of the licensed vehicles.
[Ord. # 68-10; Ord. # 2011-18]
The license fees shall be paid as follows:
a.
To
the owner in case of a vehicle having a seating capacity of not more
than seven persons: $25.
b.
To
the owner in case of a vehicle having a seating capacity in excess
of seven persons: $25.
c.
To
the drivers in case of a separate drivers license additional to the
owner's license: $5.
d.
To
the driver in addition to the license fee a deposit with the Township
Clerk of the sum of $5 as a security for the return of the drivers
license and badge, which will be furnished to each person so licensed.
[Ord. # 68-10; Ord. # 2011-18]
Each license granted under the provisions of this chapter shall
expire on February 1 next following the granting of same, and shall
state the object for which it is given, the name of the person or
corporation licensed, the number of the license, the date of expiration,
the manufacturer's number of the motor vehicle licensed; and the Township
Clerk shall keep a detailed record of all licenses so granted.
[Ord. # 68-10; Ord. # 2011-18]
Every vehicle licensed under this chapter shall at all times
have posted therein in a conspicuous place a card bearing thereon
the number of the license issued for such vehicle, the name of the
owner thereof, also a notice that upon request the driver will show
a complete copy of this chapter, which must be kept in each and every
licensed vehicle and must be shown by the driver thereof to any person
upon request.
[Ord. # 68-10; Ord. # 2011-18]
Every holder of a drivers license shall, when driving or operating
any vehicle thereunder, have in his possession the license issued
to him, and must have the license badge furnished to him with his
license conspicuously displayed upon the breast of his outer garment.
[Ord. # 68-10; Ord. # 2011-18]
No owner or driver of any vehicle licensed hereunder shall solicit
passengers or permit his vehicle, when disengaged, to stand on any
public street or place other than at public stands.
[Ord. # 68-10; Ord. # 2011-18]
No owner or driver of a vehicle licensed hereunder shall leave
his vehicle to solicit passengers, or, while waiting for employment
or otherwise, solicit customers in any noisy, persistent or offensive
manner, or use profane or indecent language, or be guilty of boisterous
talking or shouting, or any disorderly conduct, or vex or annoy travelers
or citizens, or at any time employ any other person to ask or solicit
travelers or citizens for employment.
[Ord. # 68-10; Ord. # 2011-18]
[Ord. # 2011-18]
As used in this section:
Shall mean and include 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 of no more than 14 passengers, not including the
driver, provided, that such a vehicle is certified by the manufacturer
of the original vehicle and the second-stage manufacturer, if applicable,
to conform to all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards
promulgated by the United States Department of Transportation pursuant
to 49 CFR Part 571 (49 CFR 571.1 et seq.) and 49 CFR Part 567 (49
CFR 567.1 et seq.). In addition, a "Vehicle Emission Control Information"
label, which contains the name and trademark of the manufacturer and
an unconditional statement of compliance with the emission requirements
of the Environmental Protection Agency, shall be present on the vehicle.
This definition does not apply to taxicabs, hotel buses, buses employed
solely in transporting school children or teachers, vehicles owned
and operated directly or indirectly by businesses engaged in the practice
of mortuary science when those vehicles are used exclusively for providing
transportation related to the provision of funeral services, 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.
Shall mean and include the business of carrying passengers
for hire by limousines.
Shall mean and include a firm, copartnership, association
and corporation, and the singular or plural and the masculine, feminine
or neuter thereof, unless the contrary is clearly expressed.
[Ord. # 2011-18]
a.
In accordance with N.J.S.A. 48:16-22, no person shall operate a limousine
wholly or partly along any street in the Township of Scotch Plains
until the owner of the limousine shall have filed with the Clerk of
the Township in which the owner has his principal place of business,
an insurance policy of a company duly licensed to transact business
under the insurance laws of this State in the sum of one million five
hundred thousand ($1,500,000.00) dollars 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 the
result of an accident occurring by reason of the ownership, maintenance
or use of the limousine upon any public street.
b.
The applicant's insurance company shall supply to the Chief Administrator
of the Motor Vehicle Commission notice concerning all motor vehicle
liability insurance policies canceled for nonpayment and new policies
issued after the effective date of January 8, 2002. The notice shall
be supplied monthly. After receipt of the notice of cancellation,
the Commission shall notify the owner of the date the policy was canceled.
If the Chief Administrator has not received proof of liability insurance
within 30 days of the date the notification was sent to the owner,
the Chief Administrator shall suspend the registration of the limousine
until new proof is supplied that motor vehicle liability insurance
has been secured for the limousine. If the owner fails to provide
proof of insurance or surrender the license plates within 60 days
of the date the notification was sent to him by the Commission, the
Commission shall suspend the owner's corporation code registration
privilege.
c.
Such operation shall be permitted only so long as the insurance policy
shall remain in force to the full and collectible amount of $1,500,000.
d.
The insurance policy shall provide for the payment of any final judgment
recovered by any person on account of the ownership, maintenance and
use of such limousine, or any fault in respect thereto, and shall
be for the benefit of every person suffering loss, damage or injury
as aforesaid.
[Ord. # 2011-18]
The owner of the limousine shall execute and deliver to the
Motor Vehicle Commission concurrently with filing of a policy referred
to in N.J.S.A. 48:16-14, a power of attorney, wherein and whereby
the owner shall appoint the Chief Administrator of the Motor Vehicle
Commission his or her true and lawful attorney for the purpose of
acknowledging service of any process out of a court of competent jurisdiction
to be served against the insured by virtue of the indemnity granted
under the insurance policy filed. A copy of the power of attorney
shall be placed on file in the office of the Township Clerk.
[Ord. # 2011-18]
a.
General Jurisdiction of Zoning Officer. The Zoning Officer shall
have jurisdiction and responsibility to investigate and certify that
the limousine business is not operating in a residential zone and
that the limousine business has sufficient off-street parking for
any and all limousines to be used in the business.
b.
The Zoning Officer's certification must be submitted to the Township
Clerk prior to the issuance of a limousine license.
[Ord. # 2011-18]
a.
The Township Clerk, upon the filing of the required insurance policy,
required documentation, and the payment of a fee in the amount of
$50 for each limousine service plus $10 for each limousine which is
covered under the required insurance policy, shall issue in duplicate,
a license to operate showing that the owner of the limousine has complied
with the terms and provisions of this section.
b.
The license shall recite the name of the insurance company, the number
and date of expiration of the policy, a description of limousine insured
thereunder and the registration number of the same.
c.
The duplicate license shall be filed with the New Jersey Motor Vehicle
Commission before any such car is registered as a limousine.
d.
The original license or copy thereof shall be retained within the
limousine and be available for inspection by any law enforcement officer
in the State. In addition to the recital of insurance information
required on the license pursuant to this section, the owner of a limousine
shall attach to the original license retained within the limousine,
a notarized letter from an insurance company containing the same insurance
information required in the recital and the Vehicle Identification
Number (VIN) or a notarized certificate of insurance for the particular
limousine showing the VIN as well as the limits of insurance coverage,
and insurance card, which shall constitute proof of insurance coverage,
and which shall also be available for inspection by any law enforcement
officer in the State. A copy of the notarized letter or notarized
certificate of insurance shall constitute proof to the Chief Administrator
of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission that the applicant has
complied with the insurance provision of this section.
[Ord. # 2011-18]
Any change of address of any owner or driver licensed under
the provision of this chapter must be reported in writing, to the
Township Clerk within 72 hours of such change. The loss of limousine
license must be reported to the Township Clerk within 24 hours of
such loss. In the event any licensed driver terminates his or her
employment as a driver or ends employment with one Scotch Plains based
company and joins another Scotch Plains based company, he or she shall
return the original license and any other paper or document in his
or her possession furnished to him or her by the Township Clerk within
72 hours of such termination.
[Ord. # 2011-18]
Any person not having been duly licensed as a limousine driver, or any person whose license as such driver has been revoked or suspended and who, during the time such revocation or suspension is in effect, drives for hire any vehicle upon the streets of this Township, or who shall violate any other provision of this section, shall, upon conviction thereof, be liable to the penalty stated in Chapter 3, Section 3-1.
