[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Council of the Village of Ridgewood 3-22-1983 by Ord. No. 1880. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fees — See Ch. 145.
Vehicles and traffic — See Ch. 265.
For the purposes of this article, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:
DRIVER
Any person who operates a taxicab within the Village of Ridgewood, whether or not such person is also the owner thereof.
OWNER
Any person or corporation in whose name title to any taxicab is registered with the New Jersey Department of Motor Vehicles or who otherwise exercises custody or control of said vehicle as an owner or lessee thereof.
TAXICAB
Includes any automobile or motor car, commonly called a "taxi," engaged in the business of carrying passengers for hire, which is held out, announced or advertised to operate or run or which is operated or run over any of the streets or highways of the Village of Ridgewood, and particularly a vehicle which accepts and discharges persons as may offer themselves for transportation from points or places within the Village of Ridgewood to other points or places within or without the Village of Ridgewood.
A. 
There are hereby established two classes of taxicab licenses, to be known as "taxicab owner's license" and "taxicab driver's license" respectively.
B. 
No person or corporation shall operate or permit to be operated a taxicab upon the streets of the Village of Ridgewood without first having obtained the licenses provided for herein.
C. 
The owner or lessee of each taxicab shall make written application to the Village Council on forms furnished by the Village Clerk for a license for each vehicle to be operated in the Village of Ridgewood as a taxicab. Each application shall be accompanied by the requisite fees as herein fixed for the license applied for. Each application shall set forth under oath or affirmation:
(1) 
The type, maker's name, seating capacity, weight, year of manufacture, factory number and engine number of each vehicle.
(2) 
The proposed rates of fare for each vehicle.
(3) 
The principal location of each vehicle when not being operated upon the streets as a taxicab.
(4) 
The home and business address of the owner of the vehicle.
(5) 
A statement as to whether the applicant has ever been convicted of a crime or of a violation of a traffic regulation and, if the applicant has been convicted of a crime or traffic violation, a complete statement concerning dates and disposition thereof. In the case of a corporate applicant, the statement shall be completed as to all officers, directors and stockholders owning 10% or more of the stock of the corporation.
D. 
The driver of each taxicab shall make written application to the Village Council on forms furnished by the Village Clerk for a driver's license. Such application shall be accompanied by the requisite fees as herein set forth for the license applied for. The application shall set forth under oath or affirmation:
(1) 
The name of the applicant.
(2) 
The home and business address of the applicant, the number of his state driver's license and the physical characteristics of the applicant.
(3) 
Whether the applicant was ever convicted of a crime or a violation of a traffic regulation and, if the applicant has been convicted of a crime or a traffic violation, the nature and disposition thereof.
(4) 
A photograph of the applicant taken within 12 months prior to the date of the application.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection D(5), requiring applicant fingerprints, added 3-10-2004 by Ord. No. 2873, which immediately followed this subsection, was repealed 6-9-2004 by Ord. No. 2888.
E. 
No taxicab driver's license shall be issued to any person who has not attained the age of 21 and who has not held a valid New Jersey driver's license for a period of 12 consecutive months.
F. 
Each application for a taxicab driver's license shall be accompanied by a statement signed by a licensed physician of the State of New Jersey and dated within 60 days prior to the filing of the application stating that in the physician's opinion the applicant does not have any infirmity based on the physician's examination of the applicant which might make the applicant unfit for the safe operation of a taxicab.
G. 
The application may also contain such other questions or requirements for information as the Village Manager may from time to time require for the purposes of licensing and regulating public transportation consistent with the purposes of this article.
[Amended 10-13-1992 by Ord. No. 2375]
All licenses issued under the provisions of this article shall expire on December 31 of the year for which they are issued and shall be nontransferable, both as to owners and drivers. The fees for such licenses shall be as set forth in Chapter 145, Fees.
A. 
Upon the granting of any license, the Village Clerk shall issue to the licensee, owner or driver a license card.
B. 
Each owner's license card shall be posted in a conspicuous place inside the licensed vehicle.
C. 
Each driver's license card shall be carried upon the person of the driver at all times while driving the taxicab within the Village.
D. 
The owner and driver are each required to produce his license card for inspection whenever so required by any passenger, police officer or any person reasonably desiring inspection thereof because of collision, accident or other happening.
Any license, owner's or driver's, issued pursuant to the provisions of this article may be revoked or suspended (without refund of fees) by the Village Manager for any violation hereof or of any rules or regulations adopted hereunder or for other good cause shown. The person or corporation affected by such revocation or suspension shall have the opportunity for a public hearing before the Village Manager in a summary manner in order to contest the suspension or revocation. Pending hearing and decision by the Village Manager, the revocation or suspension shall remain in effect. In order to obtain a hearing from a summary revocation or suspension of a license, the licensee shall be required to request the hearing, in writing, within 10 business days of the effective date of the suspension or revocation imposed by the Village Manager.
No taxicab shall be operated as such along any street in the Village of Ridgewood until the owner thereof shall have obtained the consent of the Village Council.
[Amended 10-13-1992 by Ord. No. 2375; 1-12-2011 by Ord. No. 3274; 2-13-2013 by Ord. No. 3374]
No consent by the Village Council to the owner of a taxicab to operate upon the streets of the Village shall become effective until the owner of each such taxicab shall have filed with the Village Clerk an insurance policy of a company duly licensed to transact business under the insurance laws of this state, conditioned for the payment of the sum of not less than $100,000 to satisfy all claims for damages by reason of bodily injury to or the death of any one person resulting from an accident and property damage and a sum of not less than $300,000 to satisfy all claims for damages by reason of the bodily injuries to or the death of all persons and property on account of any such accident, by reason of the ownership, operation, maintenance or use of such taxicab within the Village of Ridgewood. Any consent to operate or lease a taxicab upon the public streets of the Village of Ridgewood which has been granted by the Village Council shall become void and of no effect in the event that the aforementioned insurance policy lapses, is canceled, or becomes ineffective for any reason.
The owner of each taxicab licensed hereunder shall execute and deliver to the Village Clerk, concurrently with the filing of the insurance policies herein required, a power of attorney, wherein and whereby the owner shall appoint the Village Manager of the Village his true and lawful attorney for the purpose of acknowledging service of any process of a court of competent jurisdiction to be served against the insured by virtue of the indemnity granted under the insurance policies required hereunder.
A. 
Each taxicab shall be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition, inside and out, and shall be kept in good repair, both mechanically and in appearance. Each taxicab shall be kept in strict compliance with the motor vehicle laws of the State of New Jersey.
B. 
The Village Manager, his designee or any member of the Police Department of the Village of Ridgewood shall have the right to inspect any taxicab licensed hereunder for the purposes of determining whether said taxicab complies with this article or with state law.
It shall be unlawful for a driver of a taxicab to drive a taxicab while the driver's view of the road is obstructed or receive or discharge passengers of a taxicab in any part of the street except within three feet of the right-hand curb.
Taxicabs may only operate from such public stands as may be created by the Village Council from time to time. It shall be unlawful for taxicabs to solicit passengers within the Village limits except from such public stands, and no individual or company owning or operating a taxicab within the Village except as are authorized to use such public taxi stands shall operate a taxicab upon the streets of this Village.
A. 
Each and every public taxicab operating in the Village shall have installed therein a taximeter or the equivalent thereof of standard make, by which the fare or charge for hire of such taxicab is mechanically and accurately calculated and registered and on which taximeter such charge is plainly indicated. Such taximeter is to be so placed in the taxicab that the charge thereof may be plainly seen by the passengers.
B. 
No person shall use or permit to be used upon any taxicab a taximeter which shall be in such a condition as to be over 5% incorrect to the prejudice of any passenger.
C. 
After sundown the face of every taximeter shall be illuminated by a suitable light so arranged as to throw a continuous steady light thereon, while in operation and carrying a passenger, so that the meter will be clearly discernible and can be read by a passenger in the rear seat.
D. 
Such taximeter shall be sealed, and a colored sticker different in color at each inspection shall be placed on the taximeter after inspection.
E. 
No person shall use or permit to be used or drive for hire a public taxicab equipped with a taximeter the case of which is unsealed or the seal of which is broken.
F. 
Taximeters on all taxicabs shall be subject to inspection at any time by the Village Manager, his designee or by any member of the Department of the Police of the Village of Ridgewood.
[Amended 10-8-1985 by Ord. No. 2008; 8-8-2001 by Ord. No. 2751]
A. 
Meter and other rates to be charged for the transportation of passengers shall be subject to the final approval of the Village Council by a resolution approving, rejecting or modifying the recommendation of the Village Manager.
(1) 
Request for rate modification shall be made in writing to the Village Manager, who shall have 60 days to review the request and report a recommendation to the Village Council.
(2) 
In making his or her recommendation, the Village Manager shall take into account changes in operating costs of providing the taxi service, general fees charged for similar services in other communities in the region and other economic factors that the Village Manager may deem relevant to a particular application.
(3) 
The Village Manager may conduct an administrative public hearing pursuant to a ten-day public notice. The cost of the public notice shall be borne by the applicant seeking the rate modification.
(4) 
The Village Council shall consider the report of the Village Manager at a public meeting at which the public shall have the opportunity to comment on the recommendations of the Village Manager. A public notice of the Village Council's intent to consider the recommendation of the Village Manager shall be published at least 10 days prior to the public meeting at which the matter is to be considered. The cost of the public notice shall be borne by the applicant seeking the rate modification.
B. 
Every vehicle licensed by the Village as a taxicab shall have fastened in a conspicuous place therein a printed card showing the rates authorized in figures of not less than 1/2 inch in height, which card shall bear the license number of such vehicle and also the name of the owner thereof. Any fares charged in excess thereof shall constitute a violation of this article by the driver or owner, or both.
C. 
Every driver of a taxicab shall, when requested, give a passenger a receipt for the fare paid.
D. 
(Reserved)[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection D, regarding specific meter rates to be charged for the transportation of passengers by taxicabs, was repealed 8-8-2001 by Ord. No. 2751. Current rates are on file in the Village offices.
E. 
Licensed taxicab operators are required to accept from senior citizens 65 years of age or over prepurchased Senior Transportation Assistance Program coupons bearing the words, "Village of Ridgewood, Senior Transportation Assistance Program, Sponsored by the Village of Ridgewood," and the dollar denomination of the coupon. These coupons shall be purchased by senior citizens at the Village Hall in the Village of Ridgewood. The rates for the Senior Transportation Assistance Program coupons shall be set periodically by resolution of the Village Council of the Village of Ridgewood, and such rates shall become effective immediately upon adoption of said resolution.
[Amended 3-8-2006 by Ord. No. 2985]
Each taxicab owner shall require each driver to maintain a daily record upon which all trips shall be recorded. The daily record shall show the taxicab number or other pertinent identification, the name and license number of the driver, specific hours of duty, time and place of origin and destination of each trip and the amount of the fare received for each trip. All such records shall be maintained by the taxicab owner for a period of one year and shall be subject to inspection by the Village Manager, his designee or any member of the Department of Police of the Village of Ridgewood.
The Village Manager may adopt and promulgate written regulations hereunder prescribing rules effecting the operation maintenance of taxicabs within the Village of Ridgewood, including the conduct and appearance of the drivers thereof and designations, markings and the appearance and safety of the taxicabs.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
LIMOUSINE
Includes any automobile or motor car with a carrying capacity of not more than nine passengers, not including the driver, used in the business of carrying passengers for hire, which is held out, announced or advertised to operate or run or which is operated or run over any of the streets or public highways of the Village of Ridgewood and which is hired by charter or for a particular contract or by the day or hour or other fixed period or to transport passengers to a specified place or places or which charges a fare or price agreed upon in advance between the operator and the passenger. Nothing herein shall be construed to include taxicabs, hotel buses or buses employed solely for transporting schoolchildren or teachers or autobuses or other vehicles which are subject to the jurisdiction of the Board of Public Utilities or interstate autobuses required by federal or state law or rules of the Board of Public Utilities to carry insurance against loss from liability imposed by law on account of bodily injury or death.
A. 
No limousine service which has its principal place of business within the Village of Ridgewood shall be operated along any street in the Village of Ridgewood until the owner or operator of said limousine service shall have obtained a limousine owner's license for each limousine so operated.
B. 
Written application for such license shall be made to the Village Council on forms furnished by the Village Clerk. Each application shall be accompanied by the requisite fees as herein fixed for the license applied for. Each application shall set forth under oath or affirmation:
(1) 
The type, maker's name, seating capacity, weight, year of manufacture, factory number and engine number of each vehicle.
(2) 
The principal location of each vehicle when not being operated upon the streets as a limousine.
(3) 
The home and business address of the owner of the vehicle.
(4) 
A statement as to whether the applicant has ever been convicted of a crime or of a violation of a traffic regulation and, if the applicant has been convicted of a crime or a traffic violation, a complete statement concerning dates and disposition thereof. In the case of a corporate applicant, the statement shall be completed as to each officer, director and owner of more than 10% of the stock of the corporation.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection B(5), regarding applicant fingerprints, added 3-10-2004 by Ord. No. 2873, which immediately followed this subsection, was repealed 6-9-2004 by Ord. No. 2888.
C. 
The application form may also contain such other information as the Village Council may from time to time require for the purpose of licensing and regulating public transportation consistent with the purposes of this article.
[Amended 10-13-1992 by Ord. No. 2375]
All licenses issued under the provisions of this article shall expire on December 31 of the year for which they are issued and shall be nontransferable. The fee for a license for each limousine shall be as set forth in Chapter 145, Fees.
Upon granting of such license, the Village Clerk shall issue to the licensee a license card which shall be posted in a conspicuous place inside the licensed vehicle.
Any license issued pursuant to the provisions of this article may be revoked or suspended (without refund of fees) by the Village Manager for any violation hereof or of any rules or regulations adopted hereunder or for other good cause shown. The person or corporation affected by such revocation or suspension shall have the opportunity for a public hearing before the Village Manager in a summary manner in order to contest the suspension or revocation. Pending hearing and decision by the Village Manager, the revocation or suspension shall remain in effect. In order to obtain a hearing from a summary revocation or suspension of a license, the licensee shall be required to request the hearing, in writing, within 10 business days of the effective date of the suspension or revocation imposed by the Village Manager.
No limousine, the owner of which has his principal place of business in the Village of Ridgewood, shall be operated along any street in the Village of Ridgewood until the owner thereof shall have obtained the consent of the Village Council.
[Amended 10-13-1992 by Ord. No. 2375]
No consent by the Village Council to the owner of a limousine to operate upon the streets of the Village shall become effective until the owner of such limousine shall have filed with the Village Clerk an insurance policy of a company duly licensed to transact business under the insurance laws of the state, conditioned for the payment of the sum of not less than $1,000,000 to satisfy all claims for damages by reason of bodily injury to or the death of any one person resulting from an accident and a sum of not less than $1,000,000 to satisfy all claims for damages by reason of the bodily injuries to or the death of all persons on account of any such accident, by reason of the ownership, operation, maintenance or use of such limousine within the Village of Ridgewood, and conditioned for the payment of not less than $1,000,000 to satisfy any claim for damages to property of any one person resulting from an accident and a sum of not less than $1,000,000 to satisfy all claims for damages to property of all persons on account of any such accident by reason of the ownership, operation, maintenance or use of such limousine upon the public streets of the Village of Ridgewood. Any consent to operate a limousine which has been granted by the Village Council shall become void and of no effect in the event that the aforementioned insurance policies are cancelled or for any reason become ineffective.
The owner of each limousine licensed hereunder shall execute and deliver to the Village Clerk, concurrently with the filing of the insurance policies herein required, a power of attorney, wherein and whereby the owner shall appoint the Village Manager of the Village his true and lawful attorney for the purpose of acknowledging service of any process of a court of competent jurisdiction to be served against the insured by virtue of the indemnity granted under the insurance policies required hereunder.
The Village Manager may adopt and promulgate written regulations hereunder prescribing rules effecting the operation and maintenance of limousines within the Village of Ridgewood, including the conduct and appearance of the drivers thereof and designations, markings and the appearance and safety of the limousines.