[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Rochelle Park as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Vehicles and traffic — See Ch. 180.
[Adopted 2-14-1949 by Ord. No. 155]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
PERSON
Any individual, copartnership, association, corporation or joint-stock company, their lessees, trustees or receivers appointed by any court whatsoever.
STREET
Any street, avenue, park, parkway, highway or other public place.
TAXICAB
Any automobile or motorcar, commonly called "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 public highways of the state, and particularly accepts and discharges such persons as may offer themselves for transportation from points or places to points or places within or without the state.
TOWNSHIP COMMITTEE
The Township Committee of the Township of Rochelle Park, Bergen County, New Jersey.
No taxicabs shall be used for the transportation of passengers for hire in the Township of Rochelle Park, Bergen County, New Jersey, unless same shall be licensed in accordance with the provisions of this article and the requirements of N.J.S.A. 48:16-1 et seq. and consent for the operation thereof obtained from the Township Committee. The license required by this section shall be known as "taxi owner's license."
No person shall drive or operate as driver or chauffeur, or otherwise, any taxicab used for the transportation of passengers for hire in the Township of Rochelle Park, Bergen County, New Jersey, unless such person shall have a license issued for said purpose pursuant to the provisions of this article. The license required by this section shall be known as "taxi driver's license."
No taxi owner's license shall be issued for any taxicab herein required to be licensed until the owner thereof shall have filed an application for same, addressed to the Township Committee, setting forth the following information:
A. 
Description of the vehicle for which the license is applied for.
B. 
Name of the owner.
C. 
Residence or address of principal office of the owner.
D. 
Telephone numbers in whose name listed and time in which they are in service.
E. 
Complete schedule of fares.
F. 
Such other facts as the Township Committee or the Chief of Police of the Township of Rochelle Park shall require to be furnished.
No taxicab shall be licensed unless the following requirements are met:
A. 
The Chief of Police shall inspect said taxicab and approve same in writing and such approval shall be filed with the Township Clerk.
B. 
All requirements of N.J.S.A. 48:16-3 have been complied with.
[Amended 5-5-1986 by Ord. No. 519]
C. 
The license fee therefor, as hereinafter provided, is paid to the Township Clerk.
A. 
No taxi driver's license shall be granted to any person unless such person is at least 18 years of age and is a citizen of the United States of America and until such person shall have filed an application for same, addressed to the Township Committee, setting forth the following information:
(1) 
Full name of applicant.
(2) 
Age of applicant.
(3) 
Place of his residence.
(4) 
Certificate as to good moral character and ability, signed by at least two citizens of Bergen County.
(5) 
Such other facts as the Township Committee or the Chief of Police of the Township of Rochelle Park shall require to be furnished.
B. 
Each application for a taxi driver's license must be accompanied by two recent photographs of the applicant of a size which may be easily attached to the license when issued, one to be attached thereto, the other to be filed with the application in the Township Clerk's office.
No person shall receive a taxi driver's license until the following requirements are met:
A. 
A certificate is issued by the Chief of Police of the Township of Rochelle Park certifying that he has fingerprinted the applicant and same is on file at the Rochelle Park police headquarters.
B. 
The license fee therefor, as hereinafter provided, is paid to the Township Clerk.
No license under this article shall be issued to any person who has not been a resident of Bergen County for at least 30 days prior to the date of making application. No license under this article shall be issued to any firm, the individual members of which have not been residents of Bergen County for at least 30 days prior to the date of making application.
The Township Committee shall have the sole licensing authority under this article and shall have the power to grant or reject any license applied for hereunder, as shall appear for the best interest of the residents of the Township of Rochelle Park.
Any license granted hereunder shall be issued and signed by the Township Clerk after the granting thereof by the Township Committee and the payment of the fee therefor, and shall be sealed with the Township Seal.
The Chief of Police of the Township of Rochelle Park shall have the power to grant a temporary taxi driver's license upon compliance with all of the requirements herein, which temporary taxi driver's license shall not extend beyond the date of the next regular Township Committee meeting of the Township of Rochelle Park after the issuance thereof.
[Amended 5-2-1960 by Ord. No. 232; 11-16-1981 by Ord. No. 453]
The fee required to paid for the taxi owner's license is $50 annually for each taxicab, and the fee required to be paid for a taxi driver's license shall be $5 annually. Licenses issued shall be in effect one year from April 1.
The taxi driver's license herein provided for shall be in such form as to contain the photograph and signature of the licensee of the license, which photograph shall be a duplicate of the photographs filed with the application, which photograph shall be so attached to the license that it cannot be removed and another photograph substituted without detection. Any licensee who willfully or maliciously defaces, damages or obliterates any official entry made upon his license shall be subject to the penalty of revocation of the said license.
The taxi owner's license shall, at all times, be openly and conspicuously exhibited in any automobile or motor vehicle licensed under this article and it shall briefly describe the taxicab licensed and contain the motor vehicle registration number as well as the serial and motor numbers of such taxicab.
The Township Clerk shall keep a register of all licenses granted under the provisions of this article, which register shall show the character of the license, the number, date of issue, name of person licensed and any other information pertaining thereto. The Clerk shall keep all applications and shall endorse on such applications as licenses are granted by the Township Committee the number of the license issued in pursuance thereof.
A. 
The charge for carrying passengers shall not exceed the rates set out in the application for the taxi owner's license unless said change in rates shall be approved by the Township Committee.
B. 
Every taxicab licensed hereunder shall have fastened in a conspicuous place therein a printed card showing the rates provided for in the approved application, in letters and 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. The charging of any fare or fares in excess thereof shall constitute a violation of this article by the owner or operator, or both.
Every holder of a taxi driver's license, when driving or operating any vehicle herein required to be licensed, shall have in his possession the license issued to him and, in addition thereto, shall wear on the outside of his hat or clothing a license badge to be furnished to him by the Township Clerk. In case any such licensee shall lose such license badge, he may procure a duplicate thereof from the Township Clerk upon payment of the actual cost thereof.
A. 
No driver, owner or other person interested in or connected with any taxicab licensed hereunder shall solicit customers in a noisy or offensive manner nor at any place other than public hack stands in any manner whatsoever.
B. 
No driver of any taxicab which is disengaged shall refuse to carry any orderly person upon the payment of the rate of fare herein fixed.
C. 
No driver of any taxicab licensed hereunder shall permit such vehicle when disengaged to stand in any public street or place other than at a taxi stand, provided that nothing herein shall prevent such driver from waiting for a passenger in front of any building or place.
All taxicabs herein required to be licensed, used or operated for the carrying of passengers within the scope of this article shall be automobile sedans with a minimum of three doors. At least two of said doors shall be for the exclusive use of the passengers. The said automobiles shall be, at all times, clean and in good repair.
Any dispute as to the fare shall be determined by the officer in charge of the Rochelle Park police station.
A. 
Every driver of a taxicab shall, when requested, give a passenger a receipt for the fare paid.
B. 
No person other than the licensed driver or a paying passenger of a taxicab shall ride or sit in the compartment of the taxicab reserved for the driver.
A. 
Public hack stands are hereby established at such places as may be from time to time designated by the Township Committee, which shall designate the character of vehicles which may stand at any such public hack stand and may exclude all other vehicles from such stand.
B. 
The location and capacity of any such public hack stand shall be indicated by a sign substantially as follows: "Taxicab stand. Capacity ..... taxicabs"
C. 
No vehicle other than one licensed hereunder and prepared to accept passengers upon request shall stand or park at any such public hack stand.
A. 
The Township Committee is hereby authorized and empowered to revoke or suspend any license issued hereunder for the violation of any of the provisions of this article or for the violation of any of the rules and regulations made, adopted and promulgated by the Township Committee in connection herewith.
B. 
Any such suspension shall be noted on the license, together with a statement of the reasons therefor, and if the license be a taxi driver's license, the driver shall be deprived of his badge by the Chief of Police, the badge to be returned at the expiration of the period for which the license was suspended.
C. 
A second suspension for the same reason or, in any case, a third suspension of any license issued hereunder shall revoke the license.
[Amended 5-5-1986 by Ord. No. 519]
Any person, firm, corporation or association who shall violate any of the provisions of this article shall, in addition to the suspension or revocation of license heretofore mentioned, be punishable by a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $500 or imprisonment in the county jail for a term not exceeding 90 days, or both such fine and imprisonment, and every day of such violation shall be deemed and taken to be a separate and distinct offense.
[Adopted 2-19-1997 by Ord. No. 746]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
DRIVER
Any person who drives a limousine within the Township of Rochelle Park.
LICENSED
Licensed in accordance with the appropriate subsections of this article, unless otherwise stated.
LIMOUSINE
Includes any automobile or motor car, with the capacity of five but less than 10 passengers, plus driver, engaged in the business of carrying passengers for hire 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; provided, however, that the term "limousine" shall not include taxicabs, hotel buses or buses employed solely in transporting school children or teachers or autobuses which are subject to the jurisdiction of the Board of Public Utility Commissioners or interstate autobuses required by federal law or the rules of the Board of Public Utility Commissioners to carry insurance against loss from liability imposed by law on account of bodily injury or death. Furthermore, limousine shall not be deemed to include a vehicle utilized for the pickup and discharge of passengers within the Township of Rochelle Park. A vehicle used for that purpose shall be deemed a "taxicab."
NUMBER OF OWNERS' LICENSES
The total number of limousine owners' licenses that may be issued and outstanding at one time is hereby fixed at three as of April 2003.
[Amended 8-21-2002 by Ord. No. 862-02; 5-21-2003 by Ord. No. 884-03]
OPERATION OF A LIMOUSINE
Consists of accepting and transporting in such limousine one or more persons for hire from a point within the Township. The operation of a limousine by one other than the owner shall be deemed operation by the owner thereof as well as by the person actually driving the same. Operation shall also be deemed to include parking, storing or otherwise maintaining said vehicle within the borders of the Township of Rochelle Park.
OWNER
Any person, corporation or association in whose name title to any limousine is registered with the New Jersey Department of Motor Vehicles or who appears in such records to be the conditional vendee or lessee thereof.
TOWNSHIP
The Township of Rochelle Park.
TOWNSHIP COMMITTEE
The members of the Township Committee of Rochelle Park.
There are hereby established two classes of limousine licenses to be known as "limousine driver's license" and "limousine owner's license," respectively.
A limousine driver's license shall entitle the person named therein to operate within the Township of Rochelle Park any limousine duly licensed hereunder until the license either expires or is surrendered, suspended or revoked and shall not be transferable.
A limousine owner's license shall entitle the limousine therein described to be operated in this Township by a driver duly licensed hereunder until the license either expires or is surrendered, suspended or revoked and shall not be transferable.
Any license issued pursuant to the terms of this article shall expire at 12:00 midnight on December 31 of the year in which it was issued, unless sooner surrendered, suspended or revoked.
A. 
All applications for the issuance or the renewal of any license of either class shall be made by the Township Clerk and designed to elicit information respecting the identification, responsibility and law-abiding habits of the applicant.
B. 
Each applicant for a license of any class shall supply the information requested on the application in full and verify the correctness thereof by his oath or affirmation and thereafter file the completed application with the Township Clerk, together with the full amount of the proper fee hereinafter fixed therefor.
C. 
All applications shall be submitted to the Construction Code Department for review regarding compliance with municipal planning and zoning regulations.[1] Said applicant, if requested by the Construction Code Official, shall submit plans or drawings showing the location of the vehicles on the premises in which the vehicles are to be located. Said license shall not be issued by the Township Clerk unless or until approval is obtained from the Construction Code Department. The Construction Code Department shall have the right, if it deems necessary, to require the applicant to submit a formal application to the Planning Board for site plan approval. In that event, the applicant shall comply with all the municipal land use requirements pertaining to site plans.
[Amended 6-16-2010 by Ord. No. 1015-10; 8-17-2011 by Ord. No. 1038-11]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 185, Land Use and Development Regulations.
A. 
All applications for the issuance or renewal of a limousine owner's license shall be made, in writing, in duplicate, and shall contain the full name and address of the owner, the serial number, type, color, year and make of the limousine, the number of persons it is to carry and a detailed description of the manner in which all vehicles shall be parked or otherwise stored in accordance with the provisions of this article. Any and every change of address of the owner shall be reported to the Township Clerk within three days after such change.
B. 
Every person obtaining a limousine owner's license shall be at least 18 years of age, and if operating more than one vehicle with the owner's license, shall have a regularly registered business office located within the Township of Rochelle Park in compliance with all local building and zoning ordinances and shall therein have a telephone operating.
C. 
No limousine owner's license shall be issued until the limousine has been thoroughly inspected by the Police Department and found to be in a safe, clean and sanitary condition for the transportation of passengers.
D. 
No limousine licensed under this article shall be maintained or operated on the streets of the Township, except by a driver licensed in accordance with the provisions of this subsection.
E. 
No limousine owner's license shall be issued without satisfactory proof of the availability of off-street parking for all vehicles. Said proofs must be approved, in writing, by the Construction Code Department.
F. 
No limousine owner's license shall be issued unless the applicant shall possess a valid New Jersey driver's license.
G. 
No limousine owner's license shall be issued unless the applicant first submits fingerprints to the Township of Rochelle Park Police Department which shall conduct an appropriate background check of the limousine owner prior to the issuance of a limousine owner's license pursuant to this section.
[Added 7-17-2002 by Ord. No. 856-02]
A. 
Each applicant for a limousine driver's license shall be at least 18 years of age and a holder of a valid driver's license issued by the Division of Motor Vehicles, State of New Jersey.
B. 
Each applicant for a limousine driver's license shall file with his application two photographs, each 3 1/2 inches square, clearly depicting the facial features of the applicant, both of which photographs shall thereupon become the property of the Township and be retained with the application form unless the application shall be issued, in which event one of the photographs shall be permanently affixed to the license card in a space provided therein.
C. 
(Reserved)[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection C, regarding fingerprinting of applicants, was repealed 5-16-2001 by Ord. No. 830-01.
D. 
All changes of residence on the part of the holder of any limousine driver's license issued under this section shall be reported, in writing, to the Township Clerk within three days after such change and shall be directed to the Police Department of the Township.
E. 
The Township Clerk is hereby authorized to issue a temporary limousine driver's license pending the approval by the Township Committee of any application for a limousine driver's license submitted in accordance with the provisions of this section, provided that the Chief of Police of the Township shall first certify to the Township Clerk, that after due investigation, the applicant is not ineligible under the provisions of this section.
A. 
Every applicant for a limousine driver's license shall submit the insurance policy or bond required by N.J.S.A. 48:16-14 and 48:16-15[1] of the Statutes of New Jersey covering the limousine to be licensed and shall execute and deliver to the Township Clerk, concurrently with the filing of the policy or bond aforesaid, a power of attorney, wherein and whereby the owner shall appoint the Township Clerk his 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 or bond filed in accordance with N.J.S.A. 48:16-16 of the Statutes of New Jersey.
[1]
Editor's Note: N.J.S.A. 48:16-15 was repealed by Chapter 224 of the Laws of 1979.
B. 
The Township Clerk, upon filing of the required insurance policy or bond, shall issue a certificate, in duplicate, showing the owner of the limousine has complied with the terms of the New Jersey Statutes aforementioned, which certificate shall recite the name of the insurance company, the number and date of expiration of the policy or bond, a description of the limousine insured thereunder and the registration number of the same. The duplicate certificate shall be filed with the Department of Motor Vehicles before any such car is licensed as a limousine. The original certificate shall be posted in a conspicuous place with the limousine.
The annual license fee for each limousine driver's license hereafter issued or any renewal thereof shall be $25 for each year or portion of a year for which the license is issued or renewed. The annual fee for each limousine owner's license hereafter issued or any renewal thereof shall be $50, plus $30 for each limousine for each year or portion of a year for which the license is issued or renewed, and all such licenses shall be under the charge and control of the person applying therefor and he shall be responsible for the operation of all cars so licensed to him.
The Township Committee may, in its discretion, refuse to issue or renew or may, after notice and hearing, revoke or suspend:
A. 
Any license of either class if the applicant or licensee has been once convicted of a crime in this or any other jurisdiction or convicted of being a disorderly person or of a violation of Title 39, Motor Vehicles and Traffic Regulations, of the Statutes of New Jersey or has been dishonorably discharged from the Armed Forces of the United States of America or who violates any provisions of this article or has any judgment unsatisfied of record against him arising out of an automobile accident or who has made false answers in his application for such license or any renewal thereof or who has failed or fails to render reasonably prompt, safe and adequate limousine service or who has not complied fully with all requirements of this section for such class of license.
B. 
Any limousine driver's license if the licensee or the applicant has in any degree contributed to any injury to persons or damage to property arising out of negligent operation of a motor vehicle or has any communicable or contagious disease.
C. 
Any limousine owner's license if the motor vehicle licensed or to be licensed, by reason of unsafe or unsanitary conditions, is dangerous or unsafe to the occupants or others or if the policy of insurance or bond or power of attorney required by N.J.S.A. 48:16-14, 48:16-15[1] and 48:16-16 of the New Jersey Statutes of the aforementioned has not been furnished or kept in force or if the owner fails to comply with any terms or conditions imposed by the Township Committee, or any law of this state.
[1]
Editor's Note: N.J.S.A. 48:16-15 was repealed by Chapter 224 of the Laws of 1979.
A. 
Each applicant granted a limousine driver's license shall be issued a license card in evidence thereof, in a form approved by the Township Committee and signed by the Township Clerk on its behalf. Such license card shall at all times be prominently displayed and adequately protected in the interior of any vehicle operated by the licensee so that the fact thereof shall be at all times in full view of and plainly legible to any passenger seated on the rear seat of such limousine; and the license card shall at all times be and remain the property of the Township and on direction of the Township Committee shall at once be surrendered to the Township Clerk.
B. 
No limousine driver's license card, other than that of the licensee actually operating the limousine at the time, shall be displayed therein.
A. 
Drivers of limousines shall not receive or discharge passengers in the roadway, but shall pull up to the right-hand sidewalk or as nearly as possible thereto or, in the absence of sidewalk, to the extreme right hand-side of the road, and there receive or discharge passengers, except on one-way streets where passengers may be discharged on either right- or left-hand sidewalks or at the side of a roadway in the absence of a sidewalk.
B. 
No limousine shall be operated about the streets of the Township so as to solicit passengers or to bring the presence of the limousine to the attention of prospective passengers.
A. 
All vehicles herein required to be licensed, or used or operated for the carrying of passengers within the scope of this article, shall be automobile sedans with a minimum of three doors, at least two of which doors shall be for the exclusive use of the passengers. These automobiles shall at all times be clean and in good repair.
B. 
No person, other than the licensed driver of the limousine, shall ride or sit in the compartment of the limousine reserved for the driver.
No limousine shall be licensed until an insurance policy or certificate in lieu thereof shall have been filed with the Township Clerk with liability limits not less than $100,000/$300,000 for bodily injury and $10,000 for property damage.