[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee
of the Township of Lumberton during codification; see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Vehicles and traffic — See Ch. 265.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Consists of transporting in a taxicab one or more persons
for hire. Accepting a passenger to be transported for hire from a
point of departure within the township to a destination within or
without the township shall be considered "operation of a taxicab"
within the township. The operation of a taxicab by one other than
the owner shall be deemed operation by the owner as well as by the
person actually driving the taxi. The transportation of any person
other than the owner or driver in any motor vehicle bearing a sign
using the words "taxi," "taxicab," "cab" or "hack" shall be prima
facie evidence of operation.
Any person in whose name title to any taxicab is registered
with the New Jersey Division of Motor Vehicles or who appears in the
Division's records to be a conditional vendee or lessee or has any
other proprietary interest in a taxicab.
A motor vehicle used to transport passengers for hire which
does not operate over a fixed route and is not hired by the day or
hour.
No person shall operate a taxicab as owner or
operator from a point within the township without first obtaining
a license.
A.
An application for a license shall be filed with the
Township Clerk/Administrator and shall show the name of the applicant,
his post office address and business address, the name, address and
age of each driver; a description of the vehicle to be licensed, the
maximum number of persons each such vehicle shall carry, a schedule
of rates of fare, and such other information as the Township Committee
shall deem necessary or proper.
B.
Each applicant for a taxi driver's license must be
at least 18 years of age, must hold a driver's license issued by the
state, must be of sound physical health and good moral character and
shall have satisfied all the other requirements of this chapter, including
the payment of the required fee.
C.
All applications for a taxicab driver's license shall
be made in writing, in triplicate, to the Township Clerk/Administrator
on forms supplied by the Clerk/Administrator, shall be signed by the
applicant and shall contain the following information: the full name
and address of the applicant, the residence of the applicant for the
past year, his age, the number of his state driver's license, the
details of any service in the armed forces, together with the date
and nature of discharge therefrom, and the recommendation of two residents
of the state who have known him for at least one year prior to the
date of making such application.
D.
Each application for a taxi driver's license shall
be accompanied by two recent photographs of the applicant of a size
two inches by two inches. All applications for a taxi driver's license
shall state the owner for whom the applicant intends to drive, and
such owner shall endorse the application.
E.
Each application shall contain a statement as to whether
or not the applicant has been convicted of a crime in this or any
other state and, if so, the nature of the offense, where convicted
and the date of such conviction.
F.
Each application shall contain a statement as to whether
or not the applicant has been convicted of any traffic violations
during the previous five-year period and, if so, the nature of the
offense, where convicted and the date of such conviction.
G.
An applicant for a taxicab driver's license shall
cause himself to be examined by a physician licensed to practice medicine
in the state and shall file with his application for issuance or renewal
of a taxi driver's license a certificate of such physician, dated
within 30 days of such filing, showing that the applicant is in good
general health, free from any communicable disease and has no past
history of epilepsy, coronary thrombosis, cerebral hemorrhage or other
affliction which might cause loss of control of the taxicab. The applicant
shall also cause his vision to be examined by an ophthalmologist,
and his certificate shall state corrective glasses required, if any.
Such physician's certificate and ophthalmologists certificate shall
be filed each year upon application for renewal of the taxi driver's
license.
H.
Prerequisites. After completing and submitting the
application as aforesaid, the following prerequisites shall be required
before a license may be issued:
(1)
Fingerprinting. Every application for a taxi driver's
license shall be fingerprinted by the Police Department. Upon refusal
of such applicant to be fingerprinted, the Township Clerk/Administrator
shall refuse to license the driver.
(2)
Every applicant shall have no more than two moving
violations during the prior three years.
(3)
Every applicant shall have no convictions for reckless
driving, leaving the scene of an accident or operation of a motor
vehicle under the influence of alcohol or a controlled dangerous substance
during the prior five years.
(4)
Every applicant shall have no convictions of a crime
involving moral turpitude, violence or threat of violence in this
state or any other state or territory of the United States.
(5)
Every applicant shall have a satisfactory certificate
from the physician and ophthalmologist required as aforesaid.
(6)
Every applicant shall exhibit compliance with all
other provisions of this chapter.
A.
A taxicab driver's license or any renewal thereof
shall be issued by the Township Clerk/Administrator. No approval by
the Township Council shall be required. The Clerk/Administrator shall
refuse to issue such license under the following circumstances:
(1)
The applicant has more than two moving traffic violations
in the prior three years.
(2)
There is evidence of a conviction of a motor vehicle
offense during the prior five years, involving reckless driving, leaving
the scene of an accident or operation of a motor vehicle under the
influence of alcohol or a controlled dangerous substance.
(3)
The certificate from the physician or ophthalmologist
is not satisfactory.
(4)
There is evidence of conviction of a crime involving
moral turpitude, violence or threat of violence.
(5)
There is evidence that the application contains any
materially false statements.
(6)
There is failure to comply with any other provisions
of this chapter,
B.
In the event that the application for a taxicab drive(s
license is refused by the Town Clerk/Administrator or revoked by the
Clerk/Administrator as provided herein, the applicant shall have the
right to appeal to the Township Committee for review. Such appeal
shall be in writing and set forth the basis therefor and shall be
made within 60 days of such refusal.
C.
Form and content of license. The license shall be
in writing, numbered, in triplicate and signed by the Township Clerk/Administrator
on a form provided by the Township Clerk/Administrator and shall contain
the following information: name, address, taxicab owner by whom employed,
state driver's license number and badge number.
Every person or corporation licensed under this
chapter shall cause such license to be conspicuously displayed on
the inside of each licensed vehicle. The license shall state the name
of the person or corporation licensed, the names of the drivers authorized
to operate the licensed vehicle, the number of the license and a schedule
of the rates of fare.
The license required by this chapter shall be
issued to and in the name of the owner of the taxicab and shall be
issued for one year from the first day of January of the year of such
issuance.
[Amended 12-5-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-17]
Applicable fees are detailed in the universal fee chart located in § 18-2, reference number 43, of the Code of the Township of Lumberton.
No taxicab license shall be issued until the
owner of the vehicle shall have filed with the Township Clerk/Administrator
a public liability and property damage insurance policy in standard
form which shall comply with the following requirements:
A.
An insurance policy issued by an accredited insurance
company authorized to transact the business of casualty insurance
in the state and acceptable to the town, covering each vehicle, shall
be required, which policy shall cover the period included in the license
to be issued by the township. Each such policy shall run concurrently
with the fiscal year for which a license has been issued.
B.
Such insurance policy shall insure the owner and driver
of such vehicle with a minimum limit for each accident for bodily
injury of $100,000 to any one individual or total of $300,000 for
all persons injured with a property damage loss in the minimum amount
of $50,000. If said policy is a single-limit policy, this single limit
shall not be less than $300,000.
C.
Each such insurance policy shall contain a provision
to the effect that the same cannot be canceled, except on at least
30 days' notice, in writing, by the insurance company to the Township
Clerk/Administrator of the intention of such insurance company to
cancel the same.
D.
No insurance policy shall be acceptable if the insurance
coverage is for private livery only, unless such policy expressly
contains a waiver by the insurance company that if the vehicle insured
is operated in violation of the coverage intended, the company will
not claim such violation to avoid liability thereunder.
E.
In the event that any insurance policy covering any
such vehicle used for the transportation of passengers for hire shall
lapse or shall be canceled by the issuing company, then the taxicab
license issued by the town shall thereupon become void, and the owner
of such vehicle shall be required to immediately turn such license
in to the Township Clerk/Administrator.
The Township Committee may, upon notice and
hearing, revoke the license of any licensee issued under the provisions
of this chapter if he shall fail or neglect to operate a taxicab for
a period of 30 days and may revoke any such license for cause after
notice and hearing.
Every licensed taxicab driver shall obey the
following rules and regulations:
A.
When engaged by passengers in the operation of the
taxicab, all taxicab drivers shall be neat in appearance and clean
of body and shall refrain from smoking and using profane, abusive
or insulting language.
B.
A driver shall not consume any intoxicating liquor
or any controlled dangerous substance while operating the vehicle,
and a driver shall not operate a vehicle while under the influence
of a controlled dangerous substance or intoxicating liquor to any
degree.
C.
No driver shall convey more passengers at any one
time than the seating capacity of the taxicab.
D.
A driver shall not solicit patronage or passengers
at any locations except those provided for in this chapter.
E.
A driver shall thoroughly search the interior of the
vehicle immediately after the termination of each trip and note if
the passenger has left any article therein. Any property so found
shall be taken to police headquarters and turned into the officer
in charge within 24 hours.
F.
A driver shall not refuse service to any person unless
he has previously been engaged or unless the person seeking service
is disorderly or under the influence of intoxicating drugs or liquors.
When serving more than one passenger, the driver must serve the passenger
requesting service first, unless mutually agreed with the first passenger
to do otherwise.
G.
If the driver carries an AM or FM radio or tape player
in the cab, as permanent equipment or otherwise, it shall not be played
while conveying passengers unless the passenger requests that it be
played.
No license issued under the provisions of this
chapter may be transferred.
No one may operate a taxicab from a Residence
A Zone.
[Amended 12-5-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-19]
Any person, firm, corporation, association or legal party whatsoever who shall violate, or authorize or procure a violation, or cause to be violated, any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be punishable as provided under § 1-11 governing general penalty provisions. If the state requires, limits or expands potential minimum or maximum penalties in contradiction to this chapter, state law shall apply.
