[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of
the City of Salem as Ch. XVI, Sec. 16:09, of the 1975 Municipal Code.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
PERSON
TAXICAB
The following terms used herein shall be taken and
construed to mean as follows:
Includes natural person, partnership and corporation.
Any automobile, taxicab or other vehicle propelled by motor
power engaged in the business of the transportation of passengers
for hire or pay within the City of Salem.
B.
Words used in the singular number shall include the
plural; and words used in the plural number shall include the singular.
The licensing, regulating and inspecting of
taxicabs, examining applicants for licenses who own and operate such
taxicabs, the licensing of drivers as hereinafter provided and the
enforcement of the provisions of this chapter shall be under the control
of the Council.
No person shall hire out, keep or use for hire
or pay or cause to be kept or used for hire or pay any taxicab without
first having obtained a license for that purpose from the Council
for each and every taxicab. Such license shall be known as a "taxicab
license." It shall be identified by a suitable number and shall be
issued for a particular taxicab. The number of such licenses outstanding
shall not exceed nine at any time.
A.
Every person obtaining a taxicab license must be at
least 21 years of age and a citizen of the United States. If a corporation,
such corporation must be organized and existing under the laws of
the State of New Jersey and shall maintain an office in the City of
Salem.
B.
No license shall be issued until said taxicab has
been thoroughly inspected and found to be in a safe condition for
the transportation of passengers and of good appearance, and there
must be submitted, with the application for such license, a certificate
from the Police Department of the City of Salem that said taxicab
is in a clean and sanitary condition.
A.
All applications for taxicab licenses shall be in
writing, in duplicate, and shall contain the full name and address
of the owner; the serial number, type, color, age and make of the
taxicab; the number of persons it is to carry; and the names and addresses
of two responsible property owners of the City of Salem as references.
Any and every change of address of the owner shall be reported in
writing to the City Clerk within three days after such change, and
the City Clerk shall immediately report such change of address to
the Chief of Police.
B.
All applications shall be filed with the City Clerk,
who shall submit said applications to the Council at the next succeeding
meeting for action, and any or all applications may be granted or
refused by the vote of the members of said body present at such meeting.
No taxicab licensed under this chapter shall
be maintained or operated on the streets of the City of Salem except
by a driver licensed by the Council and known as a "licensed taxicab
driver." Any and every change of address of the driver as mentioned
in this chapter shall be reported in writing to the Police Chief within
three days after such change.
The driver of every such taxicab shall at all
times when the same is in public carry a license bearing the inscription
"The City of Salem, License Number ___" (inserting the driver's license
number), which license shall be furnished by the City Clerk.
Every applicant for a driver's license shall,
in addition to the requirements herein provided and of any law of
this state, prove to the satisfaction of the Police Chief or his agent
that he is over the age of 21 years; that he is in good health, with
good eyesight and not addicted to the use of intoxicating liquors;
that he is able to read and write the English language; that he is
of good character; that he has never been convicted of a high misdemeanor
and has not been convicted of any other inevitable offense or of reckless
driving within one year previous to his application; and that he has
knowledge of the State Motor Vehicle Department's traffic regulations
and ordinances and geography of the city. He must furnish with the
application for a driver's license, a recent photograph of himself,
of a size not less than one and one-fourth (11/4) inches in length,
which shall be filed with the application, and names and addresses
of two responsible property owners of Salem as references. Such applicant
for a driver's license under this chapter shall be fingerprinted by
the Police Department. Every license so issued may be revoked upon
conviction of two violations of the state motor vehicle statutes.
No such taxicab shall be permitted to park in
the City of Salem except at such places of the public streets as may
hereafter be approved by the resolution of Council.
No such licensed taxicab while waiting employment
by passengers shall stand on any public street or place other than
at or upon the designated public taxicab stand, nor shall any driver
seek employment by repeatedly and persistently driving to and fro
on a short space before or by otherwise interfering with the proper
and ordinary access to or egress from any railroad station, theater,
hotel, restaurant or any other public place, without stops other than
those due to obstructions or traffic, and at a rate of speed that
will not interfere with or impede traffic.
There shall also be affixed in every taxicab,
in such manner that the same can be conveniently read by any person
therein, a card at least three inches in height by five inches in
length, containing the name of the owner, the license number of the
vehicle and year of issue.
A.
No taxicab shall be licensed until a policy of insurance
shall have been filed with the City Recorder as provided for taxicabs
and autocabs pursuant to the provisions of the N.J.S.A. 48:16-1 through
48:16-22, inclusive, together with any amendments or supplements adopted
or hereinafter adopted relative thereto.
B.
Insurance coverage shall be a minimum of $1,000,000
to $3,000,000 personal liability and $1,000,000 property damage. The
license shall be operative only so long as the insurance policy shall
remain in force to the full and collectible amounts as aforesaid.[1]
[Amended 10-16-1995 as Ord. No. 95-15]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Section 16:09(n),
Side curtains and shades, which immediately followed this section,
was deleted 10-16-1995 as Ord.
No. 95-15.
[Amended 10-16-1995 as Ord. No. 95-15]
The fees for the issuance of the licenses herein
referred to shall be as follows:
All licenses to be issued under the provisions
of this chapter shall be issued in the name of the city and under
the hand of the City Clerk, and all licenses issued hereunder shall
expire January 1 next succeeding the date thereof, unless sooner suspended
or revoked.
Any licenses may be revoked or suspended at
any time for cause upon the recommendation of the Clerk of the City
of Salem or the Police Chief.
No taxicab that is not licensed by the City
of Salem in accordance with the provisions of this chapter shall pick
up any passengers within the city limits of the City of Salem.
[Amended 10-16-1995 as Ord. No. 95-15; 7-20-2020 by Ord. No. 20-06]
Any person violating this chapter shall, upon conviction, be
subject to a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $2,000; or imprisonment
in the county jail for a term not exceeding 90 days or by a period
of community service not exceeding 90 days. Any person who is convicted
of violating this chapter within one year of the date of a previous
violation of the same chapter and who was fined for the previous violation,
shall be sentenced by a court to an additional fine as a repeat offender.
The additional fine imposed by a court upon a person for a repeated
offense shall not be less than the minimum or exceed the maximum fine
fixed for a violation of the chapter, but shall be calculated separately
from the fine imposed for the violation of the chapter.
