[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township
of Washington 6-3-1985 by Ord.
No. 85-5 as Ch. 211 of the 1985 Code. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any individual, copartnership, association, corporation or
joint-stock company, their lessees, trustees or receivers appointed
by any court whatsoever. A word importing the masculine gender only
shall extend and be applied to females as well as to males.
Any street, avenue, park, parkway, highway or other public
place.
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 Township of
Washington, 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 said Township of Washington.
No taxicab shall be operated within the Township of Washington, in the County of Bergen, New Jersey, for the transportation of passengers for hire, until the same shall have been licensed in accordance with the following provisions of this chapter, such license to be known as a "taxi owner's license," nor until such owner shall have complied with all of the provisions of Revised Statutes of New Jersey, Title 48, Chapter 16, and the amendments thereof and supplements thereto.
No person shall drive or operate any taxicab within the Township
of Washington, in the County of Bergen, New Jersey, used for the transportation
of passengers for hire, until he shall have obtained a taxi driver's
license as hereinafter provided. No driver shall operate such taxicab
unless he shall wear upon his person a taxi driver's license
badge issued to him under the provisions of this chapter, which badge
shall be worn in such manner as to be visible to the passengers of
such taxicab, and shall at all times when driving such taxicab have
the driver's license issued to him conspicuously displayed in
such taxicab.
A.
No taxi owner's license shall be issued for any vehicle to be
licensed under the provisions of this chapter to any natural person
unless such person is at least 21 years of age, a citizen of the United
States of America, a resident of the County of Bergen for at least
30 days next preceding the filing of his application for such license,
nor until he shall have filed with the said Township an application
addressed to the Township Council of said Township, which application
shall set forth:
(1)
Description of vehicle to be licensed.
(2)
Name of owner.
(3)
Residence address and office address of owner.
(4)
Complete schedule of fares.
(5)
Satisfactory evidence of good moral character attested in writing
by two residents of said Township of Washington.
(6)
Such other facts as the said Township Council may require.
B.
Corporate licenses.
(1)
No taxi owner's license shall be issued to any corporation unless
each stockholder, director, officer and manager of such corporation
qualifies in all respects as an individual applicant for such license.
(2)
If at any time during the period for which such license is issued,
any stock of such corporation is transferred or any new director or
officer is elected or appointed or any new manager is employed, then
such new transferee, officer, director or manager shall meet all of
the requirements of an individual applicant for such owner's
license before such license shall continue in effect.
C.
Every application shall be accompanied by the fee for such license
as hereinafter provided.
No person shall be entitled to receive a taxi owner's license
until he shall have complied with the foregoing requirements, nor
until such taxicab shall have been inspected and approved by the Chief
of Police of said Township, who shall endorse his approval upon such
application, nor until the owner shall have been fingerprinted and
such prints filed at police headquarters of said Township, nor until
such person shall have filed with the Township Clerk an insurance
policy, with the premium prepaid thereon, of a company duly licensed
to transact business under the insurance laws of the State of New
Jersey, conditioned for the payment of a sum of not less than $50,000
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 $100,000 to satisfy all claims for damages by reason
of 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 taxicab; and conditioned for the payment of a sum of
not less than $5,000 to satisfy all claims for damages to property
of any person on account of any such accident by reason of the ownership,
operation, maintenance or use of such taxicab. Such taxicab shall
be licensed only so long as the insurance policy shall remain in full
force to the full and collectible amounts as mentioned aforesaid.
Such insurance policy shall provide for the payment of any final judgment
recovered by any person on account of the ownership, maintenance or
use of such taxicab or any fault in respect thereto and shall be for
the benefit of every person suffering loss, damage or injury as mentioned
aforesaid. A power of attorney shall be executed and delivered to
the Township Clerk concurrently with the filing of such policy of
insurance, wherein and whereby such owner shall nominate, constitute
and 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 such insurance policy.
A.
No taxi driver's license shall be issued to any person unless
he is at least 21 years of age, a citizen of the United States of
America, a resident of the County of Bergen for at least 30 days,
nor until he shall have filed an application for such license with
the Township Clerk, addressed to the Township Council, setting forth
the following information:
(1)
Name of applicant.
(2)
Residence address of applicant.
(3)
Age of applicant.
(4)
Satisfactory evidence of good moral character attested in writing
by two residents of the said Township of Washington.
(5)
Four recent photographs of the applicant of such size as shall be
required by the Police Department (commonly known as "passport size"),
one of such photographs to be attached to the driver's license,
one to be filed with the application for such driver's license
in the office of the Township Clerk and two to be filed at police
headquarters.
(6)
Such other facts as the Township Council may require.
B.
Every application shall be accompanied by the fee for such license
as hereinafter provided.
No person shall be entitled to receive a taxi driver's
license until he has met the requirements of the foregoing section
and until the Chief of Police shall have endorsed his approval of
said applicant on the application filed and the applicant shall have
been fingerprinted and such prints filed at police headquarters.
The Township Council shall have the sole power to issue licenses
hereunder and may reject any applicant for an owner's or driver's
license who cannot comply with the foregoing requirements.
A.
The licenses to be issued hereunder shall be effective for one year,
commencing January 1, and shall expire on December 31 of the year
for which such license shall have been issued, and shall be issued
and signed by the Township Clerk after approval by the Township Council
and shall be sealed with the Township Seal.
B.
No taxi driver's license shall be transferable. No taxi owner's
license shall be transferable without the consent of the Township
Council first obtained.
C.
No more than 10 taxi owners' licenses shall be outstanding in
the said Township at the same time.
[Amended 5-21-1979 by Ord. No. 79-9]
A.
The fee for a taxi owner's license per year for each vehicle licensed hereunder shall be as set forth in Chapter 212, Fees.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
B.
The fee for a taxi driver's license shall be as set forth in Chapter 212, Fees, per year.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
C.
In the event that either of the foregoing licenses is applied for
and issued subsequent to July 1 in any year, the fee for such license
shall be 1/2 of the amount set forth in this section.
The taxi driver's license herein provided for shall be
in such form as to contain the photograph and signature of the licensee,
which photograph shall be a duplicate of the photographs filed with
the application and shall be so attached to the license that it cannot
be removed and another photograph substituted without detection. Upon
the request of any law enforcement officer or passenger, the driver
of any taxicab shall exhibit his license for inspection. 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 chapter, and it shall briefly describe the taxicab licensed,
including the name of the owner thereof, and shall 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 chapter, which register shall show the
character of the license, the number, date of issue, name and residence
address and office address of person licensed and any other information
pertaining thereto. He shall keep all applications, and on such applications
for which licenses are granted by the Township Council, shall endorse
the number of the license issued in pursuance hereof.
A.
The charges for carrying passengers shall conform to the rates set
out in the application for the taxi owner's license, unless a
change in such rates shall be approved by the Township Council.
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 chapter
by the owner or operator, or both.
No person shall solicit customers for transportation in any
taxicab in a noisy or offensive manner nor at any place other than
the office of the taxicab owner or at a public taxi stand.
No driver of any taxicab which is disengaged shall refuse to
carry any orderly person upon the payment of the rate or fare permitted
to be charged.
No taxicab shall be permitted to stand on any street other than
at a taxi stand, except when the same shall be waiting to pick up
or discharge a passenger who is presently engaging the use of such
taxicab, and the driver of any such vehicle shall remain in or immediately
outside such vehicle when the same is at any taxi stand, street or
public place.
All taxicabs herein required to be licensed, used or operated
for the carrying of passengers within the scope of this chapter 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.
Upon the request of any passenger, the driver of any taxicab
shall give to such passenger a receipt for the fare paid.
No person other than the licensed driver or a passenger for
hire of a taxicab shall ride or sit in the compartment of the taxicab
reserved for the driver thereof.
The total number of persons permitted in any taxicab at any
one time shall not exceed the number of persons for which permanent
seating capacity is provided in the vehicle as originally designed.
Taxi stands may be established at the cost and expense of the
taxi owner's licensee in such places as the Township Council
shall from time to time authorize, which stands shall be designated
by appropriate signs to be approved by the Township Council, and such
taxi stands shall be occupied only by licensed taxicabs, and by no
other vehicles.
A.
The said Township Council is hereby authorized and empowered, in
addition to any other penalty provided for the violation of any provision
of this chapter, to revoke or suspend any license issued hereunder
for such violation.
B.
A second suspension of any license issued hereunder shall, at the
option of the said Township Council, be cause for the revocation of
such license.
[Amended 6-3-1985 by Ord.
No. 85-5]
Any person, firm, corporation or association who shall violate any of the provisions of this chapter shall, in addition to the suspension or revocation of the license as hereinbefore provided, be punishable as provided in § 1-1 of Chapter 1, General Provisions. Every day that such violation continues shall be deemed and considered to be a separate and distinct offense.
