[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township of Springfield
12-14-1994 as Ch. VII of the 1994 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fees — See Ch. 91.
As used in this chapter, the following words shall have the meanings
indicated:
The practice of driving about the streets or highways of the Township
with a taxicab so as to solicit passengers or to bring the presence of the
taxicab to the attention of prospective passengers. A taxicab driving along
the streets or highways of this Township for any purpose other than while
transporting a passenger, going to a definite destination by the most direct
route in response to a call for a taxicab by a prospective passenger or returning
by the most direct route to the taxicab's home terminus after discharging
a passenger or going to or from such terminus to the driver's home by
the most direct route shall be prima facie evidence of cruising.
Any person who drives a taxicab within this Township.
Licensed in accordance with the appropriate section of this chapter.
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 taxicab. 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 conditional vendee or lessee or has any other proprietary interest
in a taxicab.
Any automobile engaging in the business of carrying passengers for
hire or represented as operating for hire on the streets of the Township or
which is hired by a charter or for a particular contract, but not including
any motor vehicle used and employed solely in transporting school children
or teachers, or any autobuses which are subject to the jurisdiction of the
Board of Public Utilities Commission.
A.
License required. No vehicle shall be operated as a taxicab
upon the streets of the Township unless the owner of such taxicab has first
obtained a license in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
B.
Number of licenses. The number of licenses at any one
time issued and outstanding shall not exceed such number as the Township Council
shall, in its discretion from time to time, deem sufficient to adequately
serve public necessity and convenience.
C.
Application for license.
(1)
Application for a license shall be made to the Township
Council by the owner, lessee or bailee of the taxicab or motor vehicle sought
to be licensed, upon a form provided by the Township Clerk, which may be varied
from lime to time by order of the Council, but which shall require substantially
the following information:
(a)
The full name and address of the applicant and of any
and all persons having any interest in such taxicab or motor vehicle and in
the business in which the same is used.
(b)
A description of the vehicle for which the license is
desired.
(c)
The length of time such vehicle has been in use.
(d)
The number of persons it is capable of carrying.
(e)
The rate of fee to be charged.
(2)
The application shall include an affidavit of the applicant
stating that the information therein set forth is true. Applications for a
taxicab license shall be approved by the Township Council.
E.
Inspection. No taxicab license shall be issued unless,
upon inspection, the taxicab is found to be in a safe condition for the transportation
of passengers.
F.
Insurance. No taxicab license shall be issued nor any
taxicab operated until the applicant complies with N.J.S.A. 48:16-1 et seq.,
relating to insurance against damages to persons by reason of the ownership,
maintenance or use of such vehicles. The policy limits shall be no less than
$100,000/$300,000 for bodily injury and $25,000 for property damage. The policy
shall be issued to expire on December 31 of each calendar year. Policies shall
be filed with the Township Clerk.
G.
Power of attorney required. No taxicab license shall be issued until there has been executed and delivered to the Township Clerk, concurrently with the filing of the policy of insurance referred to in Subsection F, a power of attorney, wherein and whereby the owner of a vehicle to be licensed shall nominate, constitute and appoint the Township Clerk as his/her true and lawful attorney for the purpose of acknowledging service of any process out of any court of competent jurisdiction to be serviced against the insured by virtue of the indemnity granted under the insurance policy filed.
H.
Display of license and registration. Every licensed vehicle
shall have exhibited to its passengers in a conspicuous place and manner:
A.
License required. No person shall drive a taxicab without
first obtaining a license from the Township Clerk. All licenses shall expire
on December 31 next succeeding the date of issuance unless sooner suspended
or revoked by the Township Council.
C.
Application requirements. Applicants for a driver's
license shall:
D.
Application information.
(1)
Application for a driver's license shall be made
upon a form provided by the Township Clerk, which may be varied from time
to time on order of the Township Council, but which shall require the following:
(a)
The full name, age, residence and description of the
applicant.
(b)
The places of residence and employment of the applicant
during the preceding three years.
(c)
The number of the applicant's auto driver's
license issued by the State of New Jersey.
(d)
A record of applicant's convictions of any crimes
and driving violations.
(e)
The name of the licensed owner by whom the applicant
will be employed.
(f)
A complete set of fingerprints which shall be attached
to the application. Fingerprints will be taken and furnished as the Chief
of Police may direct.
(g)
Two unmounted unretouched photographs of the applicant
taken within the previous 30 days, 3 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches
in size. If an application for a license is denied, both copies of the photograph
shall be returned to the applicant.
(2)
The application shall include an affidavit of the applicant
stating that the information therein set forth is true.
(3)
Each application shall be accompanied by the certificate
of a reputable physician showing that the applicant has been examined within
days of the application and that the applicant is physically and mentally
sound, with good eyesight and not subject to epilepsy or any other infirmity
of body or mind which might render him/her unfit for the safe operation of
a taxicab. At any time after a driver's license has been issued, the Chief
of Police, for good cause, may require the holder to submit to a physical
examination in the manner herein set forth and present a certificate of such
physician showing conformity with these conditions.
E.
Display of license.
(1)
Upon issuance of a taxicab driver's license, one
of the photographs furnished by the applicant shall be attached to the license
and the other shall be filed with the application in the office of the Police
Department. Each licensed driver shall exhibit his/her license and photograph
for inspection upon demand of a member of the Police Department or any citizen.
A.
Suspension or revocation. Any license or permit issued
pursuant to this chapter may be suspended or revoked by the Township Council,
after due notice and hearing, if:
(1)
The holder thereof has violated any of the provisions
of this chapter;
(2)
The holder thereof has violated any ordinances of the
Township or the laws of the United States or of this state, the violation
of which reflects unfavorably on the fitness of the holder;
(3)
The holder thereof has performed any act which would
be a basis for a denial of the application;
(4)
The holder has made any false statements in any license
or permit application or in any record or certificate that (s)he is required
to file or maintain;
(5)
The licensed taxicab is unfit, unsafe, unsanitary or
unsuited for public patronage;
(6)
Any required insurance has lapsed; or
(7)
The holder has contributed to the injury of any person
or damage to any property arising out of his/her negligent operation of a
motor vehicle.
B.
Hearings. All hearings required by this chapter shall
be conducted by the Township Council.
A.
Standing of taxicabs. No person shall park or stand any
taxicab on any of the streets or highways of this Township at any time, except
at such place or places as the Township Council may from time to time designate
as taxi stands.
B.
Parking restrictions. No taxicab driver shall park in
front of the entrance of any building within a prohibited parking space after
his/her passengers have alighted, or park in any prohibited parking space
waiting for passengers.
C.
Loitering. No driver of a taxicab shall permit persons
to loiter in or about his/her taxicab while on duty.
D.
Maintenance of records. The owner of each taxicab so
licensed shall keep or require to be kept a written record of each trip made
by the taxicab, showing the Township plate number, the date, time and place
the cab was engaged, the place and time of discharge of the passenger, the
number of passengers carried, the fare received and the taxicab driver's
license number of the person driving the taxicab on the trip. Such records
shall not be destroyed for one year from the date of the trip and shall be
kept within the Township in readily accessible form and shall be accessible
at all reasonable hours for inspection by the Township Council or its accredited
representative or by local, state, federal or military law enforcement agencies.
E.
Condition of taxicabs. All taxicabs shall be kept in
a safe condition for the transportation of passengers.
F.
Solicitation prohibited. No licensee shall:
(1)
Engage in cruising.
(2)
Solicit for or divert any passenger to, or permit his/her
employees to solicit for or divert any passenger to, any business establishment
or function.
(3)
Solicit or demand any pay or commission, except the proper
fare.
(4)
Induce any prospective passenger to employ him/her by
knowingly misinforming or misleading such prospective passenger.
G.
General regulations.
(1)
Every driver of a taxicab shall give a passenger a written
receipt for the fare paid by such passenger when requested.
(2)
To prevent the deception, fraud or misleading of the
public, no color scheme, name, monogram or insignia shall be used which conflicts
with or imitates any color scheme, name, monogram or insignia used by any
other licensee.
H.
Lettering required on taxicabs. Every taxicab so licensed
shall have painted on both sides thereof the word “taxi” or “cab”
in letters at lease six inches high or the name of the operating owner containing
the word “taxi,” “cab” or “taxicab.”
I.
Owner's name on taxicab. Every taxicab so licensed
shall have painted on each side therein in letters at least one inch high
the name of the owner thereof followed or preceded by the word “owner.”
J.
Report of lost property. Every driver of a taxicab, immediately
after the termination of any hiring or employment, must carefully search such
taxicab for any property lost or left therein and any such property, unless
sooner claimed or delivered to the owner, must be reported within 24 hours,
in writing, by the driver or owner of the taxicab to the Police Department,
with brief particulars and description of the property.
K.
Use of taxicabs for illegal or immoral purposes. No holder
or driver shall knowingly permit his/her taxicab to be used for any illegal
or immoral purposes, under penalty of suspension or, after hearing, revocation
of holder or driver's license, or both, and such other penalty as may
be provided.
L.
Misleading of patrons.
(1)
No driver of a taxicab shall induce any person to employ
him/her by knowingly misinforming or misleading such person either as to the
time or place of the arrival or departure of any train, plane, bus or boat,
or as to the location of any hotel, public place or private residence within
the Township, or as to the distance between any two points, nor shall any
such driver deceive any person or make any false representation to him/her
or convey any passenger to any other place or over any route other than that
to which such passenger may have instructed the driver to go. Unless otherwise
ordered, passengers shall be conveyed only over the most practical direct
route to their destination.
(2)
No driver shall delay an immediate departure or otherwise
accommodate additional passengers without the permission of the first passenger
to hire the taxicab.
M.
Conduct of drivers. Taxicab drivers, while engaged in
the operation of a taxicab, shall behave in a civil and orderly manner and
shall not use any indecent, profane or abusive language.
N.
Taxicab service. All persons engaged in the taxicab business
in the Township operating under the provisions of this chapter shall render
an overall service to the public desiring to use taxicabs. They shall answer
all calls received by them for services inside the corporate limits of the
Township as soon as they can do so, and if the services cannot be rendered
within a reasonable time, they shall then notify the prospective passenger
how long it will be before the call can he answered and give the reason therefor.
Any licensee or driver who shall refuse to accept a call anywhere in the corporate
limits of the Township at any time when such licensee has available cab(s),
or who shall fail or refuse to give overall service, shall be deemed a violator
of this chapter and the license or permit granted to such holder may, after
a hearing, be revoked.
O.
Restrictions on the number of passengers. No driver shall
permit more persons to be carried in a taxicab as passengers than the number
of seat belts available for such passengers.
P.
Change of address; loss of records. Any change of address
of any owner or driver licensed under the provisions of this chapter must
be reported, in writing, to the Township Clerk's office within 72 hours
of such change. The loss of the license badge or any other book or document
required to be kept by any licensed owner or driver must be reported to the
Township Clerk's office, in writing, within 24 hours of such loss. In
the event any licensed driver terminates his/her employment as such driver,
(s)he shall return the license, badge or any other paper or documents in his/her
possession furnished to him/her by the Township Clerk to the Clerk's
office within 72 hours of such termination.
Q.
Permitting unlicensed drivers to operate. It shall be
unlawful for any person owning or operating any taxicab in the Township, licensed
under the provisions of this chapter, to permit such taxicab to be operated
by any person who does not hold a valid driver's permit as required by
this chapter.
The charge for carrying passengers shall not exceed the rates set out
in the application for an owner's license, as may be amended from time
to time with the approval of the Township Council. Every vehicle 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 not less than 1/2 inch in height, which card shall bear the license
number of such vehicle and the name of the owner thereof. Any fares charged
in excess thereof shall constitute a violation of this chapter by the owner
or operator, or both. A copy of the approved fare rates shall be kept on file
in the office of the Township Clerk.
