[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the Borough of Alpha 4-25-1967 by Ord. No. 186 (Ch. 109 of the 1974 Code);
amended in its entirety 3-25-2008 by Ord. No. 08-06. Subsequent amendments
noted where applicable.]
A.
LIMOUSINE
PERSON
TAXICAB
Terms defined. The following terms used herein shall
be taken and construed to mean as follows:
Any vehicle used to carry passengers for hire; also called
"limo."
Any natural person, partnership or corporation.
Any vehicle used to carry passengers for hire but not operating
on a fixed route; also called "taxi" or "cab."
B.
Word usage. 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 and limousines, the licensing of operators and drivers, as
hereinafter provided, and the enforcement of the provisions of this
chapter shall be under the control of the Borough Council, unless
preempted by state statute(s).
It shall be unlawful to engage in the business
of operating a taxicab or limousine in the Borough of Alpha without
having secured a license therefor. Applications for such licenses
shall be made in writing, in duplicate, to the Clerk, and shall state
therein the name and address of the applicant, the intended place
of business and the number of taxicabs or limousines to be operated,
including the serial number, type, color, age and make thereof. If
the application is a corporation, the names and addresses of the president
and secretary shall be given. The number of such licenses outstanding
shall not exceed five at any time.
All applications shall be filed with the Borough
Clerk, who shall submit said applications to the Borough 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 such license shall be issued or held by any
person who is not a citizen of good character; nor shall such license
be issued to or held by a corporation other than one organized and
existing under the laws of the State of New Jersey and maintaining
an office in the Borough of Alpha.
The annual fee for such license, payable in
advance, shall be $50 plus an additional $25 for each taxicab or limousine
operated. Whenever the number of cabs or limos so operated shall be
increased during the license year, the licensee shall notify the Clerk
of such change and shall pay the additional fee.
No taxicab or limousine shall be licensed or
operated until it has been inspected and approved for operation by
the Chief of Police of the Borough of Alpha or the Chief of Police
of Pohatcong Township or the appropriate New Jersey State official
or licensing bureau. He may at any time suspend the operation of a
taxicab or limousine which in his judgment is unfit.
No taxicab or limousine shall be licensed until
an insurance policy, or certificate in lieu thereof, and executed
power of attorney shall have been filed with the Borough Clerk as
provided for taxicabs and limousines pursuant to the provisions of
N.J.S.A. 48:16-1 to 48:16-22, inclusive, together with any amendments
or supplements adopted or hereinafter adopted relative thereto.
There shall be affixed in every taxicab and
limousine 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.
The rate of fare to be charged within the Borough
limits of Alpha and surrounding limits may be set by the Borough Council
and posted so that it is conspicuously seen by any passenger in any
part of the taxicab or limousine. Fares may be demanded in advance.
No person shall drive a taxicab or limousine
or be hired or permitted to do so unless he is duly licensed as a
taxicab or limousine driver as hereinafter provided.
An applicant for a taxicab or limousine driver's
license must be a citizen over the age of 21 years, a licensed driver
in the State of New Jersey, in good health, of good moral character
and familiar with the traffic laws of the State of New Jersey and
the ordinances and geography of the Borough of Alpha. The Chief of
Police shall examine each applicant to determine his eligibility and
competency, and no license shall be issued except on certificate of
the Chief that the applicant is qualified for such license. The applicant
must furnish with his application a recent photograph of himself 1 1/4
inches by 1 3/4 inches and shall submit to fingerprinting by
the Police Department of the Borough of Alpha or the Township of Pohatcong
if charged with policing the Borough.
The annual fee for a taxicab or limousine driver's
license shall be $50.
The driver of every taxicab or limousine driver
shall at all times when the same is in public use carry a license
bearing the inspection "Borough of Alpha, License No. ....,"
which shall be furnished and issued by the Mayor after approval by
the Chief of Police or State of New Jersey official and upon payment
of the required fee. This license shall not be transferred or used
by any person other than the one to whom issued.
It shall be unlawful for any driver of a taxicab
or limousine while on duty to drink any intoxicating liquor, or to
use any profane or obscene language, to shout or call to prospective
passengers, or to disturb the peace in any way.
It shall be the duty of every driver of a taxicab
or limousine to obey all traffic rules established by statute or ordinance.
He shall not cruise on the streets of the Borough of Alpha at any
time for the purpose of soliciting passengers, nor shall be park his
taxicab or limousine on the streets at any location other than the
spaces designated and marked "Taxi Stand."
It shall be the duty of the driver of any taxicab
or limousine to accept as a passenger any person who seeks to use
the taxicab or limousine, provided such person conducts himself in
an orderly manner. No person shall be admitted to a taxicab or limousine
occupied by a passenger without the consent of the passenger.
All licenses to be issued under the provisions
of this chapter shall be issued in the name of the Borough and under
the hand of the Mayor, and all licenses issued hereunder shall expire
on December 31 next succeeding the date thereof, unless sooner suspended
or revoked.
All changes of address of the taxicab or limousine
operator or taxicab or limousine driver shall be reported, in writing,
to the Borough Clerk within 24 hours after such change takes place.
Any license may be revoked or suspended at any
time for cause upon the recommendation of the Mayor, Director of Public
Safety or the Borough Council.
Any person violating or failing to comply with
any of the provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof,
be subject to a fine not exceeding the maximum fine permitted by law,
a term of imprisonment not exceeding 60 days or a period of community
service not exceeding 90 days, or any combination thereof, in the
discretion of the judge. The continuation of such violation for each
successive day shall constitute a separate offense, and the person
or persons allowing or permitting the continuation of the violation
may be punished as provided above for each separate offense.
