[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Borough Council of the Borough
of Berlin 6-17-1968 by Ord. No. 68-3 as
Ch. 75 of the 1968 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Vehicles and traffic — See Ch. 315.
The following words and phrases and their derivatives when used in this
chapter shall have the meaning hereinafter ascribed to them:
The Borough of Berlin, in the County of Camden and State of New Jersey.
The practice of driving about the streets of the Borough 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 of
this Borough 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 or stand after discharging a passenger or
going to or from the said terminus or stand to the driver's home by the most
direct route shall be prima facie evidence of cruising.
Any person who drives a taxicab within the Borough of Berlin.
Licensed in accordance with the appropriate section of this chapter.
Shall consist of transportation in such taxicab of one or more persons
for hire along any of the streets or highways in this Borough from a point
within the Borough to a point within or without the Borough limits. Accepting
a passenger for such transportation for hire in this Borough shall be deemed
to be operation of a taxicab within the meaning hereof. The operation of a
taxicab in any of the above-described manners by one other than the owner
shall be deemed operation by the owner thereof as well as by the person actually
driving the same. The transportation of any person other than the owner or
driver in any motor vehicle bearing a sign or signs therein or thereon using
the words "taxi," "taxicab," "cab," or "hack" shall be prima facie evidence
of operation.
Any person, corporation, association or other entity in whose name
title to any taxicab is registered with the New Jersey Department of Motor
Vehicles or who appears in such records to be the conditional vendee or lessee
thereof.
Includes the plural as well as the singular and means any individual,
copartnership, association, corporation, joint-stock company or other legal
entity, and lessees, trustees or receiver appointed by any other court or
otherwise.
The taxicab shall be operated and available within the Borough of
Berlin on a twenty-hour basis on each and every day of the week, including
Sundays and holidays, and shall at all times stand ready to serve the public
in accordance with all terms and provisions of this chapter and any and all
applicable laws of the State of New Jersey.
Includes any street, avenue, park, parkway, highway or other public
place or any part thereof.
Includes any automobile or motor car, 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 highways within the Borough of Berlin and which accepts passengers
for transportation from points or places within the Borough to points or places
within or without the Borough.
From and after the effective date of this chapter no person shall operate
any taxicab within this Borough unless both the taxicab and the driver thereof
are licensed pursuant to this chapter and conform to all the provisions hereof;
provided that such taxicab licenses as are now issued and outstanding shall
remain effective until their respective expiration dates, and the taxicabs
thereby licensed shall be deemed to be licensed pursuant to the terms of this
chapter, until such licenses are surrendered, suspended, revoked or have expired,
provided nevertheless, that in all other particulars said taxicabs, their
owners and operators shall be subject to all the provisions hereof.
There are hereby established two classes of taxicab licenses to be known
as "taxicab driver's license" and "taxicab owner's license," respectively.
A taxicab driver's license shall entitle the person named therein to
operate within this Borough any taxicab duly licensed hereunder until the
said license either expires or is surrendered, suspended or revoked and shall
not be transferable.
A taxicab owner's license shall entitle the taxicab therein described
to be operated in this Borough by a driver duly licensed hereunder until the
said license either expires or is surrendered, suspended or revoked and shall
not be transferable.
Any license issued pursuant to the terms of this chapter shall expire
at midnight of the 31st day of December of the year in which it was issued
unless sooner surrendered, suspended or revoked.
The number of taxicab owner's licenses at any one time issued and outstanding
shall not exceed 12 in number. No one owner shall be permitted to have more
than three taxicab owner's licenses at any time.
All applications for the issuance or renewal of any license of either
class shall be made to the Borough Council in duplicate on forms adopted by
said Borough Council and obtained from the Borough Clerk and designed to elicit
information respecting the identification, responsibility and law-abiding
habits of the applicant.
Each applicant for a license of either class shall supply the information
requested on the application in full and verify the correctness thereof by
his oath or affirmation and thereafter file the completed applications with
the Borough Clerk together with the full amount of the proper fee hereinafter
fixed therefor; the Borough Clerk shall thereupon notify the Mayor and each
member of Borough Council, in writing, of the name and address of the applicant
and the type of license sought and shall post notice after such application
in at least one public place in said Borough.
Each applicant for a taxicab driver's license shall:
A.Â
Be of the age of 18 years;
[Amended 2-5-1973 by Ord.
No. 73-1]
B.Â
Be a citizen of the United States and a resident of the
County of Camden;
C.Â
Hold a valid motor vehicle driver's license issued pursuant
to the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Laws;
D.Â
File with his application two photographs each 3 1/2
inches by 3 1/2 inches in size, clearly depicting the facial features of the
applicant, both of which photographs shall thereupon become the property of
the Borough and be retained with the application form unless the license shall
be issued in which event one of such photographs shall be permanently affixed
to the license card in a space provided thereon.
Every applicant for a taxicab driver's license shall, at the time of
filing his application, be fingerprinted by the Police Department of the Borough
of Berlin; an impression of such fingerprints shall thereupon be forwarded
forthwith by the Police Department to the Bureau of Identification of the
New Jersey State Police for a report of applicant's criminal record which
report when received shall be permanently affixed to the application before
consideration thereof by Borough Council.
[Amended 2-27-2002 by Ord. No. 2002:1]
Every applicant for a taxicab owner's license shall together with his
application submit an insurance policy, of a company duly licensed to transact
business under the insurance laws of this state, conditioned for the payment
of a sum of not less than $500,000 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 $1,000,000 to satisfy all claims for damages by
reason of the 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 not less than $50,000
to satisfy all claims for damages to property of all persons, on account of
any such accident, by reason of the ownership operation, maintenance or use
of such taxicab.
The annual fee for each taxicab driver's license hereafter issued or
any renewal thereof shall be $10 for each year for which the license is issued
or renewed and the annual fee for each taxicab owner's license issued or renewed
shall be $25 for each year for which the license is issued or renewed, except
that where any such license shall be issued after July 1, the appropriate
license fee shall be 1/2 or 50% thereof. No part of such fee shall be refunded
for any reason, except that upon the denial of an application for issuance
or renewal of a license by Borough Council 75% of the fee deposited shall
be returned to the applicant and 25% shall be retained by the Borough as compensation
for investigation of the applicant.
The Borough Council may, in its discretion, refuse to issue or renew
or may, after notice and hearing, revoke or suspend:
A.Â
Any license of either class if the applicant for the
license has been convicted of a crime in this or any other jurisdiction, or
convicted of being a disorderly person or of a violation of Title 39 — "Motor
Vehicles and Traffic Regulation" of the Revised Statutes of New Jersey, or
who violates any provision of this chapter or has any judgment unsatisfied
of record against him arising out of an automobile accident or who has made
false answers in his application for such license or any renewal thereof or
who has failed or fails to render reasonably prompt, safe and adequate taxicab
service or who has not complied fully with all requirements of this chapter
for such class of license; or
B.Â
Any taxicab driver's license if the licensee or applicant
has in any degree contributed to any injury to person or damage to property
arising out of negligent operation of a motor vehicle, or has any communicable
or contagious disease; or
C.Â
Any taxicab owner's license if the motor vehicle licensed
or to be licensed, by reason of unsafe or unsanitary condition, is dangerous
to the safety, health or welfare of the occupants or others, or if the policies
of insurance required herein has once lapsed or such coverage not maintained
at all times; or
D.Â
Any license of either class for cause deemed by Borough
Council to be detrimental to the health and/or public welfare of the residents
of the Borough or prospective passengers of any taxicab.
Each applicant granted a taxicab driver's license shall be issued a
license card in evidence thereof in a form approved by Borough Council and
signed by the Borough Clerk in its behalf; such license card shall at all
times be prominently displayed and adequately protected in the interior of
any taxicab operated by the licensee so that the face thereof shall be at
all times in the full view of and plainly legible to any passenger; the said
license card shall at all times and remain the property of the Borough and
at the direction of Borough Council shall at any time be surrendered to the
Borough Clerk.
No taxicab driver's license card other than that of the licensee actually
operating the cab at the time shall be displayed therein.
No taxicab shall hereafter be operated in this Borough unless and until
there is prominently displayed in the interior thereof within the full view
and access of any passengers therein a complete list of fares, charges or
tariff rates charged for transportation of passengers, which fares, charges
or tariff rates so displayed and no other, shall be those to be charged any
passengers so transported. A schedule of such fares shall be filed with the
Borough Clerk by the holder of each taxicab owner's license at the time of
the issuance of each such license, and shall not be thereafter changed until
application for such change shall have been made to Borough Council and such
change duly approved by that body.
Every taxicab so licensed shall have painted on both sides thereof the
words "taxi" or "cab" in letters at least six inches high, or the name of
the operating owner containing the words "taxi," "cab" or "taxicab" or an
electric sign affixed to the top of the motor vehicle in clear view from all
sides bearing the words "taxi," "cab" or "taxicab."
The owner of each taxicab so licensed shall keep or cause to be kept
a written daily record of each trip made by the said taxicab showing 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, distance carried,
a statement of receipts and expenditures and the taxicab driver's license
number of the person driving the cab on the trip. Such records shall be subject
to inspection by the Police Department of the Borough and of Borough Council
at their discretion. There shall also be reported to the Borough Clerk the
happening of an accident involving such taxicab or the loss of property left
in the taxicab by a passenger within 24 hours after such event.
The owner and operator of each taxicab operating in the Borough shall
keep his taxicab in good running order so that it makes a presentable appearance
and affords comfortable safe rides to passengers, free from mechanical defects,
loose fenders, dents, loose doors, broken or soiled upholstery and broken
or cracked glass. The owner and operator of each taxicab operating in the
Borough shall present his taxicab to the Chief of Police or other designated
officer prior to the issuance or renewal of his license and thereafter upon
request of said Chief of Police or other designated officers so that it may
be inspected to determine whether it complies with the provisions of this
chapter.
Borough Council may by resolution, make such general rules and regulations
and such special findings and rulings as may be necessary for the proper regulation
and control of the operation of taxicabs in the Borough and the enforcement
of this chapter, in addition to and not inconsistent herewith, and may alter,
amend, repeal and publish the same from time to time.
The violation by the taxicab owner or the taxicab driver of any rules,
regulations, special findings and rulings which are hereafter promulgated
by Borough Council and included within a resolution or resolutions adopted
by said governing body shall be sufficient cause for revocation of any license
granted to such taxicab owner or taxicab driver pursuant to this chapter and/or
shall be sufficient cause for the refusal to renew such license in addition
to any and all other grounds specifically mentioned in this chapter.
Any person or persons who shall violate any of the provisions of this
chapter shall upon conviction thereof be subject to a fine not exceeding $200,
or imprisonment in the county jail for a term not exceeding 90 days in the
discretion of the Judge by whom such person is convicted.
