Taxicabs

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Maplewood 12-3-1974 by Ord. No. 1438 as Ch. VII of the 1974 Revised General Ordinances. Amendments noted where applicable.]

GENERAL REFERENCES
Fees — See Ch. 123.
Licensing — See Ch. 161.
Vehicles and traffic — See Ch. 257.

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§ 249-1 Definitions.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

CRUISING
The driving of any empty taxicab along a public street at a slow rate of speed for the obvious purpose of soliciting passengers.

DESIGNATED PLACE or STAND
That location on or in which the vehicle is to be located between fares or while out of service and in storage.
[Added 2-16-1988 by Ord. No. 1745]

OPERATION OF A TAXICAB
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 taxi. 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.

OWNER
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 a conditional vendee or lessee or who has any other proprietary interest in a taxicab.

TAXICAB or TAXI
A motor vehicle used to transport passengers for hire which does not operate over a fixed route and is not hired by the day or hour.


§ 249-2 License required.
No person shall keep, use or drive for hire or wages or shall engage in the business or occupation of keeper, owner or driver of any taxicab or other vehicle used for hire in the transportation of passengers, with or without baggage, within the township without first procuring a license therefor from the Township Committee as herein provided.

249-3 Licensing of owners.
[Amended 8-1-1995 by Ord. No. 1977; 5-19-2005 by Ord. No. 2294-05; 7-5-2005 by Ord. No. 2305-05; 12-6-2005 by Ord. No. 2325-05]

1. Application information. Application for such license shall be in writing, signed by the applicant as an individual or, if a corporation, by a duly authorized officer thereof, shall be accompanied by proof of insurance that each vehicle has liability insurance limits of at least $300,000 for each vehicle licensed, and a power of attorney, as required by statute or this chapter, and the fee provided herein; and shall be filed in duplicate with the Township Clerk. It shall contain the following information:


1. The name and address of the owner of the vehicle or vehicles;


2. The number of vehicles proposed to be operated and the place from which and the hours during which the applicant proposes to operate the vehicles;


3. The make, type and registration and license plate number of each vehicle;


4. A representation that the vehicles comply with all the requirements of state law.


2. Fee. The fee for such license shall be as provided in Chapter 123, Fees.

§ 249-4 Licensing of drivers.

1. Application.


1. Application for a taxicab driver's license shall contain the following information:


1. The name, address and age of the applicant.


2. The name and address of the applicant's employer.


3. The number of the applicant's New Jersey motor vehicle operator's license.


2. Each applicant shall, before filing his application, submit to fingerprinting and photographing by the Police Department. The photographing and fingerprinting shall be a condition precedent to the issuance of a license under this chapter. In lieu of this requirement, the township shall accept available fingerprints on public record elsewhere.


2. Investigation. Upon the filing of an application, the Township Clerk shall transmit a copy thereof to the Chief of Police, who shall cause an investigation to be made of the applicant as to the applicant's character, reputation and motor vehicle driving record and shall report the results of such investigation to the Township Committee. The report shall also state whether or not the applicant has complied with all of the requirements of state law and this chapter.


3. Consideration of application; expiration date. The license shall be issued by the Township Committee to such applicants as the Committee may determine, provided that the applicants have complied with the statute and this chapter with respect to deposit of an insurance policy and power of attorney, and the license shall expire, unless sooner revoked, on the first day of January next after the date of issuance thereof.


4. Fee for license. The fee for each driver of a cab or other vehicle other than the owner shall be as provided in Chapter 123, Fees. [Amended 8-1-1995 by Ord. No. 1977]

§ 249-5 Inspections; regulations; fares.

1. Inspection regulations. The following regulations shall apply:


1. Every taxicab duly licensed and in operation shall be inspected by the owner daily, and each such vehicle shall be kept in a good clean sanitary condition and shall be well-painted.


2. Each vehicle shall be in good mechanical condition, with brakes, lights, windshield wipers and signaling devices in good working order and all tires in good condition.


3. Each vehicle shall be inspected every six months by the Police Department of the township in order to ensure that the vehicle is maintained properly and is in good mechanical condition. If the vehicle meets with the approval of the Police Department, an emblem shall be affixed thereto indicating that the vehicle has been duly inspected and approved. Any vehicle operated as a taxicab which fails to have an emblem indicating the approval of the Police Department for the six-month period shall be subject to suspension from operation, and the Chief of Police shall have the authority to revoke the license for the taxicab until the owner complies with the requirements herein set forth. [Amended 4-16-1985 by Ord. No. 1671]


2. Additional regulations. The following additional regulations shall apply:


1. Every person to whom a cab license shall be issued shall cause the same to be displayed in a conspicuous place on each vehicle so licensed and kept there continually while the vehicle is in use.


2. Every driver of a taxicab shall be over the age of 19 years and shall, when operating a taxicab, post the license issued to him hereunder with his photograph affixed thereto in plain view in the taxicab. He shall also furnish and exhibit to any patron, whenever the same shall be demanded, the name of the owner of the vehicle, the number of his license and the schedule of maximum charges established by this chapter for operations of taxicabs. Such schedule of maximum charges shall be kept posted in a conspicuous place within each licensed taxicab.


3. No license for the operation of a cab or other vehicle shall be or continue in effect unless the holder thereof shall have deposited with the Township Clerk and continue in force the insurance policy and have executed and delivered the power of attorney required by statute or by this chapter.


4. Every licensed taxicab shall conform to the provisions of the statutes with respect to the display of the name and address of the owner and the licensing and inspection and the use and operation thereof.


5. Taxicab licenses shall be issued for a designated place or stand only from which the cabs shall operate, and no driver of a taxicab shall at any time cruise the streets in search of passengers. The location of the designated place or stand shall be as regulated in all other municipal ordinances, including but not limited to the Municipal Zoning Ordinance. Each licensed designated place or stand is to be approved by the Construction Official. [Amended 2-16-1988 by Ord. No. 1745]


6. Every holder of a taxicab license shall, during the hours specified in his application, keep a vehicle or vehicles at the place designated in his application except when such vehicle or vehicles is or are actually in use on operation(s) under the license therefor, and no owner or driver of a licensed vehicle shall refuse, when the vehicle is not engaged, to carry any orderly person or persons and his or their ordinary traveling baggage to or from any place or point within the township.


3. Fares. [Amended 9-6-1977 by Ord. No. 1501; 7-17-1979 by Ord. No. 1535; 9-1-1981 by Ord. No. 1586; 4-16-1985 by Ord. No. 1671; 12-19-1989 by Ord. No. 1812; 3-5-1991 by Ord. No. 1846; 1-18-2000 by Ord. No. 2116-00; 9-19-2001 by Ord. No. 2174-01; 8-3-2004 by Ord. No. 2260-24; 4-15-2008 by Ord. No. 2543-08]

1. All rates, including any tolls charged for individuals and shared rides by taxicabs, shall be in accordance with schedules filed in the office of the Township Clerk and shall be conspicuously posted in each licensed vehicle for the following:


1. Any fare originating from one location within Maplewood to another destination in Maplewood.


2. Any fare originating in Maplewood to Newark Airport/Newark Penn Station.


3. Any fare originating in Maplewood to the New York airports.


4. Any fare originating in Maplewood to Manhattan.


2. Any change in rates shall be submitted to the Township Clerk at least 14 days in advance of the proposed effective date. Simultaneous with the submission of any proposed rate change to the Township Clerk, notice of such impending charges shall be posted in each licensed vehicle. Unless advised, in writing, by the Township Clerk, in consultation with the Township Committee, that the proposed rate change is not acceptable, the proposed rate change shall go into effect.

§ 249-6 Revocation or suspension of license.
Any license may be revoked or suspended by the Township Committee upon good cause and for a violation of any of the regulations herein set forth, after a hearing at which the licensee shall be given an opportunity to be heard. Every license shall be signed by the Chairman of the Township Committee, sealed with the Township Seal and countersigned by the Township Clerk and shall show the number, the date of issue and the date of expiration thereof and shall be registered or recorded by the Township Clerk.

§ 249-7 Limousine services.

1. Obtaining license. Persons intending to engage exclusively in the business of hiring automobiles for special trips, and which is commonly known as "limousine service," may obtain a license for each such vehicle to be so operated for the same license fees as provided in the case of taxicabs, both for the vehicle and the driver thereof, and for the same term, upon making application therefor in the same manner as for a taxicab license. Such license shall be subject to the same requirements respecting an insurance policy and power of attorney as in the case of taxicab licenses.


2. Regulations. The licensee of the vehicle and the driver of the vehicle shall be subject to all the regulations applicable to the licenses and drivers of taxicabs, excepting the provisions in regard to maximum charges and the regulations contained in § 249-5B(4), (5) and (6).


3. Fares. No owner or driver shall make or impose a charge or price in excess of the following schedule: [Amended 9-6-1977 by Ord. No. 1501; 7-17-1979 by Ord. No. 1535; 9-1-1981 by Ord. No. 1586; 4-16-1985 by Ord. No. 1671; 12-19-1989 by Ord. No. 1812; 3-5-1991 by Ord. No. 1846; 1-18-2000 by Ord. No. 2116-00; 9-19-2001 by Ord. No. 2174-01]

1. The charge shall not exceed $28 from one starting place in Maplewood to Newark Airport or from Newark Airport to Maplewood; $85 plus tolls from any starting place in Maplewood to midtown New York City or from midtown New York City to Maplewood; $110 plus tolls from any starting place in Maplewood to Kennedy Airport or from Kennedy Airport to Maplewood; $110 plus tolls from any starting place in Maplewood to La Guardia Airport or from La Guardia Airport to Maplewood.


2. In those instances where persons from different Maplewood addresses are transported, the charge shall not exceed an additional $20 per address.

§ 249-8 Violations and penalties.
[Amended 4-15-2008 by Ord. No. 2543-08]
Any person who shall violate any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a fine not to exceed $1,000, and if the fine so imposed shall not be paid within 10 days of the imposition thereof, the Township Committee may at any time thereafter while the fine remains unpaid, and without further notice, revoke the license under which such offender is operating.

Type Full Name :

Sign With Hand Clear Done