Common carrier” is a legal category that refers to a business or public entity that operates for the sole purpose of hauling people, goods, or materials.
A common carrier is usually responsible for providing business services to the public or for transporting materials that involve a publicly consumed good. For example, a truck hauling freight or a charter bus carrying people can both be considered a common carrier. However, a van filled with tools used exclusively by a plumbing repair company would likely not be considered a common carrier because it operates to serve the business itself, not public customers.
Florida Statutes §370.01 (7) defines a common carrier as follows:
“‘Common carrier’ shall include any person, firm, or corporation, who undertakes for hire, as a regular business, to transport persons or commodities from place to place offering his or her services to all such as may choose to employ the common carrier and pay his or her charges.