Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 815 - Division of Public Utilities and Carriers › Chapter 50 - Common Carriers › Subchapter 10 - Motor Carriers of Passengers › Part 4 - Transportation of Passengers via Public Motor Vehicles (815-RICR-50-10-4) › Section 815-RICR-50-10-4.2 - Definitions

Current through June 14, 2024
A. Terms used herein shall be construed as
				  follows unless another meaning is expressed or is clearly apparent from the
				  language or content.
1. "Administrator" means
				  the Administrator of the Division of Public Utilities and Carriers or his duly
				  appointed designee.
2. "Blue card"
				  means a Hackney Operator's License as defined in §
											4.2(A)(14)   of this
				  Part.
3. "Booking party" means the
				  individual or entity which contracts with the Public Motor Vehicle certificate
				  holder for the purpose of soliciting the service of that certificate holder's
				  vehicle(s). That booking party shall designate where, when and for whom the
				  service shall be provided.
4.
				  "Business address" means the location where the certificate holder maintains
				  all records concerning the transportation business, keeps those records
				  available for Division inspection, and where the certificate holder accepts
				  solicitations and prepares the contract for public motor vehicle services to be
				  rendered.
5. "Business day" means
				  each and every day on which the Division of Public Utilities and Carriers is
				  open for business. Business day does not include any day which is a Saturday,
				  Sunday or legal State or Federal holiday; certificate holders, as defined in
				  §
											4.2(A)(9)   of this Part, may, of course, engage in operations on
				  Saturdays, Sundays and legal State or Federal holidays as well as on business
				  days as defined herein.
6. "Cab"
				  means taxicab or limited public motor vehicle.
7. "Call and demand" means the spontaneous -
				  as opposed to pre-arranged - solicitation or acceptance of a paying passenger
				  for transportation service which may only be provided by taxicabs and limited
				  public motor vehicles; public motor vehicles are not authorized to provide
				  call-and-demand services. Call and Demand includes telephone, e-mail, other
				  electronic solicitations for immediate transportation services, as well as
				  street hails and other direct solicitations of drivers.
8. "Certificate" means a certificate of
				  public convenience and necessity or a certificate of operating authority issued
				  to a common carrier.
9.
				  "Certificate holder" means the holder of a Certificate (as defined in
				  §
											4.2(A)(8)   of this Part) issued by the Division of Public Utilities and
				  Carriers.
10. "Common carrier"
				  means any person or entity who holds himself, herself, or itself out to the
				  general public as engaging in the transportation by motor vehicle of passengers
				  for compensation in a taxicab, limited public motor vehicle, or a public motor
				  vehicle.
11. "Division" means the
				  Division of Public Utilities and Carriers.
12. "Driver" means any person operating a
				  public motor vehicle for the purposes of transporting passengers for
				  hire.
13. "Garage address" means
				  the location where a certificate holder stores the public motor vehicles
				  authorized under its operating certificate and where the drivers report to
				  obtain a vehicle for use as a public motor vehicle, whether or not that
				  location actually contains a building in which the vehicles are
				  stored.
14. "Hackney operators
				  license" means a special license, commonly referred to as a "Blue Card," issued
				  by the Division, authorizing the holder thereof to operate a taxicab, limited
				  public motor vehicle or public motor vehicle upon the highways of the State of
				  Rhode Island and any subdivision thereof, for the purpose of transporting
				  passengers for hire.
15. "Into
				  service" means, for the purposes of §
											4.4(H)   of this Part, when a vehicle
				  is first registered with the Division to be utilized as a PMV by an active PMV
				  certificate holder. Once registered "in service" as a PMV with the Division,
				  said vehicle shall be considered compliant with the "in service" model year
				  limitation of §
											4.4(H)   of this Part if it is subsequently purchased and
				  re-registered by another PMV certificate holder. Provided, however, that such a
				  vehicle shall not have already surpassed the odometer reading maximum(s) also
				  as set forth hereinafter in §
											4.4(H)   of this Part at the time of
				  re-registration.
16. "Limited
				  public motor vehicle" means and includes every motor vehicle for hire, other
				  than a jitney as defined in R.I. Gen Laws §
											39-13-1, or a taxicab as defined
				  in R.I. Gen. Laws §
											39-14-1, or a public motor vehicle
				  as defined by R.I. Gen Laws §
											39-14.1-1, equipped with a
				  taximeter, used for transporting members of the general public for compensation
				  only from a designated location on private property to such points as may be
				  directed by the passenger.
17.
				  "Minimum allowable charge" means the absolute minimum charge a Public Motor
				  Vehicle certificate holder or driver may require of a paying passenger for
				  intrastate transportation services.
18. "Motor carriers section" means the Motor
				  Carriers Section, Division of Public Utilities and Carriers.
19. "Passenger(s)" means the individual(s)
				  transported for-hire intrastate in a Public Motor Vehicle. May be the same as
				  the Booking Party.
20. "Person"
				  means and includes any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, company,
				  association, joint stock association or company and his, her or its lessee,
				  trustee, receiver, assignee or personal representative, and, where the context
				  requires, "driver", as herein defined.
21. "Public motor vehicle" means and includes
				  every motor vehicle for hire, other than a jitney, as defined in R.I. Gen. Laws
				  §
											39-13-1, or a taxicab or limited
				  public motor vehicle, as defined in R.I. Gen. Laws §
											39-14-1, used for transporting
				  members of the general public for compensation in unmarked vehicles at a
				  predetermined or prearranged charge to such points as may be directed by the
				  passenger. Transportation services provided by charter carriers, as defined in
				  R.I. Gen Laws Chapter 39-14.1, or by funeral homes in association with funeral
				  services, and by ambulance companies, shall be exempt from these rules. Public
				  motor vehicles must carry "Public" registration plates issued by the Division
				  of Motor Vehicles (or the equivalent plate for out-of-state registrations).
				  "Public motor vehicle" may be referred to as "PMV" in these rules.
22. "Suspension" means an order of the
				  Division requiring that a public motor vehicle, or a number of public motor
				  vehicles, operated under a certificate, not be operated for hire for a set
				  period of time. Such an order normally will be issued only after a public
				  hearing, but may be issued prior to a hearing when deemed to be in the interest
				  of public safety, such as when there has been a lapse in insurance
				  coverage.
23. "Taxicab" means and
				  includes every motor vehicle for hire, other than a jitney as defined in R.I.
				  Gen. Laws §
											39-13-1, limited public motor
				  vehicle as defined by §39-14-1 and public motor vehicle as defined by
				  §39-14.1-1, equipped with a taximeter, used for transporting members of
				  the general public for compensation to any place within this state as may be
				  directed by a passenger on a call-and-demand basis.
24. "Taxicab stand" means, for the purposes
				  of these rules and regulations, any area designated, by a sign posted by a
				  local government or the owner of the property on which the sign is posted, as
				  an area where taxicabs may wait for the purpose of accepting
				  passengers.
25. "Taximeter" means
				  any instrument or device by which the charge for transportation in any taxicab
				  or limited public motor vehicle is automatically calculated and indicated by
				  means of figures, either for distances traveled or for waiting time, or for
				  both.
26. "Unmarked vehicles" means
				  motor vehicles that do not display the transportation company's name, address,
				  telephone number, or other identifying marks, or any advertisements, or
				  commercial information, beyond that included by the vehicle's manufacturer, on
				  the vehicle's exterior surfaces. For the purposes of this definition,
				  "advertising" and "commercial information" mean any marking whatsoever that
				  would serve to identify or distinguish a vehicle as belonging to one particular
				  certificate holder over another. No such markings, be they painted or affixed,
				  shall be allowed on the exterior of the vehicle or inside the vehicle where
				  visible through its windows. However, when required by Federal law, USDOT
				  numbers and/or the company name may be displayed on such a vehicle.