Rhode Island Code of Regulations
Title 815 - Division of Public Utilities and Carriers
Chapter 50 - Common Carriers
Subchapter 10 - Motor Carriers of Passengers
Part 3 - Rules and Regulations for Licensing Operators Transporting Passengers in Taxicabs, Limited Public Motor Vehicles and Public Motor Vehicles (815-RICR-50-10-3)
Section 815-RICR-50-10-3.3 - Definitions

"Administrator" means the Administrator of the Division of Public Utilities and Carriers.

"Cab" means taxicab or limited public motor vehicle as defined in these rules and in R.I. Gen. Laws. §§ 39-14-1(4) and 39-14-1(7).2

"Certificate" means a certificate of operating authority issued to a taxicab, limited public motor vehicle or public motor vehicle company.

"Charter carrier" means a provider of transportation services to groups such as: lodges, bands, athletic teams, schools or other travel groups, assembled by someone other than the carrier who collectively contracts for the exclusive use of certain equipment for the duration of a particular trip or tour. Charter carrier services shall also include transportation services provided by employment agencies or employers to individuals in the context of providing transportation to and from their place of employment.

"Common carrier" as used in these rules means any person engaging in the business of providing transportation services for compensation to passengers through the use of a taxicab, limited public motor vehicle or public motor vehicle, as defined in these rules.

"Division" means the Division of Public Utilities and Carriers.

"Driver" or "operator" means, for the purpose of these rules and regulations, any person operating a motor vehicle used for the for-hire transportation of passengers which he or she owns or is operating with the express or implied consent of the owner.

"Jitney" means and includes any motor bus or other public service motor vehicle operated in whole or in part upon any street or highway in such manner as to afford a means of transportation similar to that provided by a street railway company, by indiscriminately receiving or discharging passengers; or running on a regular route or over any portion thereof; or between fixed termini.

"Limited public motor vehicle" means and includes every motor vehicle for hire, other than a jitney, a taxicab, or a public motor vehicle, as defined herein, 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.

"Motor carrier" means a common carrier by motor vehicle.

"Person" means and includes any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, company, association, joint stock association, or other association of individuals, or company, and his, her or its lessee, trustee, receiver, assignee, or personal representative, and, where the context requires, "driver" or "operator" as defined herein.

"Public motor vehicle" means and includes every motor vehicle for hire, other than a jitney, a taxicab or a limited public motor vehicle, as defined herein, used for transporting members of the general public for compensation in unmarked vehicles at a predetermined or prearranged rate or fee to such points as may be directed by the passenger. Transportation services provided by charter carriers, as defined above, or by funeral homes in association with funeral services, and by ambulance companies shall be exempt from these rules and regulations.

"Taxicab" means and includes every motor vehicle for hire, other than a jitney, limited public motor vehicle, or public motor vehicle, 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, when the solicitation or acceptance of the passenger occurs within the location named in the certificate of operating authority for that taxicab; provided, that the vehicle's driver may, if and when solicited on a public highway at any location at which he or she is discharging a passenger, which location is not shown in the certificate, provide transportation from the location only to a place named in the certificate.

"Taximeter" means any instrument or device by which the charge for transportation in any taxicab or limited public motor vehicle is mechanically calculated and indicated by means of figures, either for distances traveled or for waiting time, or for both.

"Unmarked vehicles" means motor vehicles that do not display the transportation company's name, address or telephone number, or any advertisements or commercial information beyond that included by the vehicle's manufacturer on the vehicle's exterior surfaces.