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

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.