Title 39, Title 39 Utilities and Carriers

Every jitney shall carry markers to be furnished by the division of motor vehicles, which markers shall indicate that the vehicle is licensed for jitney service.

Every motor carrier engaged in transporting passengers over the highways of this state for compensation in interstate commerce, shall file an application with the administrator for a permit of registration. The application shall be accompanied by a fee of twenty-five dollars ($25…

Every interstate motor carrier engaged in the transportation of passengers for compensation over the highways of this state, subject to the provisions of this chapter, shall apply to the administrator for the issuance of a vehicle identification device for the registration and id…

The division is authorized to make such rules and regulations, to hold such hearings, and to issue such certificates as the provisions of §§ 39-13-1 — 39-13-6 and §§ 39-13-10 — 39-13-16 may require.

Any person or the officers of any association or corporation, who shall violate any of the provisions of this chapter or any order, rule, or regulation adopted or established by the division under the provisions of this chapter, shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars ($…

Each section of this chapter and every part of each section are hereby declared to be independent sections; and the holding of any section or sections, or part or parts thereof, to be void, ineffective, or unconstitutional for any cause, shall not be deemed to affect any other se…

Every person, firm, or corporation engaged in the business of public passenger transportation in the state of Rhode Island shall be and remain exempt from gasoline and diesel engine fuel taxes for such fuel as is consumed by its public passenger buses used exclusively in its publ…

Every person, association, or corporation owning or operating a jitney is hereby declared a common carrier and subject as such to the jurisdiction of the division of public utilities and carriers, and while so operating, to such reasonable rules and regulations as the division ma…

(a) Any person, association, or corporation operating a jitney, bus, or other motor vehicle as a transportation operator as defined in this chapter for the purpose of providing paratransit or coordinated paratransit services for the benefit of the citizenry of the state shall be …

No person, association, or corporation shall operate a jitney until the owner thereof shall have obtained a certificate from the division specifying the route over which the jitney may operate; the number of passengers it may carry at any one time; the service to be furnished; an…

A certificate shall be issued only after written application for a certificate, accompanied by a fee of two hundred and fifty dollars ($250), has been made by the owner of the jitney; provided, however, that this fee shall not apply to any city or town, or any agency or departmen…

Upon receipt of an application, the division shall fix a time and place of a hearing thereon and shall give notice of the pendency of the application and of the time and place of the hearing thereon to the applicant, to the mayor of each city and the president of the town council…

(a) Any street railway company incorporated under the laws of this state and operating a street railway within this state or any railroad company incorporated under the laws of this state and operating a railroad in this state may acquire, own, and operate jitneys, subject to the…

The owner of every jitney shall, before operating or continuing to operate a jitney on the public highways of this state, furnish to the division of public utilities and carriers a certificate of insurance issued by an insurance company authorized to transact business in this sta…

Terms used in this chapter shall be construed as follows, unless another meaning is expressed or is clearly apparent from the language or context: (1) “Certificate” means a certificate of public convenience and necessity issued to a common carrier. (2) “Common carrier” means any …

(a) Any person or the officers of any association or corporation who shall violate any provision of §§ 39-14-1 — 39-14-17, 39-14-20(b), 39-14-25 and 39-14-26, or any order, rule, or regulation adopted or established under any provision, shall be fined not more than one hundred do…

The division is authorized to make such rules and regulations, to hold hearings, and issue certificates as may be required under the provisions of §§ 39-14-1 — 39-14-14 and §§ 39-14-25 and 39-14-26.

The provisions of §§ 39-14-1 — 39-14-14 are hereby declared to be supplementary and in addition to the provisions of other chapters of this title, and of title 31, and of §§ 39-14-15 — 39-14-23. The cities and towns may continue to exercise by ordinance all lawful authority heret…

(a) Every motor vehicle used in the transportation of passengers for compensation in a taxicab service over the publicly used highways of this state shall be equipped with a taximeter. Any motor carrier or operator who shall knowingly and willfully cause a motor vehicle to be ope…

The operator of every taxicab or limited public motor vehicle shall have a recent and distinct photograph of himself or herself at least two and one-half inches (2½″) wide and four inches (4″) high, together with his or her full name and address, posted in a conspicuous place in …

The owner of every taxicab or limited public motor vehicle shall post in a conspicuous place, in each of the taxicabs or limited public motor vehicles owned by him or her, a schedule of the fares to be collected from the passengers therein, and the schedule shall be so written an…

The full name of the owner of every taxicab or limited public motor vehicle shall be displayed on each side of the rear doors of the taxicab or limited public motor vehicle in letters at least two inches (2") high and whenever any taxicab or limited public motor vehicle shall be …

The owner of every taxicab or limited public motor vehicle shall, before operating or continuing to operate a taxicab or limited public motor vehicle on the public highways of this state, furnish to the division of public utilities and carriers, a certificate of insurance issued …

No owner of a taxicab or limited public motor vehicle, who shall have complied with the requirements of § 39-14-18, shall be required to furnish evidence of financial responsibility under any other provision of law with respect to the taxicab or limited public motor vehicle.

Every person owning or operating a motor vehicle engaged or to be engaged in operating a taxicab or limited public motor vehicle is declared a common carrier and subject as such to the jurisdiction of the division of public utilities and carriers. The division shall prescribe suc…

Every taxicab or limited public motor vehicle shall file with the public utilities administrator current schedules that shall be open to public inspection, showing all rates, tolls, and charges it has established and that are in force at the time for any service performed by it w…

(a) No change shall be made in the rates, tolls, and charges that have been filed and published by any taxicab or limited public motor vehicle in compliance with the requirements of § 39-14-2.1 except after thirty (30) days’ written notice to the administrator which shall plainly…

(a) No person shall operate a taxicab or limited public motor vehicle upon the public highways until the person shall have first obtained an operator’s license as provided for in chapter 10 of title 31. (b) Further, no person shall operate a taxicab or limited public motor vehicl…

Any person, firm, or corporation violating any of the provisions of §§ 39-14-18 — 39-14-20(a) shall, upon conviction, be fined not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) nor more than two hundred dollars ($200) for each violation.

The administrator of the division of motor vehicles shall enforce the provisions of §§ 39-14-18, 39-14-19, 39-14-20(a), and 39-14-21.

The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to any citizen of the town of New Shoreham owning or operating a taxicab or limited public motor vehicle in the town of New Shoreham.

Each section of this chapter and each part of each section is hereby declared to be an independent section, and the holding of any section or sections or part or parts thereof to be void, ineffective, or unconstitutional, for any cause, shall not be deemed to affect any other sec…

No certificate shall be sold or transferred until the administrator, upon written application setting forth the purposes, terms, and conditions of the sale or transfer, shall, after a hearing, approve the application. The application shall be accompanied by a fee of two hundred a…

Any taxi or limited public motor vehicle certificate holder who, during any period of not less than one hundred eighty (180) consecutive days, has failed to render any part of the service authorized by his or her certificate, except for reasonable cause, including bankruptcy, rec…

The following provisions shall govern the operation of taxicabs used to transport passengers, notwithstanding any regulations to the contrary: (1) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, no taxicab shall operate beyond an odometer reading of three hundred thousand (…

No person, association, or corporation shall operate a taxicab or taxicabs or a limited public motor vehicle or vehicles in any city or town in the state until the person, association, or corporation shall have obtained a certificate from the division certifying that public conve…

Upon receipt of an application, the division shall, within a reasonable time, fix the time and place of the hearing on every application. Notice of the hearing shall be given by first-class mail to the applicant and shall be published in a newspaper with statewide distribution.

A certificate shall be issued by the administrator, after a hearing, to any qualified applicant therefor, authorizing the whole or any part of the operations covered by the application, if it is found that the applicant is fit, willing, and able properly to perform the service pr…

Every taxicab and limited public motor vehicle engaged in the transportation of passengers for compensation over the highways of this state, subject to the provisions of this chapter, shall apply to the administrator for the issuance of a vehicle identification device for the reg…

The business of operating any limited public motor vehicle actually established in any city or town on or before February 15, 1956, and in continuous operation from that date to the date of application, shall be presumed to be required by public convenience and necessity, and cer…

The division of motor vehicles shall have jurisdiction over the lighting, equipment, safety, and sanitary condition of all taxicabs or limited public motor vehicles, and shall cause an inspection thereof to be made before registering the taxicabs or limited public motor vehicles,…

The owner or operator of each taxicab or limited public motor vehicle subject to the provisions of §§ 39-14-3 and 39-14-4, shall display, in a conspicuous place therein, a memorandum issued by the division of the certificate provided for in this chapter.

A limited public motor vehicle may only be operated from private property if the property is owned by the owner of the vehicle or is used exclusively for the purpose of transportation of passengers for hire and is leased by the owner of the vehicle; but no vehicle shall be operat…

Every person proposing to enter into a contract, agreement, arrangement, or understanding, whereby the owner of a taxicab or limited public motor vehicle leases or otherwise lets a taxicab or limited public motor vehicle to an operator, shall file with the administrator, in the f…

Whenever the electors of any town, qualified to vote upon questions of taxation or involving the expenditure of money, shall have voted, at a town meeting called for that purpose, to provide a water supply for the inhabitants of the town, or for some part thereof; or whenever any…

Any proceeding in taking any property or estate or rights of property, or in claiming damages therefor, or other proceeding under the provisions of this chapter, may at any stage of the proceeding, with the leave of the court, be amended upon such terms and conditions as to the c…