(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.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 39-14-20

  • Division: means the division of public utilities and carriers. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-1-2
  • Limited public motor vehicle: means and includes every motor vehicle for hire, other than a jitney, as defined in § 39-13-1, or a taxicab, as defined in this chapter, 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. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-14-1
  • 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 defined in this section. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-14-1
  • Taxicab: means and includes every motor vehicle for hire, other than a jitney as defined in § 39-13-1, 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, when the solicitation or acceptance of the passenger occurs within the location named in the certificate; 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. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-14-1

(b)  Further, no person shall operate a taxicab or limited public motor vehicle upon the highways until the person shall have first obtained a special license from the division of public utilities and carriers under such rules and regulations as the division of public utilities and carriers shall require.

History of Section.
P.L. 1929, ch. 1423, § 7; G.L. 1938, ch. 101, § 7; impl. am. P.L. 1939, ch. 660, § 22; G.L. 1938, ch. 101, § 6; P.L. 1956, ch. 3830, § 1; G.L. 1956, § 39-14-20; P.L. 2003, ch. 423, § 1.