Rhode Island § 39-14-27 - Taxicabs and Limited Public Motor Vehicles

§ 39-14-27. Rules governing transportation of passengers via taxicabs.

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 (300,000) miles or ten (10) model years, whichever is the first to occur.

(2) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, no motor vehicle shall initially be put in service as a taxicab if the vehicle is more than eight (8) model years old.

(3) An exception may be granted to subsections (1) and (2) of this section in cases involving vehicles in extraordinary condition. The certificate holder may petition the administrator of the division of public utilities and carriers (the “administrator”) for an exemption from the prohibitions provided in subsections (1) and (2) of this section. In order to be granted an exemption, the petitioner shall demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the administrator, that the vehicle to be used as a taxicab would be as acceptable to the public as the newer taxicabs mandated under the rules and regulations of the division of public utilities and carriers; that the vehicle has few, if any, of the interior and exterior wear signs concomitant with vehicles of that older vintage; and that the vehicle appears and functions in relatively “original” condition.