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D.C. Municipal Regulations (Last Updated: September 13, 2017) |
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Title 31. TAXICABS AND PUBLIC VEHICLES FOR HIRE |
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Chapter 31-8. OPERATING RULES FOR PUBLIC VEHICLES-FOR-HIRE |
Section 31-801. PASSENGER RATES AND CHARGES
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801.1 No person regulated by this title shall charge a rate, charge, or fare for taxicab service in the District in excess of the amounts established by this section.
801.2No person regulated by this title shall charge any amount for a taxicab trip before service is rendered.
801.3No person regulated by this title shall participate in providing taxicab service where any person regulated by this title manually enters any amount into any device, other than an authorized additional charge under § 801.7(b), or a gratuity, if any.
801.4Each taxicab company, independent owner, and taxicab operator shall charge the taximeter fare, except for hourly contracts pursuant to § 801.7(a)(4), and shall accept only cash, cashless payments, and vouchers.
801.5Each taxicab company, independent owner, taxicab operator, payment service provider (“PSP”), and digital dispatch service shall charge only the applicable taxicab fare established by § 801.7 and shall use only the equipment specified in § 801.6 to process payments.
801.6 The equipment used by taxicab operators to process payments shall be as follows:
(a) The taximeter shall be engaged for each trip by taxicab, regardless of whether the trip is booked by street hail, telephone dispatch, or digital dispatch.
(b) If a taxicab trip is booked through a street hail, a telephone dispatch, or a DDS which does not process digital payments, the operator shall use the vehicle’s MTS unit to process an in-vehicle payment for the entire trip and shall not use any other device.
(c) If a taxicab trip is booked through a DDS which processes digital payments, the operator shall process the payment according to the passenger’s choice of payment method (digital payment or in-vehicle payment), provided however, that the operator shall only accept a digital payment processed through the digital payment solution (app) provided by the DDS and shall not use the vehicle’s MTS unit to process an in-vehicle payment except where the DDS and the PSP have an integration agreement approved by the Office pursuant to Chapter 4 to ensure compliance with all provisions of Chapters 4 and 6 applicable to both the DDS and the PSP, including collection and reporting of trip data, and collection and payment to the District of the passenger surcharge.
801.7 Taxicab fares shall be as follows:
(a) Each taximeter fare shall consist only of the time and distance charges, and authorized additional charges provided in this subsection, as applicable.
(b) The hourly contract rate for a taxicab trip booked on a time basis by advance contract shall be thirty-five dollars ($35) for the first one (1) hour or fraction thereof, and eight dollars and seventy-five cents ($8.75) for each additional fifteen (15) minutes or fraction thereof, without regard to distance. No additional charges are authorized.
(c) Fare for trips booked by a street hail, a telephone dispatch or a digital dispatch by a DDS that does not process digital payments (in-vehicle payment only) shall be as follows:
(1) The time and distance charges that shall be automatically generated by the taximeter for a taxicab trip booked by a street hail, telephone dispatch, or digital dispatch by a DDS that does not process digital payments are established as follows:
(A) Three dollars and twenty-five cents ($3.25) for entry (drop rate) and the first one-eighth (1/8) of a mile;
(B) Twenty-seven cents ($0.27) for each one-eighth (1/8) of a mile after the first one-eighth (1/8) of a mile;
(C) Wait time shall be calculated as follows:
i. The rate is thirty five dollars ($35.00) per hour;
ii. Wait time begins five (5) minutes after the taxicab arrives at the place to which it was dispatched and no wait time shall be charged for premature response to a dispatch;
iii. Wait time shall also be charged for time consumed while the taxicab is stopped or slowed to a speed of less than ten (10) miles per hour for longer than sixty (60) seconds and for time consumed for delays or stopovers en route at the direction of the passenger; and
iv. Wait time shall be calculated in sixty (60) second increments and does not include time lost due to taxicab or operator inefficiency.
(2)The authorized additional charges which shall be included in the taximeter fare for a trip booked by a street hail, or a telephone dispatch, or a digital dispatch by a DDS that does not process digital payments are the following:
(A) A fee for telephone dispatch, if any, which shall be two dollars ($2.00);
(B) A taxicab passenger surcharge, which shall be twenty-five cents ($.25) (per trip, not per passenger);
(C) A charge for delivery service (messenger service and parcel pick-up and delivery), which shall be at the same rate as for a single passenger unless the vehicle is hired by the hour pursuant to § 801.4;
(D) An airport surcharge or toll paid by the taxicab operator, if any, which shall be charged in an amount equal to the amount paid by the operator;
(E) An additional passenger fee, if there is more than one (1) passenger, which shall be one dollar ($1.00) regardless of the number of additional passengers (the total fee shall not exceed one dollar ($1.00)); and
(F) A snow emergency fare when authorized under § 804.
(d)Fare for trips booked by digital dispatch and paid by digital payment shall be as follows:
(1) Time and distance charges. The time and distance charges for a taxicab trip booked by a digital dispatch are established as follows: zero dollars ($0) regardless of the amount displayed on the taximeter.
(2) Authorized additional charges. The additional charges which shall be included in the taximeter fare for a trip booked by a digital dispatch are the following: zero dollars ($0) regardless of the amount displayed on the taximeter.
(3)DDS charges. The only charges, if any, which may be assessed to the passenger for a trip paid by digital payment shall be those charges billed directly to the passenger by the DDS, which shall not be displayed on the taximeter except as permitted or required by an applicable provision of this title, and which shall adhere to the requirements of § 1402.11, in the same manner and to the same extent as if the taxicab were a sedan, including the requirement that the District be paid the passenger surcharge in the manner required by this title.
801.8Charges for group and shared rides shall be assessed as follows:
(a)For shared rides, as each passenger reaches his or her destination, the metered fare shall be paid by the passenger(s) leaving the taxicab, at which time there shall be a new flag drop and the passenger(s) remaining in the group shall pay in the same manner until the last passenger(s) arrives at his or her destination and the final metered taxicab fare is then paid. There shall be a new flag drop for each leg of the trip.
(b)For group rides booked by street hail, telephone dispatch, and digital dispatch without digital payment, the metered fare, including the additional passenger fee under § 801.7(c)(2)(E), shall be paid by the last passenger(s) leaving the taxicab.
(c)For group rides booked by digital dispatch and paid through digital payment, the fare shall be charged and paid in the same manner as a non-group ride.
801.9[REPEALED].
801.10Passengers accompanied by animals.
(a) Service animals.
A service animal (such as a guide dog, signal dog, or other animal trained to assist or perform tasks for an individual with a disability) accompanying a passenger shall be carried without charge.
(b)Animals other than service animals.
(1)When securely enclosed in a carrier designed for that purpose, small dogs or other small animals may accompany a passenger without charge. Other animals not so enclosed may be carried at the discretion of the operator.
(2) An operator may refuse to transport any passenger traveling with a small dog or other small animal if the operator presents to the passenger an exemption certificate from the Office that certifies that such operator suffers from a diagnosed medical condition, such as allergies, which prevents such operator from traveling with such small dogs or other animals;
(3) No operator shall have a personal pet or animal of any kind in a public vehicle-for-hire while holding the vehicle out for hire or transporting passengers; and
(4) An operator may request an exemption certificate from the Office that certifies that such operator suffers from a documented diagnosed medical condition, such as allergies, which prevents such operator him or her from traveling with such small dogs or other small animals securely enclosed in a carrier designed for that purpose. Without such exemption certificate, an operator may not refuse to transport any passenger traveling with a small dog or other small animal that is securely enclosed in such carrier. Each exemption certificate shall be on a form prescribed by the Office and notarized by an appropriately licensed medical professional (for example, a general practitioner or allergist). Each exemption certificate shall be renewed at each renewal of the DCTC operator’s license.
801.11A device for the aid of a disabled person, such as a folding wheelchair, when accompanying a passenger with a disability, shall be carried without charge. There shall be no additional charge for loading or unloading such device.
801.12Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter, taxicab companies and operators approved to participate in the Coordinated Alternative to Paratransit Service (CAPS-DC), while providing CAPS-DC service pursuant to Chapter 18, shall charge the rates, charges, and fares set forth in Chapter 18.