Connecticut General Statutes 13b-118 – Display of information and decal. Fares and dynamic pricing. Adoption of nondiscrimination policy. Records and audits. Limitations on hours of operation. Prohibition against using taxicab or motor vehicle in liv…
(a)(1) After a potential transportation network company rider submits a request for a prearranged ride, the transportation network company shall display to the rider through its digital network a picture of the transportation network company driver and the license plate number of the transportation network company vehicle that will be used to provide the prearranged ride before the rider enters such vehicle.
Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 13b-118
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. Source: OCC
(2) A transportation network company driver shall display on a transportation network company vehicle a removable decal at all times when the driver is connected to a digital network or is engaged in the provision of a prearranged ride. Such decal shall be: (A) Issued by the transportation network company; (B) sufficiently large so as to be readable during daylight hours at a distance of at least fifty feet; (C) reflective, illuminated or otherwise visible in darkness; and (D) displayed on the passenger side of the transportation network company vehicle if such decal is illuminated.
(b) (1) A transportation network company may charge a fare to a transportation network company rider for a prearranged ride provided the company discloses such fare to the rider through its digital network: (A) The fare or fare calculation method; (B) the applicable rates being charged; and (C) an option to receive an estimated fare before a prearranged ride.
(2) Within a reasonable period of time following the completion of a prearranged ride, a transportation network company shall transmit an electronic receipt to the transportation network company rider on behalf of the transportation network company driver that lists: (A) The origin and destination of the prearranged ride; (B) the total time and distance of the prearranged ride; and (C) an itemization of the total fare paid, if any.
(3) No transportation network company driver shall solicit or accept cash payments for fares from transportation network company riders. Any payment for a prearranged ride shall be made only through the transportation network company’s digital network.
(4) (A) For the purposes of this subdivision, “dynamic pricing” means offering a prearranged ride at a price that changes according to the demand for prearranged rides and availability of transportation network company drivers.
(B) If a transportation network company elects to implement dynamic pricing, the transportation network company, through its digital network, shall: (i) Provide notice to a potential transportation network company rider that dynamic pricing is in effect before a request for a prearranged ride may be submitted; (ii) provide a fare estimator that enables the potential rider to estimate the cost of such prearranged ride under dynamic pricing; and (iii) include a feature that requires the potential rider to confirm that he or she understands that dynamic pricing will be applied to the cost of such prearranged ride.
(C) No transportation network company shall increase the price of a prearranged ride to more than two and one-half times the usual price charged for such prearranged ride in an area which is the subject of any disaster emergency declaration issued by the Governor pursuant to chapter 517, any transportation emergency declaration issued by the Governor pursuant to section 3-6b or any major disaster or emergency declaration issued by the President of the United States.
(c) A transportation network company shall adopt a policy of nondiscrimination on the basis of the age, color, creed, destination, intellectual or physical disability, national origin, race, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity with respect to transportation network company riders, potential transportation network company riders and transportation network company drivers. A transportation network company shall notify all drivers who use the company’s digital network of such policy.
(d) A transportation network company shall provide a potential transportation network company rider with an opportunity to indicate whether such rider requires a transportation network company vehicle that is accessible by wheelchair. If a transportation network company cannot arrange for a wheelchair-accessible transportation network company vehicle to provide a prearranged ride, the company shall direct the potential transportation network company rider to an alternate provider of wheelchair-accessible transportation, if available.
(e) (1) A transportation network company shall maintain: (A) The record of each prearranged ride for a period of not less than three years from the date the prearranged ride was provided; (B) records regarding each transportation network company driver for a period of not less than three years from the date on which the transportation network company driver last connected to the company’s digital network; and (C) records regarding each transportation network company vehicle for a period of not less than three years from the date on which the transportation network company vehicle was last used to provide a prearranged ride.
(2) The Commissioner of Transportation or the commissioner’s designee, upon reasonable written notice and not more than four times a year, may audit the records maintained by a transportation network company pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection and subdivision (3) of subsection (d) of section 13b-119. Each such audit shall occur at a transportation network company’s place of business or at a location in this state jointly selected by the commissioner or the commissioner’s designee and the transportation network company. The commissioner or the commissioner’s designee shall not require a transportation network company to disclose information that identifies or would tend to identify any transportation network company driver or transportation network company rider, unless the identity of the driver or rider is needed to resolve a complaint or investigate an audit finding to ensure compliance with any provision of the general statutes and any regulations adopted pursuant to subsection (j) of this section.
(3) Any records obtained during an audit pursuant to subdivision (3) of this subsection shall be confidential and not subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, as defined in section 1-200, except that the Commissioner of Transportation may disclose such records: (A) To law enforcement for law enforcement purposes, provided such disclosure is made in cooperation with the transportation network company, (B) to any state or federal agency for any action undertaken by the commissioner to enforce the provisions of this section or any regulation adopted pursuant to subsection (j) of this section, (C) at the request of any state or federal agency conducting an audit or investigation pursuant to such agency’s legal authority, provided the commissioner gives the transportation network company an opportunity to object and propose an alternative method of cooperation with such disclosure, or (D) pursuant to a court order. If the commissioner discloses such records pursuant to this subdivision, the commissioner shall (i) provide written notice to the transportation network company prior to disclosing such company’s records, and (ii) redact any information that is not required to be disclosed pursuant to subsection (b) of section 1-210, including, but not limited to, any trade secret or commercial or financial information described in subdivision (5) of said subsection, unless such disclosure is expressly required under subparagraph (A), (B), (C) or (D) of this subdivision.
(f) A transportation network company shall not disclose any transportation network company rider’s personally identifiable information, except pursuant to the publicly disclosed terms of the company’s privacy policy, if any. For any disclosure not governed by a transportation network company’s privacy policy, the company must obtain a transportation network company rider’s consent before the company may disclose the rider’s personally identifiable information.
(g) No transportation network company driver shall use a digital network or provide prearranged rides for more than: (1) Fourteen consecutive hours; or (2) sixteen hours within a twenty-four-hour period.
(h) The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall not require a transportation network company driver to: (1) Obtain a commercial driver’s license or commercial driver’s instruction permit pursuant to section 14-44c; or (2) register the driver’s transportation network company vehicle as a commercial vehicle.
(i) (1) For the purposes of this subsection, “certificate or permit holder” means any person, association, limited liability company or corporation that holds a certificate of public convenience and necessity to operate a taxicab, as described in section 13b-97 or holds a permit to operate a motor vehicle in livery service, as described in section 13b-103.
(2) In no event may a certificate or permit holder use or allow to be used a motor vehicle operated as a taxicab or motor vehicle in livery service to also be used or operated as a transportation network company vehicle.
(j) The Commissioner of Transportation may adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to implement the provisions of this section.