BACKGROUND
The Commission regulates charter-party carriers (TCPs) pursuant to the Passenger Charter-party Carriers' Act, Public Utilities (Pub. Util.) Code § 5351 et seq.).1 There are currently about 3,200 carriers holding charter-party authority from the Commission.
Regulations governing the operations of TCPs are contained in the Commission's General Order (G.O.) 157-C. The original version of the G.O. was adopted in 1989. (Decision (D.) 89-10-028 in R.88-03-012.) Several minor updates have been made since then, primarily in response to new legislation.
Prearrangement
Charter-party carriers are required by statute and Commission regulation to conduct their operations only on a prearranged basis. Pub. Util. Code § 5360.52 provides:
(a) Charter-party carriers of passengers shall operate on a prearranged basis within this state.
(b) For purposes of this section, "prearranged basis" means that the transportation of the prospective passenger was arranged with the carrier by the passenger, or a representative of the passenger, either by written contract or telephone.
General Order 157-C, Part 3.01 states:
PREARRANGED TRANSPORTATION. Class A and Class B charter-party carriers, as defined in Public Utilities Code Section 5383, and carriers holding permits under Public Utilities Code Section 5384(b) shall provide transportation only on a prearranged basis.3 The party arranging the transportation shall have exclusive use of the vehicle. The driver shall possess a waybill which includes the following:
1. Name of carrier and TCP number
2. Vehicle license plate number.
3. Driver's name.
4. Name and address of person requesting or arranging the charter.
5. Time and date when charter was arranged.
6. Number of persons in the charter group.
7. Points of origination and destination.
Upon request, the driver shall show the waybill to any Commission or airport enforcement officer.
A prearrangement requirement was included in the G.O. in response to concerns raised by airport officials about (1) rampant curbside solicitation of passengers and (2) the difficulty of distinguishing between services provided by charter-party carriers and services offered by a greatly expanding number of on-demand, door-to-door airport shuttle carriers operating under passenger stage corporation authority. We believed that a regulation requiring prearrangement of charter-party services, to be evidenced by a waybill in the driver's possession, provided an adequate tool for airport enforcement officers and the Commission staff to address these problems.
Taxicab Regulation
The Legislature has unequivocally made the regulation of taxicab service the responsibility of local authorities. Government Code § 53075.5(a) states:
Notwithstanding Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 5351) of Division 2 of the Public Utilities Code, every city or county shall protect the public health, safety, and welfare by adopting an ordinance or resolution in regard to taxicab transportation service rendered in vehicles designed for carrying not more than eight persons, excluding the driver, which is operated with the jurisdiction of the city or county.
Pub. Util. Code § 5353 lists various transportation services that are excluded from the Passenger Charter-Party Carriers' Act, including:
(g) Transportation service licensed and regulated by a city or county, by ordinance or resolution, rendered in vehicles designed for carrying not more than eight persons excluding the driver.
Our regulations make it clear to charter-party carriers that they may not conduct taxicab service under their Commission authority. Part 3.03 of G.O. 157-C states:
TAXI TRANSPORTATION SERVICE NOT AUTHORIZED. A carrier is not authorized to engage in taxicab transportation service licensed and regulated by a city or county. Carriers are prohibited from using vehicles which have top lights and/or taxi meters.
Moreover, in 1982 the Commission directed staff to include a restriction prohibiting the use of top lights and/or taxi meters in all charter-party carrier permits, a practice that continues today. (D.82-05-069 in Case No. 10902.)
Complaints
It has come to our attention, primarily through formal and informal complaints received from taxi operators and local taxicab regulators, that a growing number of charter-party carriers that operate limousines and sedans may be misusing their Commission-issued licenses. Taxi operators complain that carriers are conducting taxicab or taxicab-like services under the guise of charter-party operations. Activities complained of include providing service on short notice or in immediate response to telephone calls, conducting transportation that is predominately one-way and of short duration, obtaining customers by waiting at hotels, picking up passengers who hail the driver, advertising in a manner that suggests taxicab service, failing to prepare waybills, operating vehicles that bear a resemblance to taxicabs, and charging flat rates instead of on a time and/or mileage basis. Complainants generally assert that these carriers are either violating specific statutes or regulations, or are operating in a manner that is inconsistent with the intended permissible scope of charter-party services.
City officials complain that carriers engaged in these activities undermine their taxicab regulatory programs. These programs vary from city to city. In addition to liability insurance requirements, they may include limits on the number of franchises granted, licensing of individual drivers (which could entail a criminal background check), fare regulation, vehicle maintenance and appearance requirements, and service standards.
To the extent that some charter-party carriers are in fact misusing their charter-party authority, insufficient Commission and local enforcement resources may be partly to blame. However, complaining parties frequently point to gaps in Commission regulations as a hindrance to meaningful enforcement. In particular, Part 3.01 is viewed as in need of clarification and strengthening if it is to be effective in preventing abuses. Complainants point out, for instance, that "prearrangement" is not limited to a time period, and solicitation of passengers is not specifically prohibited.
1 Unless otherwise indicated, all statutory references are to the Public Utilities Code. 2 This section as originally enacted applied only to charter-party carriers serving airports. (Stats. 1990, Ch. 518. Effective August 13,1990.) It was amended effective January 1, 1999, to make it applicable to all charter-party carriers. (Stats. 1998, Ch. 828.) 3 3 Charter-party carriers not subject to Part 3.01 are those providing transportation incidental to commercial balloon operations, commercial river rafting, or skiing under a Class C certificate, as defined in Section 5383; specialized carriers operating under a "Z" permit, as defined in Section 5384(a); and carriers conducting round-trip sightseeing tour service under an "S" permit, as defined in Section 5384(c).
