1605 PROHIBITIONS

1605.1 No person shall dispatch a public vehicle-for hire or process a digital payment for a public vehicle-for-hire in the District except as provided in this chapter.1605.2 No person shall operate a dispatch service that is not registered with the Office under § 1604 for all the services it provides in the District.1605.3 No dispatch service shall dispatch or process digital payments except as provided in this chapter and in Chapters 4, 6, and 8 (for taxicabs), and in this chapter and in Chapters 12 and 14 (for sedans).1605.4 No dispatch service may alter or attempt to alter its legal obligations under this title or to impose an obligation on any person or limit the rights of any person in a manner that is contrary to public policy or that threatens passenger or operator safety or consumer protection.1605.5 A DDS shall not provide digital dispatches to a taxicab operator who provides service with a vehicle that displays on its exterior the name, color scheme, or other unique branding of a taxicab fleet or association, if such fleet or association does not agree to the operator's association with the DDS, and:- (a) For thirty (30) days following the effective date of this rulemaking, such fleet or association is operating a dispatch service limited to its associated vehicles; or

- (b) After thirty (30) days following the effective date of this rulemaking, such fleet or association has filed for or received registration for a DDS limited to its associated vehicles.1605.6 No DDS shall provide digital payment for taxicabs which allows the operator to manually enter fare information into any device except as permitted by § 801, or by the integration rules of Chapter 4.1605.7 No fee charged by a DDS in addition to a taximeter fare shall be processed by a payment service provider, or displayed on or paid using any component of an MTS unit, provided, however, that such a fee may be processed by a payment service provider or displayed on or paid using a component of an MTS unit pursuant to an integration agreement between the DDS and the PSP that has been approved by the Office pursuant to Chapter 4, this chapter, and all other applicable provisions of this title, and incorporates reasonable measures to avoid passenger confusion between regulated and non-regulated rates and charges.1605.8 This section shall not apply to sedan services until November 1, 2013.

SOURCE: Final Rulemaking published at 61 DCR 4430 (May 2, 2014).