819 CONSUMER SERVICE AND PASSENGER RELATIONS

819.1 No person shall solicit business for taxicabs on public streets or space, within or on the grounds of railroad stations, airports, bus stations, buildings or sidewalks.819.2 No taxicab operator, or any person on his or her behalf, shall solicit business on behalf of any hotel, restaurant or other establishment, or attempt to divert patronage or business from any hotel, restaurant or other establishment in any manner whatsoever.819.3 No taxicab operator shall loiter with a taxicab around or in front of any hotel, theater, public building, or place of public gathering, except to take on or discharge a passenger.819.4 Taxicab operators shall, at all times when on duty and not engaged, furnish service on demand to any person, except as provided for in § 819.5.819.5 No taxicab operator shall refuse to transport a person while holding his or her taxicab for hire, unless:- (a) Previously engaged;

- (b) Unable or forbidden by the provisions of this title to do so;

- (c) The operator has reason to believe the person is engaged in a violation of law;

- (d) The operator has cause to fear injury to his or her person, property or taxicab; or

- (e) The passenger(s) is engaged in lewd, lascivious, or sexual behavior in the taxicab at any time while the trip is in progress, after the operator has asked the passenger(s) at least once to stop the conduct.819.6 Any taxicab occupying a taxicab stand shall be considered to be held for hire.819.7 Any taxicab being operated on the streets shall be considered held for hire when:- (a) Not occupied by a passenger; or

- (b) Not displaying an 'On Call,' 'Off Duty,' or 'Out of Service' sign as authorized by the Commission's rules and regulations.819.8 For the purposes of this chapter, a taxicab is not considered for hire when the following occurs:

(a) The operator ceases to hold his or her vehicle for hire and the "Off Duty" sign is displayed in accordance with the provisions of § 820;

(b) The driver is on call, has a previous appointment, or is engaged by the hour for the carriage of passengers or making an emergency delivery of a parcel or package and is displaying the "On Call" sign in compliance with the Commission's rules and regulations;

(c) The taxicab is loaded to the designed capacity of the vehicle;

(d) The taxicab is disabled or faced with an emergency and the "Out of Service" sign is displayed in accordance with the Commission's rules and regulations; or

(e) During group riding and the passengers occupying the taxicab have not consented to the operator engaging in shared riding.

819.9 Except in shared riding, the operator shall not ask the destination of the passenger until the passenger is in the taxicab. A dispatcher shall not ask the destination of a passenger. If the dispatcher learns the destination of a passenger, that dispatcher shall not then convey the destination when dispatching an operator to pick up the passenger unless requested to do so by the passenger or the passenger has an emergency.

819.10 Once a trip has been accepted by a taxicab operator through digital dispatch, the taxicab operator shall not fail to pick up the passenger or to complete the trip after the passenger has been picked up. A violation of this subsection shall be treated as a refusal to haul under this section or §§ 818.2 or 819.5.

SOURCE: Final Rulemaking published at 37 DCR 3595, 3620 (June 1, 1990); as amended by § 3 of the District of Columbia Taxicab Commission Establishment Act of 1985 Amendment Act of 1994, effective September 22, 1994 (D.C. Law 10-171; 41 DCR 5149 (August 5, 1994)); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 59 DCR 9970, 9981 (August 17, 2012); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 62 DCR 8061 (June 5, 2015).