Individuals and companies who operate commercial passenger vehicles in British Columbia require a passenger transportation licence issued under the Passenger Transportation Act (Act) and Passenger Transportation Regulation (Regulation).
The new Act and associated Regulation, which replaces the Motor Carrier Act, received Royal Assent on May 13, 2004. The Act established a new regulatory structure for licensing commercial passenger vehicles.
The Regulation addresses the operation of commercial passenger vehicles and the conditions that apply to each category of operation. The Regulation also identifies certain types of vehicles that are exempt from requiring a passenger transportation licence which are detailed in Part 1, Section 5 (Licence Exemptions) of the Regulation.
In addition, the Act created a series of offences for which tickets may be issued and are subject to prosecution in the courts. These sanctions apply to both licensed and unlicensed operators. The Act also allows the Registrar of Passenger Transportation to impose Administrative Penalties solely against licensees, in non compliance of the Act and Regulation.
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Types of Passenger Transportation Licences
The Passenger Transportation Act defined two types of Passenger Transportation Licences:
Special Authorization:
- “Inter-city Buses”, such as vehicles providing scheduled services (set time, individual fares, regular route and fixed terminal points)
- “Passenger Directed Vehicles”, such as taxis, limousines or other passenger type vehicles with a carrying capacity of 11 passengers or less, excluding driver.
General Authorization:
- “General Passenger Vehicles” such as sightseeing and charter buses designed to carry 12 passengers or more, excluding the driver.
- Vehicles designed to carry 11 passengers or less, excluding the driver, provided the services are carrier directed – such as sightseeing tours.
Passenger Transportation Licences requiring Special Authorization must obtain approval from the Passenger Transportation Board (Board) and are considered on the basis of the “three part test” set out in section 28(1) of the Passenger Transportation Act. Once approved by the Board the operator must demonstrate that they have met all safety requirements to obtain a licence. Applicants are advised to review the Passenger Transportation Board Application Handbook for further information on a Special Authorization Licence.
A General Authorization passenger transportation licence is granted by the Registrar of Passenger Transportation once the operator has successfully demonstrated that they have met all the safety requirements.
The Passenger Transportation Act continues to maintain public safety while making it easy for operators to enter the marketplace and respond to changing business needs.
The Passenger Transportation Regulation (Regulation) identify certain types of vehicles that are excluded from the definition of an "Inter-City Bus", which are detailed in Part 1, Section 2 ( Excluded Inter-city buses) of the Regulation, where a General Authorization passenger transportation licence will be required rather than a Special Authorization licence. The Regulation also identify certain types of vehicles that are excluded from the definition of a “Passenger Directed Vehicle”, which are detailed in Part 1, Section 3 (Excluded Passenger Directed Vehicles) of the Regulation, where a General Authorization passenger transportation licence will suffice.
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