Taxi Waiting List Requirements

The Commission on Motor Vehicles for Hire maintains a waiting list, updated annually, of applicants who continue to meet taxi, bus and limousine license requirements. Currently the taxi wait list contains 30 names and the bus list 1 name, with an average wait time of 16 years.

Send the following to Commission on Motor Vehicles for Hire, P.O. Box 220, Block Island, RI 02807:

• Letter of request to the MVFH Commission
• Photocopies of 5 years of tax returns showing a Block Island address (amounts redacted)
• Statement of good moral character
• Proof of 5 years on the New Shoreham voter list (obtained from Town Clerk’s office)
• Photocopy of Rhode Island operator’s license showing New Shoreham address

Motor Vehicle for Hire Ordinance, Section 8-164. - Application for license; qualifications of applicants.

• (a)Applications for new licenses shall be submitted to the commission, which shall determine qualification for the license. The names of qualified applicants shall be forwarded to the town council.
• (b)The commission on motor vehicles for hire shall maintain a waiting list of those who wish to be considered for a license as they become available and shall provide the names of those on the list who continue meeting the criteria set forth in subsection (c) of this section to the council on an annual basis.
• (c)To be qualified, an applicant must prove he or she meets the following criteria, in addition to any other criteria that may be imposed by regulations promulgated pursuant to this article:
  • (1)The applicant must be of good moral character.
  • (2)The applicant must have been a resident of the town as defined in section 2-2, for five consecutive years prior to the date of the original application.
  • (3)The applicant must have been a qualified elector of the town for five consecutive years prior to the date of application, unless ineligible by reason of age.
  • (4)The applicant must have held a Rhode Island operator's license, chauffeur's license or a commercial driver's license with appropriate passenger endorsement with a New Shoreham address for five consecutive years prior to the date of application.
• (d)Before forwarding any application for motor vehicles for hire to the town council for possible granting, the commission on motor vehicles for hire shall ascertain that each of these criteria have continued to be met during such time the application was awaiting town council action or that, in case of renewal, the applicant continues to meet the criteria set forth in subsections (c)(1), (c)(2) and (c)(3) of this section. For renewal of a New Shoreham charter bus license, except a license granted under section 8-163(b), the applicant must hold a valid state commercial driver's license with appropriate passenger endorsement, and must obtain a New Shoreham chauffeur's license each year. No application can be forwarded to the town council for granting of a new or renewal license that does not meet this criteria nor can the town council grant a New Shoreham charter bus license to any person who does not meet this criteria. These applications will be received and acted upon at a hearing before the commission on motor vehicles for hire open to the public and the results will be forwarded immediately to the town council.
• (e)If the commission finds that an applicant for a new license, a renewal or a position on the waiting list does not meet the criteria in subsection (b) of this section, it shall so notify the applicant in writing by registered or certified mail stating its reasons in detail. An applicant found unqualified shall have the right to request a hearing before the commission. Such a hearing must be requested in writing within 30 days of receipt of the commission's decision. A hearing so requested shall be conducted within 30 days of the date the request is received, and the commission's decision shall be issued within 30 days after the hearing is concluded and an automatic appeal will be taken to the town council and placed on the first available agenda.

(Ordinance of December 17, 1997(2), Section 8-164; Ordinance of August 5, 2002, Section 8-164; Ordinance of August 18, 2004, Section 8-164; Ordinance of September 15, 2004, Section 8-164)