Taxi companies are companies that provide a door – door service for a customer willing to pay the fee. This is in opposition from using the KTA bus network which is stop – stop. In areas where bus service is not adequate such as rural communities, then a taxi might be their only option. All taxis must have an operator’s license no matter how many taxis they have in their stock. All taxis must also have regular maintenance to insure that the vehicle is safe and reliable. All taxis will have a taxi signal on the roof of the vehicle. If the taxi light is on, then the taxi can take on a rider. If the taxi light is off, then the taxi can not take on a rider. All taxis must must meet NSC requirements for vehicles. This might mean that they will have to replace their fleet since the regulations will be new. Taxi companies must have a telephone number for voice and SMS communications.
Rideshare (Lyft/Uber) will be required to have an operator’s license. They must also offer a telephone number to service customers, and that number must support RCS/SMS. The contractors will not need a business license, but can choose to acquire one if they want to keep their rideshare revenue separate from their other funds. All rideshare services must have an app which will identify the vehicle picking up the passenger. The contractor must know the name of the party they are picking up, and the rider can ask the driver what their name is to assure that they are not going into the wrong vehicle.
Last, there are jitneys. Jitneys can operate as long as they have a business license. Their vehicle does not need to meet the compliance standards that taxi companies are required to meet, but their vehicle must be safe to operate. Jitneys are also required to have a terminal to accept payments considering that Kaldus is a cashless system. Any jitney operating without a license or a safe vehicle can face heavy fines. The advantage of having a license is they can acquire a business line so they don’t have to give out their private telephone number. This means the jitney can simply turn off their business cellular phone when they aren’t operating. The jitney number must be a cellular phone since the business must also support RCS/SMS services.