Northern Territory Consolidated Acts Northern Territory Consolidated Acts(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:
"accredited" means accredited under Part 3 and registered pursuant to section 11 as an accredited operator.
"approved" means approved by the Director.
"Board" means the Commercial Passenger Vehicle Board established under section 6A.
"bus stop" has the same meaning as in the Motor Omnibus Regulations .
"commercial passenger vehicle" means a taxi, private hire car, limousine, special function vehicle, minibus, courtesy vehicle, motor omnibus, tourist vehicle or special passenger vehicle.
"courtesy vehicle" means an approved motor vehicle (not being a motor vehicle operated as a taxi, private hire car, limousine, special function vehicle, minibus, motor omnibus, tourist vehicle or special passenger vehicle) used, with the services of a driver, to carry passengers for hire or reward where the carriage:
(a) is offered as an inducement in respect of an agreement for the provision of accommodation or activities for recreation or pleasure; and
(b) is provided to passengers without payment of a fare.
"Director" means the Director of Commercial Passenger (Road) Transport appointed under section 5(1).
"disqualifying offence" means:
(a) an offence against a law of the Territory prescribed by the Regulations; or
(b) an offence against a law, or a repealed law, of the Territory or another jurisdiction (including a jurisdiction outside Australia) that substantially corresponds to an offence referred to in paragraph (a).
"inspector" means a person appointed or declared as such under section 64, and includes the Director.
"licence" means a licence granted or renewed under this Act.
"limousine" means an approved motor vehicle that:
(a) is fitted, equipped or constructed to carry not more than 8 passengers and is used, with the services of a driver, to carry passengers for hire or reward on pre-booked journeys at pre-arranged fares;
(b) is not fitted with a meter that either calculates or indicates the fare payable; and
(c) does not stand or ply for hire.
"minibus" means an approved motor vehicle that:
(a) is fitted, equipped or constructed to carry more than 8 passengers but not more than 15 passengers;
(b) is used to carry passengers for hire or reward, including by responding to ad hoc hailings or by pre-booked journeys, for a fare (including a pre-arranged fare) determined in accordance with a rate of hire calculated by reference to the period of time the vehicle is hired or to the distance to be travelled;
(c) is not fitted with a meter that either calculates or indicates the fare payable; and
(d) is licensed to stand and ply for hire only at a minibus rank or at an approved place.
"minibus area" means an area declared under section 38 to be a minibus area for the purposes of this Act.
"minibus rank" means an area identified by signs as a minibus rank, where minibuses may stand or ply for hire, set aside for that purpose by a competent authority (as defined in the Traffic Act ).
"motor omnibus" means an approved motor vehicle fitted, equipped and constructed in accordance with the Australian Design Rules (within the meaning of the Motor Vehicles Act ), or other standards as the Director determines, to carry more than 8 passengers and used to carry passengers for hire or reward.
"motor vehicle" means any motor car, motor carriage, motor cycle, goods vehicle, motor omnibus, motor tractor, or other vehicle propelled upon a road wholly or partly by any volatile spirit or by steam, gas, oil, or electricity, or by any means other than human or animal power, and includes a trailer at any time attached to a motor vehicle but does not include any vehicle used on a railway or a powered cycle.
"operate", in relation to a commercial passenger vehicle, means:
(a) to drive or use; or
(b) to cause or employ another person to drive or use,
that vehicle to carry passengers for hire or reward, otherwise than only in the capacity of an employee or a volunteer.
"private hire car" means an approved motor vehicle that:
(a) is fitted, equipped or constructed to carry not more than 8 passengers and used, with the services of a driver, to carry passengers for hire or reward on pre-booked journeys at pre-arranged fares determined in accordance with a rate of hire calculated by reference to the period of time the vehicle is hired or by reference to the distance to be travelled in the vehicle;
(b) is not fitted with a meter that either calculates or indicates the fare payable; and
(c) does not stand or ply for hire except in accordance with section 37B.
"Registrar of Motor Vehicles" means the Registrar of Motor Vehicles appointed under the Motor Vehicles Act .
"road" has the same meaning as in the Local Government Act .
"route service", in relation to the operation of a motor omnibus, means a motor omnibus service which is, or is advertised or held out to be, on a scheduled route basis having a regular timetable and having a fare structure related to the carriage of passengers over sectors of the scheduled route.
"route service hours", in relation to an urban service area, means the hours of a day declared by the Director to be the hours of operation of route services in the urban service area.
"special function vehicle" means an approved motor vehicle (not being a motor vehicle operated as a taxi, private hire car, limousine, minibus, courtesy vehicle, motor omnibus, tourist vehicle or special passenger vehicle) that:
(a) is a distinctive or unusual make or model or has a distinctive or unusual external appearance; and
(b) is used, with the services of a driver, to carry passengers for hire or reward on pre-booked journeys for a pre-determined fee where the purpose of the journey is to transport the passengers in connection with an approved function or event or an approved class of functions or events.
"special passenger vehicle" means a motor vehicle (not being a motor vehicle operated as a taxi, private hire car, limousine, special function vehicle, minibus, courtesy vehicle, motor omnibus or tourist vehicle) used to carry passengers for hire or reward, being a motor vehicle declared by the Director, either generally as a class, or specifically, to be a special passenger vehicle for the purposes of this Act.
"substitute taxi" means an approved motor vehicle licensed by the Director under Division 2 of Part 4 and fitted out as a taxi, being a motor vehicle that is operated as a substitute for a taxi during those periods when that taxi is being serviced, maintained or repaired or is for any other reason unavailable for use as a taxi.
"taxi" means an approved motor vehicle fitted with an approved meter which is equipped or constructed to carry not more than:
(aa) 11 passengers; or
(ab) if the vehicle is exempt under section 18A – 15 passengers,
and is used for the purpose of:
(a) standing or plying for hire; and
(b) carrying passengers for hire or reward, including by responding to ad hoc hailings or by pre-booked journeys, for a fare (including a pre-arranged fare) determined in accordance with a rate of hire calculated primarily by reference to distance travelled that, unless exempted by the Director in respect of particular types of hire, is indicated by the meter.
"this Act" includes regulations made under this Act.
"tour package" means a holiday, sightseeing or recreational tour undertaken by a tourist pursuant to an agreement entered into with a travel agency or company or person offering such tours, being a tour which includes travel segments and accommodation, and, if part of the agreement, the transfer of the tourist between transport terminals and that accommodation.
"tourist" means a person travelling from one place to another principally for the purposes of recreation or pleasure.
"tourist vehicle" means an approved motor vehicle (not being a motor vehicle operated as a taxi, private hire car, limousine, special function vehicle, minibus, courtesy vehicle, motor omnibus or special passenger vehicle) used for the carriage of tourists for hire or reward:
(a) pursuant to pre-arranged bookings, outside the environs of a municipality;
(b) within the environs of a municipality if that carriage is part of a tour package; or
(c) on a tour of an approved type within the environs of a municipality.
"urban service area" means a motor omnibus urban route service area declared by notice under section 47.
(2) For the purposes of this Act, to carry passengers for hire or reward includes any case where the operator or driver of a motor vehicle used:
(a) offers the carriage as an inducement in respect of an agreement for the provision of other services or goods; or
(b) receives consideration for an arrangement whereby the carriage is affected or to which the carriage is related.
(3) For the purposes of this Act and of any contract of insurance, a motor vehicle is deemed not to be used to carry passengers for hire or reward if the carriage is pursuant to a motor vehicle pooling arrangement, being an arrangement whereby the carriage:
(a) is incidental to the main purpose of the journey;
(b) is not the result of touting for passengers by the driver or any other person on any road or because of being, or being part of, any commercial operation; and
(c) is undertaken for a consideration limited to:
(i) an undertaking by or on behalf of the passenger to carry the driver or a member of the driver's family on a similar journey; or
(ii) the payment of an amount which does not contain any element of profit in respect of the operation of the motor vehicle or of a motor vehicle pool or any recompense for the time of the driver.
(4) A reference in this Act to the holder of a licence includes a reference to a person permitted by the holder of the licence to operate a commercial passenger vehicle under the licence.