S.L. 499.59 Art. 2Interpretation.

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires -

"the Act" means the Authority for Transport in Malta Act;

"the Authority" means the Authority for Transport in Malta established by the Act;

"carriageway" means that part of a roadway on which traffic proceeds in a single direction;

"driver" means a person who holds a taxi driver permit in terms of these regulations;

"driver’s tag" means a tag issued by the Authority to a driver in terms of Part III;

"electric mini cab" means an electrically propelled vehicle or an electric power assisted pedal cycle registered and licensed to ply and stand for hire in terms of these regulations; "electric mini cab maximum fare" means the maximum fixed-fare to be levied for electric mini cab journeys, irrespective of locality and length of journey, specified in Table 4 of the First Schedule;

"electric mini cab stand" means an area specially designated and marked as such by the Authority, where electric mini cabs can stand for hire; "electric power assisted pedal cycle" means, for the purposes of these regulations, an electrically propelled vehicle which is:

(a) fitted with pedals capable of propelling it;

(b) fitted with an electric motor capable of propelling it;

(c) capable of travelling at a speed of not less than 15 kilometres per hour and not more than 25 kilometres per hour;

(d) has a maximum width that does not exceed 1.2m; "electrically propelled vehicle" means an electrically propelled vehicle, which is used for the carriage of passengers by road and which -

(a) for the purposes of these regulations, has a maximum speed which does not exceed 45 km per hour; and

(b) has an unladen mass not exceeding 550kg; "emergency button" means a device installed in a taxi which when pressed sends a distress signal to a control room or control rooms designated by the Authority; "fixed-fare" means the maximum fixed-fare for taxi journeys from specified points of departure to specified destinations prescribed in Table 2 of the First Schedule;

"fixed-fare ticket" means a ticket issued from a taxi booth as a proof of receipt of payment of a fixed-fare;

"hire or reward" means payment made for the carriage of passengers other than on own account, that is to say against payment or compensation by the hirer; "hirer" means the passenger or the person hiring the taxi;

"hybrid motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle which has at least two different energy converters and two different energy storage systems for the purpose of vehicle propulsion, and which, for the purpose of these regulations, may carry no more than five passengers in addition to the driver;

"initial verification" means the verification of a taximeter carried out by the Malta Standards Authority under such procedures as may be established by that Authority before such taximeter is first put into service on a taxi; "licence holder" means the natural or legal person whose name is shown as the registered owner of the vehicle on the registration certificate of the taxi vehicle:

Provided that where a legal person is the registered owner of the vehicle, the natural person appearing for that legal person on the registration certificate shall carry all the responsibilities of the licence holder as stipulated in these regulations; "M1 vehicle" means a motor vehicle used for the carriage of passengers and comprising no more than eight seats in addition to the driver’s seat;

"Malta Standards Authority" means the Malta Standards Authority established by the Malta Standards Authority Act;

“maximum tariff” means the maximum tariff for a taxi service prescribed in the First Schedule;

"the Minister" means the Minister responsible for transport; "motor vehicle" means any mechanically or electrically self-propelled vehicle intended for use on the road, other than a vehicle running on rails;

"new motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle which has never been permanently registered in any country and which has not travelled under its own power for more than 3,000 km; "owner" means the person in whose name a motor vehicle is registered; "passenger" means a person who is carried in a taxi for hire or reward; "periodical verification" means the verification of a taximeter not being an initial verification, which is carried out by the Malta Standards Authority under such procedures as may be established by that Authority;

"ply for hire" means to drive a taxi on the road to search for, or be available for, hire;

"priority vehicle lane" means an area of carriageway reserved for vehicles on priority duty;

"road" has the same meaning as is given to it in the Act; "Register" means the Road Passenger Transport Register set up in terms of regulation 24 of the Passenger Transport Services Regulations;

"registration certificate" has the same meaning assigned to it by the Registration and Licensing of Motor Vehicles Regulations;

"registration mark" means the registration number assigned to a motor vehicle;

"registration plate" means a plate or other device displaying the registration mark of a motor vehicle;

"stand for hire" means, in the case of a taxi, to wait on a taxi stand, and in the case of an electric mini cab, to wait on an electric mini cab stand, ready to accept requests for hire; "surveillance camera" means a camera which captures images and projects those images into an electric signal to be further processed; "taxi" means an M1 vehicle which is fitted with a taximeter and which is licensed to stand and ply for hire as a taxi; "taxi driver permit" means a permit issued by the Authority to drivers in terms of Part III; "taxi licence" means a document issued by the Authority certifying that motor vehicle is authorised to carry out taxi services;

"taximeter" means a measuring instrument designed for installation in a motor vehicle that calculates and displays the fare to be paid for a trip, based on the distance travelled and the duration of the trip;

"taxi services" means a business activity consisting in the provision and co-ordination of taxi services to passengers given for hire or reward; "taxi stand" means an area specially designated and marked as such by the Authority, where taxis can stand for hire; "tour" means, for the purposes of these regulations, a taxi trip with a duration of at least two hours; "tracking device" means any individual device that, according to the operation of the device:

(a) monitors the geographical position of a taxi; and, or

(b) monitors the functioning or operation of a taxi and the taximeter; "Tribunal" means the Administrative Review Tribunal established in terms of article 5 of the Administrative Justice Act;

"two-way communication system" means any apparatus which is designed or adapted for the purpose of transmitting and receiving spoken messages; "unladen mass" means the mass of the vehicle excluding the battery and any load; "wheelchair accessible vehicle" means a motor vehicle that allows easy and unaided access to persons who make use of wheelchairs;

"while on duty" means the time while the driver of a taxi is waiting on a taxi stand or while exposing the taxi for hire and while the driver is driving the taxi whether when carrying passengers in the taxi or not.