KNV Taxi
Spui 188, 2511 BW Den Haag
Postbus 19365, 2500 CJ Den Haag
T 070-3751751, F 070-3751788
E tvn@knv.nl, I www.knv.nl
General Terms and Conditions for Taxi Transport
Filed by Koninklijk Nederlands Vervoer with the Register of the Hague District Court on 22 June 2006, document number
50/2006, to replace and succeed the General Terms and Conditions for Taxi Transport filed previously by Koninklijk
Nederlands Vervoer on 20 March 2003, document number 31/2003.
These general terms and conditions for the KNV Taxi Association were drawn up in March 2006 in consultation with the
Consumentenbond [Dutch Consumer Association], in the context of the Self-Regulation Coordination Group
[Coördinatiegroep Zelfreguleringsoverleg (CZ)] of the Dutch Social Economic Council and entered into effect from July
2006. The CZ would be grateful if this could be indicated whenever these General Terms and Conditions are cited.
KNV Taxi
Spui 188, 2511 BW Den Haag
P.O.Box 19365, 2500 CJ Den Haag
T 070-3751751, F 070-3751788
E tvn@knv.nl, I www.knv.nl
Article 1: Definitions
The definitions of terms used in these General Terms
and Conditions for Taxi Transport shall be understood
to be:
1. Taxi transport: all agreed transporting of persons
by Car as provided for in Article 1 under f. of the
2000 Passenger Transport Act, whereby the price
of the journey is agreed in advance or is
determined by the use of the taxameter.
Transport shall also include entering and leaving
the vehicle.
2. Transport agreement: the agreement concluded
between Passenger/Client and Carrier in respect
of transport by taxi.
3. Taxi rank: a part of the public road designated by
the road administrator as a parking place for taxis.
4. Car: motor vehicle as provided for in Article 1 sub
f. of the 2000 Passenger Transport Act.
5. Passenger: the person being transported by the
Carrier.
6. Client: the natural or legal person concluding a
Transport agreement with the Carrier.
7. Commission:
a. a Commission by a natural person of a Carrier
waiting for passengers at a Taxi rank;
b. any other Commission, in any form
whatsoever, of Carrier by a Passenger/Client.
8. Carrier: the natural person or legal entity,
including its Personnel, undertaking the transport
of persons by Car.
9. Personnel: members of personnel employed by
Carrier including auxiliary staff, who are not in
the employ of Carrier but do provide services
commissioned by it in any means of transport
belonging to the Carrier or any means of
transport made available to Carrier.
10. Hand baggage: baggage accompanying a
Passenger, which is easy to transport, and can be
either carried or wheeled, and which is
understood to include live animals, and objects
allowed by the Carrier as hand baggage.
Article 2: General Terms and Conditions: Area
of applicabilityThese
General Terms and Conditions shall apply to all
Transport agreements and shall form the basis for the
settlement of disputes by the Taxi Industry Disputes
Committee, as provided for in Article 16 of these
General Terms and Conditions.
Article 3: Conclusion of Transport agreement
A Transport agreement is concluded following
acceptance of Carrier of a Commission. In the case of
a commission as provided for in Article 1 under 7a.,
Carrier shall be obliged, not withstanding the
provisions of Article 7 sixth paragraph, to accept this
commission. The obligations of Carrier shall apply
equally to the Passenger who is not acting as the
Client. By accepting the journey, Passenger becomes a
party to the Transport agreement.
Article 4: Termination of Transport agreement
1. Carrier may bring the journey to an immediate
halt and, therefore, terminate the Transport
agreement, in the event that Passenger is the
cause of such hindrance that Carrier can not be
reasonably be expected to transport the
Passenger. In such cases, Carrier may order the
Passenger to leave the vehicle immediately.
2. In a case such as that described in paragraph 1,
Carrier shall not be obliged to pay any
compensation to Passenger.
3. In the event of premature termination, Passenger,
where the price of the journey is calculated by
the taxameter, shall owe the amount showing on
the taxameter at the time that the journey is
terminated. In the event that a price is agreed for
the journey in advance, Passenger shall owe a
proportionate part thereof in payment of that
part of the journey already driven.
4. Passenger/Client may cancel a journey booked
with Carrier before its commencement; in such
cases, Passenger/Client shall be obliged to pay
fair and reasonable compensation to the Carrier.
5. In the event that Carrier does not appear as
agreed for a booked journey, Passenger shall be
entitled to compensation based on fairness and
reasonableness where damage can be
demonstrated.
Article 5: Obligations and authorities of
Passenger
1. Passenger shall be obliged:
a. to follow all reasonable indications or
instructions by Carrier, such as sitting in the
seat indicated by Carrier;
b. to put on a seat belt before the journey
commences. Any lawfully imposed penalty
arising from non-compliance with this
obligation by Passenger may be recovered
from Passenger.
2. In the Car, Passenger shall be obliged to refrain
from:
a. damaging and/or soiling the Car;
b. the consumption of alcoholic drinks, unless
with the specific permission of Carrier;
c. transporting and/or using drugs or narcotics;
d. the use of tobacco products, unless with the
specific permission of Carrier;
e. aggression, fighting, harassing, threatening,
or any other improper behaviour towards
Carrier and/or others;
f. hindrance in any form whatsoever the Carrier
in the performance of his task.
3. Passenger shall be obliged to pay either the
previously agreed price for the journey or the
journey price indicated by the taxameter.
4. In the event that a situation occurs or arises in
respect to the Carrier which Passenger was not
required to be aware when concluding the
agreement but which, if he had been aware of it,
could have been considered reasonable grounds
for not concluding the Transport agreement or
concluding it under different conditions,
Passenger shall be authorised to terminate the
agreement.
The agreement may be terminated by an oral or
written notification, and the agreement shall end
at the time of receipt of said notification. In
accordance with the standards of reasonableness
on fairness, parties shall be obliged to
compensate damage suffered as a consequence
of termination of the Transport agreement.
5. Passenger shall be authorised to amend the final
destination during the journey, in accordance
with the stipulations of paragraph 3.
6. In the event that Passenger chooses to open the
door himself, he shall be obliged to open the
door in such a way that it does not form a
hindrance and/or danger to traffic.
Article 6: Payment
1. Payment by Passenger/Client to Carrier shall
in cash in a legal tender generally accepted in the
Netherlands, including generally recognized forms
of electronic payment, unless agreed otherwise.
2. Carrier shall be entitled to require cash payments
by Passenger/Client to be made in the exact
amount. Carrier shall not be obliged to accept a
number of coins in payment such that counting
them would cause unreasonable delay.
3. Carrier shall send an invoice to Passenger/ Client
where payment in cash has not been agreed.
Payment by Passenger/Client shall be made
without any discount, suspension or offsetting,
within 30 days of invoice date. Where this period
is exceeded, Passenger shall be in default and
costs may be charged in accordance with
statutory regulations.
4. Carrier shall at all times be entitled to offset
amounts owed by Passenger/Client against his
debts to Passenger/Client.
5. Implementation of the Transport agreement shall
be based on tariffs as they are established by
Carrier and have been notified in advance to
Passenger/Client.
Article 7: Obligations and authorities of
Carrier
1. Carrier shall be obliged to transport the
Passenger, and any hand baggage he is carrying,
in a careful manner.
2. Carrier shall be obliged to take the Passenger to
the destination by the route most favourable to
the Passenger, whether it be the fastest or most
economically beneficial, unless the Passenger or
the control room/switchboard specifically
requests or instructs a different route.
3. Carrier shall be obliged to assist Passenger on
entering and leaving the vehicle and with loading
and unloading hand baggage, unless (traffic)
technical reasons make this impossible.
4. When using a taxameter, Carrier shall be obliged
to leave the amount showing on the taxameter at
the end of the journey for a period long enough
to reasonably allow the Passenger to read the
mileage.
5. Carrier shall be obliged, upon first request by the
Passenger, to provide proof of payment indicating
at least the price of the journey, name of the
company, name of the driver, date and
(approximate) time of the journey.
6. Carrier shall be authorised to deny any Passenger
who does not comply with the provisions of
these General Terms and Conditions access to the
vehicle, or to remove him or have him removed
from the vehicle, if the Carrier cannot reasonably
be expected to transport this Passenger. Article 4
shall apply mutatis mutandis.
7. Carrier shall be obliged to treat with care any
personal information which it obtains in
connection with booking of journeys or by any
other means, in accordance with the Data
Protection Act.
8. Carrier shall be authorised, if serious reasons so
necessitate, to discontinue the transport in full or
in part. Carrier shall inform Passenger as quickly
as possible of the discontinuation, and if possible
of the reasons, the measures it intends to take
and the possible duration.
In the event of premature termination, Passenger,
where the price of the journey is established by
the taxameter, shall owe the amount indicated by
the taxameter at the time the journey is
discontinued. In the event that the journey price
was agreed in advance, Passenger shall owe a
proportionate part thereof in payment of that
part of the journey already driven.
Article 8: Hand baggage
1. Passenger shall be obliged to pack hand baggage
properly.
2. Carrier shall be entitled to refuse to transport
hand baggage which, by its very nature, could be
a nuisance, dangerous or illegal, or could cause
damage or pollution. Such a situation will occur
in any event if the hand baggage consists of a:
a. firearms, striking and/or stabbing weapons;
b. explosive substances;
c. pressurised gases in reservoirs;
d. combustible or highly flammable substances;
e. substances with a strong unpleasant odour;
f. narcotics;
g. ammunition.
3. Carrier shall be obliged to take reasonable care to
ensure that hand baggage belonging to
Passenger is not lost or damaged.
Article 9: Transport of animals
1. Notwithstanding the provisions of the following
paragraph of this Article, live animals may be
transported in an easily portable basket, bag or
similar object which can be placed or held on the
lap. Dogs may also be transported in another
manner, on condition that they are kept on a
short leash.
2. The animals described in the first paragraph may
not be transported if they could cause any form
of nuisance or hindrance to the Passenger or the
personnel or if they are suffering from a serious
illness.
Article 10: Lost property
In relation to lost property, in accordance with the
general statutory provisions in respect of the
notification and reporting obligation and giving and
taking into custody, the following shall apply:
a. Passenger shall be obliged to notify Carrier as
quickly as possible of any objects or sums of
money he finds. Carrier is authorised to accept
into custody such objects or sums of money
found, in exchange for a receipt. In the event
that the finder retains the object or sum of
money found, he shall be obliged to do
everything which can reasonably be expected of
him to find the owner or loser.
b. Carrier shall be authorised to sell an object found
by Personnel. or found by another party and
given to him, after three months or, if the object
is not suitable for keeping custody, before that
time, insofar as this property is not valuable.
c. Carrier shall be obliged to give any lost property,
the proceeds from the sale described in
paragraph b or the amount of money found to
the entitled party, if said party reports to it within
three years of notification of the loss. In the
event that the entitled party demands the
proceeds of the sale of lost property, the Carrier
may offset custody fees and administration costs
against the proceeds.
d. Carrier may charge administration costs for
dealing with a request in relation to lost property
or a sum of money.
Article 11: Cancellation
1. Passenger/Client shall be entitled to cancel the
previously agreed Transport agreement with
previously agreed journey price by an oral or
written notification:
a. If the cancellation occurs between 21 and 14
days before commencement of transport,
Passenger/Client shall owe to Carrier: 10% of
the agreed journey price;
b. If the cancellation occurs between 14 and 2
days before commencement of transport,
Passenger/ Client shall owe to Carrier: 35%
of the agreed journey price;
c. If the cancellation takes place within 2 days
of commencement of transport, Passenger/
Client shall owe to Carrier: 75% of the
agreed journey price
d. If the cancellation takes place during the
transport: the full journey price.
2. In the event that Passenger can demonstrate that
the damage suffered by Carrier is less than the
amount resulting from application of paragraph
1, those lower costs shall be charged.
Article 12: Force majeure
1. In the event that Carrier cannot comply with its
obligations to Passenger/Client due to a nonattributable
breach (force majeure), compliance
with those obligations shall be suspended for the
duration of the circumstances of force majeure. A
breach may not be attributed to the Carrier if it
cannot be imputed to a fault on his part, either in
accordance with law, legal act or generally
accepted standards.
2. In the event of force majeure, Passenger/Client
shall not be entitled to any compensation. If the
breach cannot be attributed to the Carrier, but he
enjoys an advantage due to the breach which he
would not have enjoyed in the event of proper
compliance, Passenger shall be entitled, by
application of the regulations concerning
unjustified enrichment, to compensation of
damages suffered up to a maximum of the
amount of that advantage.
Article 13: Carrier liability
1. Carrier shall be liable for damages caused by the
death of or injury to the Passenger as a
consequence of an accident which occurs in
connection with or during the transportation.
Carrier shall not be held liable if the accident is
caused by circumstances which a careful Carrier
could not have avoided, and the consequences of
which the Carrier was unable to prevent.
Compensation for damages which may be
payable by Carrier in the aforementioned
circumstances is limited by law to a sum of Euro
137,000 per Passenger.
2. Carrier shall be liable for damages caused by full
or partial loss or damage to hand baggage,
insofar as this loss or this damage occurs during
transportation and is caused:
a. by an accident occurring to Passenger which
is imputable to Carrier or
b. by a situation which a careful Carrier could
have avoided, or the consequences of which
a Carrier could have prevented.
Compensation for damages which may be
payable by Carrier in the case of loss or
damage to hand baggage is limited by law to
Euro 1,000 per Passenger.
3. In the case of delay, Carrier is liable by law to pay
a maximum of Euro 1,000.
Article 14: Passenger liability
Passenger shall, in principle, be obliged to pay
compensation to Carrier for damages caused to
Carrier by him or his hand baggage, except insofar as
said damage is caused by a situation which a careful
Passenger could not avoid and insofar as a Passenger
could not have prevented the consequences thereof.
Passenger may not invoke the capacity or a defect of
his hand baggage.
Article 15: Insurance
1. Passenger/Client may instruct Carrier to take out
insurance at its own expense to cover risks for
which Carrier is not liable.
2. In the event that Passenger/Client has instructed
Carrier to take out such insurance, or a very
limited insurance, and Carrier has accepted and
confirmed such an Instruction, Carrier shall be
liable for the damage resulting for Passenger/
Client from non-execution of this Instruction to
Carrier.
3. Carrier may, in the event that the hand baggage
is very valuable, oblige Passenger/Client to take
out proper travel and baggage insurance. In such
an instance, Carrier may request Passenger/Client
to provide evidence thereof.
Article 16: Complaints and disputes
1. Complaints about the conclusion and execution
of the Transport agreement must be fully and
clearly described and submitted to the Carrier
within six weeks after the Passenger/Client has
identified, or was able to identify, the fault. Late
submission of the complaint may cause the
Passenger/Client to lose his entitlements.
2. Disputes between Passenger/Client and Carrier
about the conclusion and execution of
agreements in relation to services provided or to
be provided by this Carrier may be submitted by
either the Passenger/Client or the Carrier to the
Taxi Transport Disputes Committee, PO Box
90600, 2509 LP The Hague.
3. Disputes will only be dealt with by the Disputes
Committee if Passenger/Client has first submitted
his complaint to Carrier.
4. After the complaint has been submitted to
Carrier, the dispute must be brought in writing to
the Disputes Committee within a maximum of
three months of its occurrence.
5. Where Passenger submits a dispute to the
Disputes Committee, Carrier is bound by this
choice. If Carrier wishes to submit a dispute to
the Committee, he must request Passenger in
writing to declare his agreement within five
weeks. When doing so, Carrier shall provide
notification that following expiry of the
aforementioned period, he shall feel free to
submit the dispute to the ordinary court.
6. The Disputes Committee shall rule in accordance
with the provisions of the regulation applicable to
it. The regulation for the Disputes Committee
may be sent upon request. Decisions of the
Disputes Committee take the form of a binding
recommendation. A fee is charged for hearing a
dispute.
7. The Dutch court or the aforementioned Disputes
Committee are exclusively authorised to hear
disputes.
8. Carrier shall make every effort, partly in order to
prevent disputes, to take complaints by Passenger
seriously and to deal with them within reason to
the satisfaction of Passenger.
9. In the event that parties cannot reach settlement,
Carrier should inform complainant Passenger of
the possibility of submitting such a dispute to the
Disputes Committee described in paragraph 2.
10. In the event that he holds Carrier liable for
damages, Passenger must notify Carrier in writing
of this damage as quickly as possible, thereby
indicating the nature and extent of the damage.
Article 17: Other conditions
1. KNV Taxi shall only amend these General Terms
and Conditions in consultation with the
Consumentenbond.
2. Nullity of one of the provisions or paragraphs
thereof in these General Terms and Conditions
shall not affect the applicability of the other
provisions or other paragraphs. In such a
situation, the null and void provisions or
paragraphs thereof shall be replaced by new
provisions or paragraphs, the contents, scope and
objective of which correspond as far as possible
with the old, null and void, provisions.
3. All Transport agreements to which these
conditions are declared applicable shall be
governed by the law of the Netherlands.
4. These General Terms and Conditions are publicly
available.
5. Carrier shall be obliged to make known the
manner in which Passenger/Client can obtain a
copy of these General Terms and Conditions
upon request.
6. If requested, these terms and conditions may also
be obtained free of charge from the Carrier and
can be consulted on the Internet, inter alia at
www.knv.nl