Terms & Conditions

General Terms and Conditions for Care and Taxi
Transport
Submitted by Koninklijk Nederlands Vervoer with the
Register of the Hague District Court on 10th of
December 2019, document number 35/2019. These
general terms and conditions will come into effect as
from 01-01-2020.
Article 1: Definitions
In these General Terms and Conditions for Care and
Taxi Transport the following terms are used and
understood to mean:
1. Taxi transport/Care transport: all agreed transport
of persons by Car as stated in Article 1 of the Dutch
Passenger Transport Act of 2000, in which the price of
the journey is agreed in advance or is determined by
the use of the taximeter. Transport also includes the
entering and getting out of the vehicle.
2. Contract of Carriage: the agreement concluded
between Passenger/Client and Carrier for 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 stated in Article 1 of the Dutch
Passenger Transport Act of 2000.
5. Passenger: the person being transported by the
Carrier.
6. Client: the natural or legal person concluding a
Contract of Carriage with the Carrier.
7. Commission:
a. commission by a natural person pertaining to a
Carrier waiting for passengers at a Taxi rank;
b. any other Commission meant for Carrier by a
Passenger/Client.
8. Carrier: the natural person or legal entity, member
of KNV Zorgvervoer en Taxi, or carrying a valid TXKeurmerk certificate (the hallmark certificate for Dutch
quality taxis), including driver(s) of the car(s), bound to
undertake the transport of persons by Car.
9. Driver: the driver of the car in which taxi transport is
carried out (to wit: the taxi driver) who is employed by
Carrier, including any auxiliary staff not employed by
Carrier but providing services commissioned by
Carrier, in a vehicle provided by the Carrier or in a
vehicle made available to Carrier.
10. Hand baggage: easy-to-transport baggage
accompanying a Passenger, that can be either carried
or wheeled, including live animals and other objects
allowed by Carrier as hand baggage.
11. Taximeter: device in a car indicating the transport
price in accordance with stated rates. The taximeter
has to be visibly present.
12. Stichting TX-Keur: the foundation that hands out
and manages the TX-Keurmerk certification.
13. KNV Zorgvervoer en Taxi : the employer
organization of which Carrier is a member.
Article 2: General Terms and Conditions: Applicability
These General Terms and Conditions apply to all
Contracts of Carriage and form the basis for the
settlement of disputes by the Taxi Industry
“Geschillencommissie Zorgvervoer en Taxi” (the
Dispute Commission for Care and Taxi Transport), as
stated in Article 14 of these General Terms and
Conditions.
Article 3: Conclusion of Contract of Carriage
1. A Contract of Carriage is concluded after the
acceptance by Passenger/Client of the offer for a
Commission by Carrier.
2. In the case of a Commission as stated in Article 1
under 7a, Carrier will be obliged to accept this
commission, notwithstanding the provisions of Article
4 first paragraph.
3. The obligations of Carrier, including article 7, apply
equally to Passengers who are not acting as Clients.
Article 4: Termination and cancellation of Contract of
Carriage
1. Carrier may bring the journey to an immediate halt
and terminate the Contract of Carriage, in the event of
Passenger causing such nuisance that Carrier cannot
reasonably be expected to transport Passenger (any
further). In such a case, Carrier may order Passenger to
leave the vehicle immediately.
2. In a case such as the one described in paragraph 1,
Carrier shall not be obligated to pay any compensation
to Passenger.
3. In the event a journey is prematurely terminated, if
the price of the journey is calculated by taximeter,
Passenger/Client shall owe the amount displayed on
the taximeter at the time that the journey is
terminated. In the event a price is agreed upon in
advance, Passenger shall owe a proportionate part of
the amount of that part of the journey already
conducted.
4. Passenger/Client may cancel a journey booked with
Carrier before its commencement. In such cases,
Passenger/Client shall be obliged to pay a fair and
reasonable compensation to Carrier in case of
demonstrable damage. This also applies to the event in
which a passenger does not appear at the location
agreed upon with 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 if
there is demonstrable damage.
Article 5: Obligations and authorities of Passenger
1. Passenger is obliged to:
a. follow all reasonable indications or instructions by
Carrier, such as taking place in the seat indicated by
Carrier;
b. put on a seatbelt before the journey commences.
Any fines or 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. consuming alcoholic drinks, unless with the express
permission of Carrier;
c. carrying and/or using drugs/narcotics;
d. using tobacco products;
e. aggressive behavior, physical harassment, other
forms of harassment, making threats, or any other
improper behaviour towards Carrier and/or others;
f. hindering the Carrier in any manner whatsoever 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 taximeter.
4. In the event that a situation occurs or comes to light
on the part of the Carrier that Passenger was not
required to be aware of at the time of concluding the
agreement but which, if he/she had been aware of it,
could have been considered reasonable grounds for
not concluding the Contract of Carriage or for
concluding it under different conditions, Passenger is
authorized to terminate the contract. The contract
may be terminated by a verbal or written notification
submitted by Passenger, and the contract will end at
the moment of receipt of the notification by Carrier. In
concurrence with the standards of reasonableness and
fairness, parties shall be obliged to compensate
damage suffered as a consequence of termination of
the Contract of Carriage.
5. Passenger is authorized to change the final
destination of the journey in the course of the journey,
in concurrence with the stipulations of paragraph 3.
6. In the event that Passenger chooses to open the car
door him/herself, he/she 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. Execution pursuant to the Contract of Carriage shall
be carried out on the basis of the identified and
correctly publicized rates which are based on the
Passenger Transport Act of 2000, in which the cost of
the journey is agreed upon in advance or is
determined by the use of the taximeter.
2.Payment by Passenger/Client to Carrier is to be in
cash in a legal tender generally accepted in the
Netherlands, including generally recognized forms of
electronic payment, unless agreed upon otherwise.
3.Carrier is 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 if counting them would cause
unreasonable delay.
4a. If the Passenger/Client, insofar as he/she is not
carrying out a profession or acting on behalf of a
company, fails to meet his/her payment obligation(s),
Passenger/Client is, after the Carrier has notified
him/her of the late payment and Carrier has given
Passenger/Client a period of 14 days to meet his/her
payment obligations, obligated to pay the statutory
interest over the outstanding amount after this 14-
days-term, and the Carrier will be entitled to charge
the extrajudicial collection costs incurred by him/her
onto the Passenger/Client. These collection costs shall
not exceed the following levels: 15% on outstanding
amounts up to € 2,500, 10% over the subsequent €
2,500 and 5% on the following € 5,000, with a
minimum of € 40. The Carrier may deviate from the
indicated amounts and percentages to benefit the
Passenger/Client.
4b. As far as Passenger/Client acted in the exercise of a
profession or business, Carrier appeals to the
reimbursement of the extrajudicial (collection) costs,
which costs, in that case, by way of derogation of
article 6:96, paragraph 4 BW and by way of derogation
of the Compensation for Extrajudicial Collection Costs
Decree, shall be set to an amount equal to 15% of the
total outstanding principal amount with a minimum of
€ 75 for each partially or fully unpaid invoice.
5. Parties are entitled to settle reciprocal claims.
Article 7: Obligations and authorities of Carrier
1. Carrier shall be obliged to transport the Passenger,
and any hand baggage he/she is carrying, in a careful
and safe manner.
2. Carrier shall be obliged to take Passenger to the
destination via the route most favorable to Passenger,
whether it be the fastest or most economically
beneficial, unless Passenger or the control
room/switchboard specifically requests or instructs the
Driver to take a different route.
3. Carrier shall be obliged to assist Passenger in
entering and leaving the vehicle and in loading and
unloading hand baggage, unless (traffic) technical
reasons make this impossible.
4. When using a taximeter, Carrier shall be obliged, at
the end of the journey, to leave the final reading on
the taximeter for a period long enough so that
Passenger might reasonably be able to read it.
5. Carrier shall be obliged, as described in article 1 of
the Publicized maximum rates and publicized taxi
transport rates, to provide proof of payment displaying
at least the information described in the article, e.g.
the price of the journey and corresponding rates,
distance driven, name, address and license number of
the company, license plates of the vehicle, date of
occurrence, and start and end time of the journey.
6. Carrier shall be obliged to treat with care any
personal information obtained in connection with the
booking of journeys or by any other means. For these
personal data, the provisions of the Dutch General
Data Protection Regulation apply in full.
7. If Carrier completely or partially interrupts the
transport, Carrier will inform Passenger as quickly as
possible of the interruption, and, if possible, of the
reasons thereof, the measures it intends to take and
the possible duration of the interruption.
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 nature could be a hindrance,
dangerous or illegal, or could cause damage or
pollution. This will occur for certain if the hand
baggage contains:
a. firearms, striking and/or stabbing weapons;
b. explosive substances;
c. pressurized gases in reservoirs;
d. Self-combustible or easily flammable substances;
e. substances with a strong or unpleasant odor;
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. Except for 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 the 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 Passenger or Driver or if they
are suffering from a serious illness.
3. Assistance dogs, such as guide dogs, are obligatory
to be transported under any circumstance. In case of
an allergy, Driver must provide alternative transport
within 15 minutes.
Article 10: Lost property
In relation to lost property, in accordance with the
general statutory provisions (article 5 up to and
including 12 of book 5 Civil Code) in respect of the
notification and reporting obligation and giving and
taking into custody, the following shall apply:
1. Passenger shall be obliged to notify Carrier as
quickly as possible of any objects or sums of money
he/she finds. Carrier is authorized to take 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/she shall be obliged
to do everything that can reasonably be expected of
him/her to find the owner or person who lost the
object/money.
2. Carrier shall be authorized to sell an object found by
Driver or found by another party and given to it, after
three months or, if the object is not suitable for
keeping into custody, before that time, insofar as the
property is not valuable.
3. Carrier shall be obliged to give any lost property, the
proceeds from the sale described in paragraph 2 or the
amount of money found to the entitled party, if party
reports within a year of notification of the loss. In the
event that the entitled party demands the found
object or the proceeds of the sale of lost property,
Carrier may charge the entitled party owed custody
fees and administration costs.
Article 11: Force majeure
1. Shortcomings cannot not be attributed to Carrier if
they cannot be attributed to a fault on Carrier’s part,
either in accordance to the law, a legal act or generally
accepted traffic standards (force majeure). In the
event that Carrier cannot meet its obligations to
Passenger/Client due to force majeure,
Passenger/Client can rescind the contract. Carrier will
in that case duly refund any possible amount already
paid by Passenger/Client.
2. In the event of force majeure, Passenger/Client shall
not be entitled to compensation with the exception of
the provisions of art. 6:78 of the Civil Code.
Article 12: Carrier liability
1. Carrier shall be liable for damages caused by the
death of or injury to Passenger as a consequence of an
accident which occurs in connection with or during
transportation. Carrier cannot be held liable if the
accident is caused by circumstances which a careful
Carrier could not have avoided and which 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 €1,000,000
per Passenger with a maximum of €15,000,000 per
event.
2. Carrier shall be liable for damages caused by full or
partial loss or damage to hand baggage, as far as this
loss or this damage occurs during transportation and is
caused:
a. by an accident occurring to Passenger which can be
attributed to Carrier, or
b. due to a situation which a careful Carrier could have
avoided, or the consequences 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 €1,500 per Passenger.
3.In the case of delays, Carrier shall be liable by law to
pay a maximum of € 1,000.
Article 13: Passenger liability
Passenger shall, in principle, be obliged to pay
compensation to Carrier for damages caused to Carrier
by him/her or his/her hand baggage, except insofar as
this damage is caused by a situation which a careful
Passenger could not have avoided and insofar as a
careful Passenger could not have prevented the
consequences thereof. Passenger cannot appeal to the
state of or defects to his/her hand baggage. Cleaning
fees also belong to the compensation for damage
referred to in this article.
Article 14: Complaints and disputes
1.Complaints about the conclusion and execution of
the Contract of Carriage must be fully and clearly
described and submitted to Carrier within reasonable
time after the Passenger/Client has identified, or was
reasonably able to identify, the shortcoming(s).
2. In the event of complaints by Passenger/Client,
Carrier shall make every effort to handle these
complaints in a serious and reasonable manner to the
satisfaction of Passenger/Client, partly for the reason
of preventing disputes.
3. In the event that parties cannot reach settlement,
Carrier should inform the complaining
Passenger/Client, insofar as he/she is not carrying out
a profession or acting on behalf of a company, of the
possibility of submitting such a dispute to the Disputes
Committee as mentioned in paragraph 5.
4. In the event Passenger/Client holds Carrier liable for
damage, this damage should be reported in writing to
Carrier as soon as possible. The nature and the extent
of the damage should be indicated as an
approximation.
5. Disputes between Passenger/Client, insofar as
he/she is not carrying out a profession or acting on
behalf of a company, and Carrier about the conclusion
and execution of agreements in relation to services
provided or to be provided by this Carrier can be
submitted by either Passenger/Client, insofar as
he/she is not carrying out a profession or acting on
behalf of a company, or Carrier to the Taxi Transport
Disputes Committee, PO Box 19365, 2500 CJ, The
Hague, the Netherlands, hereafter called “Disputes
Committee”.
6. Disputes will only be taken into consideration by the
Disputes Committee if Passenger/Client, insofar as
he/she is not carrying out a profession or acting on
behalf of a company, has first presented his/her
complaint to Carrier.
7. If the complaint does not lead to a solution then the
dispute must be brought to the Disputes Committee
within 12 months after the date the Passenger/Client,
insofar as he/she is not carrying out a profession or
acting on behalf of a company, first submitted the
complaint to Carrier in writing or in another form that
is accepted by the Disputes Committee.
8. In the event Passenger/Client, insofar as he/she is
not carrying out a profession or acting on behalf of a
company, submits a dispute to the Disputes
Committee, Carrier is bound by this choice. In the
event that Carrier wishes to submit a dispute to the
Committee, it must request Passenger/Client, insofar
as he/she is not carrying out a profession or acting on
behalf of a company, in writing to declare his/her
agreement within five weeks. If the Carrier decides to
do so, Carrier must notify Passenger/Client, insofar as
he/she is not carrying out a profession or acting on
behalf of a company, that after the expiration of the
aforementioned period, Carrier is free to submit the
dispute to an ordinary court of justice should Carrier so
wish to do.
9. The Disputes Committee rules in accordance with
the provisions of the regulation applicable to it. The
Disputes Committee’s regulations will be forwarded
upon request. Decisions of the Disputes Committee
take the form of a binding recommendation. A fee is
charged for hearing a dispute.
10.Only the Dutch court of law or the aforementioned
Disputes Committee are authorized to hear disputes.
Article 15: Performance guarantee
1.KNV Care and Taxi Transport guarantees compliance
with the binding advice of the in article 14 mentioned
Disputes Committee by its members, unless the
member submits the binding advice to a judge for
annulment within two months. This guarantee revives
if the binding advice has remained in place after
judicial review and the verdict which proves this has
acquired the force of res judicata.
2. KNV Care and Taxi Transport does not provide a
guarantee of compliance if, before the dispute has
been heard by the Disputes Committee and a final
decision has been made, one of the following
situations occurs:
a. the member has been granted suspension of
payments, or;
b. the member has been declared bankrupt, or;
c. the business activities of said member have in fact
ceased.
Decisive for the latter situation is the date on which
the cessation of operation is registered in the trade
register or an earlier date, of which KNV Care and Taxi
Transport can demonstrate that the business
operations have in fact ceased;
3. The guarantee provided by KNV Care and Taxi
Transport is limited to € 3.500 per binding advice. KNV
Care and Taxi Transport provides this guarantee under
the condition that Passenger/Client, who appeals to
this guarantee, insofar as he/she is not carrying out a
profession or acting on behalf of a company, transfers
(assigns) his/her claim to KNV Care and Taxi Transport,
based on the binding decision up to the maximum
amount of money paid out, simultaneously with the
remuneration of his/her appeal on the guarantee of
compliance.
4. The conditions as described in 1-3 of this article only
apply in the event Carrier is a member of KNV
Zorgvervoer en Taxi.
5. In the event Carrier is not a member of KNV
Zorgvervoer en Taxi but does hold a valid TX-Keurmerk
certificate, Stichting TX-Keur will be the guarantor for
holding up the terms as described in 1-3 of this article.
6. In the event Carrier is a member of KNV Zorgvervoer
en Taxi as well as holder of a valid TX-Keurmerk
certificate, the guarantee of compliance as described
in this article will be held up, after consultation
between both parties, by either KNV Care and Taxi or
Stichting TX-Keur.
Article 16: Remaining conditions
1. All Contracts of Carriage to which these conditions
have been declared applicable shall be governed by
Dutch law.
2. Carrier is obliged to make known the manner in
which Passenger/Client can obtain a copy of these
General Terms and Conditions upon request.
3. These terms and conditions are public and can be
consulted on the Internet, inter alia at www.knv.nl and
may also be obtained free of charge from Carrier upon
request.