The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

(1) "Persons with special transportation needs" has the same meaning as provided in RCW 81.66.010.

(2) "Ride sharing" means a carpool or vanpool arrangement whereby one or more groups not exceeding 15 persons each including the drivers, and not fewer than three persons including the drivers are transported in a passenger motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight not exceeding 10,000 pounds. "Ride sharing" does not include transportation provided in the normal course of business by entities that are subject to chapters 46.72A, 48.177, 81.66, 81.68, 81.70, and 81.72 RCW, or offer peer-to-peer car sharing. For purposes of this section, "peer-to-peer car sharing" means motor vehicle owners making their motor vehicles available for persons to rent for short periods of time.

(3) "Ride sharing for persons with special transportation needs" means an arrangement whereby a group of persons with special transportation needs, and their attendants, is transported by a public social service agency or a private, nonprofit transportation provider, as defined in RCW 81.66.010, serving persons with special needs, in a passenger motor vehicle as defined by the department to include small buses, cutaways, and modified vans not more than twenty-eight feet long. The driver need not be a person with special transportation needs.

(4) "Ride-sharing operator" means the person, entity, or concern, not necessarily the driver, responsible for the existence and continuance of ride sharing or ride sharing for persons with special transportation needs. The term "ride-sharing operator" includes but is not limited to an employer, an employer's agent, an employer-organized association, a state agency, a county, a city, a public transportation benefit area, a public transportation agency, or any other political subdivision that owns or leases a ride-sharing vehicle.

(5) "Ride-sharing promotional activities" means those activities involved in forming a ride-sharing arrangement including, but not limited to, receiving information from existing and prospective ride-sharing participants, sharing that information with other existing and prospective ride-sharing participants, matching those persons with other existing or prospective ride-sharing participants, and making assignments of persons to ride-sharing arrangements.

Effective date—2021 c 135: See note following RCW 46.18.285.

Severability—1979 c 111: "If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected." [ 1979 c 111 s 21.]

Ride-sharing vehicles are not deemed for hire vehicles and do not fall within the provisions of chapter 46.72 RCW or any other provision of Title 46 RCW affecting for hire vehicles, whether or not the ride-sharing operator receives compensation.

Severability—1979 c 111: See note following RCW 46.74.010.

The operator and the driver of a ride-sharing vehicle shall be held to a reasonable and ordinary standard of care, and are not subject to ordinances or regulations which relate exclusively to the regulation of drivers or owners of motor vehicles operated for hire, or other common carriers or public transit carriers. No person, entity, or concern may, as a result of engaging in ride-sharing promotional activities, be liable for civil damages arising directly or indirectly (1) from the maintenance and operation of a ride-sharing vehicle; or (2) from an intentional act of another person who is participating or proposing to participate in a ride-sharing arrangement, unless the ride-sharing operator or promoter had prior, actual knowledge that the intentional act was likely to occur and had a reasonable ability to prevent the act from occurring.

Effective date—2021 c 135: See note following RCW 46.18.285.

Severability—1979 c 111: See note following RCW 46.74.010.