Also known as:carry for hire · carried for hire · carries for hire · common carrier
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Transportation of passengers or goods provided to the public in exchange for compensation. The activity creates a special relationship that imposes affirmative duties on the provider to protect those transported from unreasonable risks of physical harm and to render aid when illness or injury becomes apparent.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
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Shuttle Service Triggers Carrier Duties
Maple Peak operates complimentary shuttle buses on a fixed schedule carrying only game attendees. After a rivalry game Clifford boards a crowded return shuttle. Rival fans begin pushing and throwing objects while the driver watches without stopping or summoning help. Clifford suffers bruises. The service qualifies as carrying for hire because it transports passengers under the carrier's control for the benefit of game attendance, triggering the duty to take reasonable protective action.
Freight Line Faces Regulatory Limits
Consolidated Freightways operates tractor-trailers that carry cargo for paying shippers across state lines. State law restricts the length of double-trailer rigs on certain highways. The carrier challenges the restriction as an undue burden on interstate commerce. Because the operation involves carrying for hire on a regular basis for the public, the company must comply with safety rules that do not discriminate against out-of-state carriers.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Statutes
Uniform Acts
Restatements
Dictionaries
Kassell v. Consolidated Freightways Corp.450 U.S. 662, 702-703 (1981)
Milk Delivery Subject to Price Controls
A dairy company delivers milk to households and stores under contracts that compensate it for each delivery. The state sets minimum prices for the milk sold. The company argues the price rules violate due process. Because the deliveries constitute carrying for hire as part of a regulated public service, the state may impose reasonable economic controls without depriving the carrier of property.
Nebbia v. New York291 U.S. 502 (1934)
Landlord Refuses Discriminatory Covenant
A property owner leases space to a taxi company that carries passengers for fares throughout the city. The lease contains a covenant barring the company from serving certain racial groups. The company refuses to honor the covenant. Because the taxi service is carrying for hire and open to the public, enforcement of the discriminatory restriction would violate equal-protection principles.
Reitman v. Mulkey387 U.S. 369 (1967)
Union Challenges Hiring Practices
A trucking firm that carries freight for hire advertises driver positions and receives applications from minority candidates. Statistical evidence shows the firm hires far fewer minority applicants than the local labor pool would predict. The government sues for pattern-or-practice discrimination. The carrying-for-hire operation subjects the firm to liability when its hiring practices produce a disparate impact without business justification.
International Brotherhood of Teamsters v. United States431 U.S. 324, 335 n.15 (1977)
Oil Company Transport Creates Liability
Standard Oil maintains a fleet of tankers that carry petroleum products for paying customers. A spill occurs during transit and damages nearby property. The owner of the damaged land sues in New York court. Because the transport constitutes carrying for hire, the company faces liability under the law of the place where the harm occurred even though the contract was formed elsewhere.
Loucks v. Standard Oil Co. of New York224 N.Y. 99, 111, 120 N.E. 198 (1918)
Common questions
Frequently Asked
4
What distinguishes carrying for hire from private carriage?+
Carrying for hire occurs when transportation is offered to the public in exchange for compensation and is conducted as a regular business. Private carriage involves transporting one's own goods or those of a single customer under a special contract without holding out to the public.
Supporting sources
Does a complimentary shuttle ever qualify as carrying for hire?+
A complimentary shuttle can qualify when it is operated on a fixed schedule, controlled by the provider, and limited to a defined group of passengers who receive the service as part of a broader commercial arrangement. The key is whether the provider assumes the role of transporting people under circumstances that deprive them of normal self-protection.
Supporting sources
When does the duty to render first aid arise for a carrier carrying for hire?+
The duty arises once the carrier knows or has reason to know a passenger is ill or injured. Observable symptoms such as pallor and unresponsiveness can supply that knowledge even if the carrier initially assumes intoxication, requiring at least minimal steps to summon or provide aid.
Supporting sources
Can a carrier carrying for hire limit its liability by contract?+
A carrier may not exempt itself from liability for harm caused by its own negligence when performing a public service for compensation. Agreements that merely limit liability to a reasonable agreed value in exchange for a lower rate may be enforceable, but blanket exculpatory clauses are invalid.
Supporting sources
9 Ex. 341, 156 Eng. Rep. 145 (1854)Remedies
…was invoked. The defendants submitted that without a special contract or notice of special circumstances the liability of a common carrier is confined to the loss that would ordinarily arise from his breach and that notice to a clerk in the ordinary course could not convert the carrier's obligation into an undertaking to bear…