VTA model Bailment agreement

What is Bailment?

The term 'bailee' is derived from the word 'bailment', which is the legal term for the kind of arrangement between a Driver and a Permit Holder (Operator) for use of a taxi.

The essence of bailment is that possession is transferred from the bailor (Permit Holder) and is voluntarily accepted by the bailee (Driver), but ownership is not.

Taxi drivers whose sole responsibility in the industry is to drive a taxi using their Permit Holder's vehicle are called 'bailee drivers'.

Drivers are individual small businesses. By entering into a bailment agreement Drivers agree to terms with Permit Holders to use their licensed taxi for a period of time, and in exchange, pay a percentage of the earnings from that period to the Permit Holder.

The VTA model bailment agreement

The VTA strongly encourages all Permit Holders and Drivers to have a written bailment agreement in place.

A Bailment Agreement is a legal document and the Permit Holder and Driver will both be bound by its terms. If you have any questions or are unsure about anything in the document, you should consult a lawyer before signing it and before a Permit Holder gives possession of a taxi-cab to a Driver.

Bailment agreement instructions for use (PDF doc - 97KB)
VTA model bailment agreement (word doc - 1.4MB)