A person or company that transports goods or people for any member of the public and bears responsibility for loss of the goods in transport. Operating under license from a regulator, it must serve without discrimination, unlike contract or private carriers who choose their clients; railroads, shipping lines and trucking firms are the classic transport examples.
Facts
Core ConcernThe duty to carry for everyone, without discrimination, under regulation 1 FAQs
What distinguishes a common carrier from a private or contract carrier?
A common carrier is a person or company that transports goods or people for any member of the public and bears responsibility for loss of the goods in transport. Operating under license from a regulator, it must serve without discrimination, unlike contract or private carriers who choose their own clients; railroads, shipping lines and trucking firms are the classic transport examples.
Connections
Exemplified By
A shipping line, the concept's own named example category
A federally chartered land-grant railroad, the classic American common carrier
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Common Carrier
WikipediaLead section
A common carrier holds itself out to provide service to the general public without discrimination (to meet the needs of the regulator's quasi-judicial role of impartiality toward the public's interest) for the 'public convenience and necessity.'
Part Of: Road Transport, History section
Carriers were very common in rural areas prior to motorised transport. Regular services by horse-drawn vehicles would ply to local towns, taking goods to market or bringing back purchases for the village.
In Group: Carrier Law and Rights, Lead sentence
A common carrier in common law countries (corresponding to a public carrier in some civil law systems, usually called simply a carrier) is a person or company that transports goods or people for any person or company and is responsible for any possible loss of the goods during transport.
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