Unregistered Detroit-Based Transportation Company, Pathe Waye Transportation LLC, Ordered to Cease Operations

The Dept. of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), Corporations, Securities & Commercial Licensing Bureau (CSCL) issued a Notice and Order to Cease and Desist against Respondent Pathe Waye Transportation LLC, effective March 2, 2023, for operating as a limousine carrier or taxicab carrier without registering with CSCL, as required under the Limousine, Taxicab, and Transportation Network Company Act. Respondent’s registered office is located in Detroit, but it has been providing and continues to provide for hire passenger transportation services to special needs students of school districts throughout the metro Detroit area.

This matter came to CSCL’s attention based on a statement of complaint received from the Waterford Township Police Department which was investigating allegations that one of Respondent’s former drivers physically abused a special needs child during transport to and from school. The Waterford School District contracts with Respondent to provide transportation to its students with special needs.

The Act requires companies that employ or contract with the drivers of motor vehicles with a seating capacity of eight or fewer passengers used in the carrying of passengers and their baggage for hire to be registered as limousine carriers or taxicab carriers under the Act. The Act also requires such companies to conduct initial and annual criminal background and sex offender registry checks and driving history checks of their drivers. To date, Respondent failed to submit an application to CSCL for registration under the Act, it is unknown whether it conducted driver background checks, and yet its drivers continue to provide for hire passenger transportation services to at least one metro Detroit area school district.

In response to a notice and order to cease and desist issued under the Act, a respondent may request a formal hearing before an administrative law judge and may be subject to an administrative fine based on violations of the Act. A limousine carrier, taxicab carrier, or transportation network company or their officers or agents who knowingly permit a driver to drive a limousine, taxicab, or personal vehicle in violation of the Act is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a criminal fine of not more than $1,000.00 per violation, imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both. LARA is a regulatory agency with no criminal law enforcement authority. When LARA determines that one of its regulatory actions could result in criminal charges under a law it administers, those cases are referred to either the Michigan Department of Attorney General or local law enforcement.

When the Limousine, Taxicab, and Transportation Network Company Act (2016 PA 345) became effective on March 21, 2017, Michigan joined more than three dozen states that have similar laws in place. LARA encourages citizens and school districts to check online to verify if a transportation company is registered with the state before engaging its services. Citizens may also contact CSCL's Licensing Division at (517) 241-9221 or CSCLonline@michigan.gov to verify registration status. Information regarding how to file a complaint against a taxicab carrier, limousine carrier, or transportation network company may be found by visiting www.mi.gov/cscl and clicking "File a complaint" under “Online Services.”