Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

Honorable Homer Garrison, Jr. Director, Texas Department of Public Safety Box 4087, North Austin Station Austin, Texas Opinion No. S-133 Re: legality of a motor bus carrier whose regular route Certificate of Convenience and Necessity has been suspended continuing to originate charter trips from points along, and adjacent to, the routes set out in the sus- pended certificate when said carrier holds a Certificate of Compliance ,underRailroad Commis- Dear Colonel Garrison: sion General Order No. 56-A. We quote from .yourletter of June 8, 1954: "In recent weeks . . 1 at least one carrier who volun- tarily applied for and obtained from the Railroad Commission of Texas a suspension of the motor bus service, authorized by his regular route certificate has attempted to engage in the transportation of charter parties. It is the position of this Department that such motor bus carrier cannot, dur- ing the time that his regular certificate is under suspen- sion, legally engage in the transportation of passengers for hire by special charter party trips. "Will you please give us your valued opinion on the above question advising whether or not we are correct in our interpretation of the law and general order number 56- A of the Railroad Commission of Texas?" In answering your question we have assumed the further fact that the carrier referred to in your request has attempted to originate such charter trips from points along, or adjacent to, the routes set out in his suspended certificate. . . . Honorable Homer Garrison, Jr., page 2 (S-133) In Attorney General's Opinion No. 1430, issued June 7, 1940, this office concluded that a carrier, holding a certificate authorizing operation upon certain routes only, could not lawfully operate regularly or on a charter-trip basis over other and different routes without secur- ing an enlargement of the certificate to authorize the same. Subsequent to this holding General Order No. 56-n was promulgated by the Railroad Commission of Texas, which reads, in part, as followe: "(1) Each holder of a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity issued by the Commission authorizing the transpor- tation of passengers for hire is hereby authorized to orig- inate at any point along the routes named in its certificate or territory adjacent thereto which is not served by any other Motor Bus Company operating by authority granted by this Commission, charter or special parties and to trans- port them for hire on charter trips and party trips destined to any point in Texas, provided, said Motor Bus Company com- plies with the terms hereof. "(2) That this General Order is the authority for each Motor Bus Company, which complies with the terms hereof; a e *" (Emphasis added) As above set out, General Order No. 56-A authorizes charter op- erations to be performed by each "holder of a Certificate of Convenience end Necessity issued by the Commission". The carr$er discussed in your request clearly could not be such a "holder" because his certificate and all operations pursuant thereto have~been suspended. Further, under the terms of General Order No. 56-A, the origin points of all charter trips are limited to those points along the routes named in the carrier's cer- tificates or to those points $n the territory adjacent thereto. Following suspension of a carrier's regular route certificate there would be no au- thorized fixed route from which the.carrier could originate charter trips. We therefore conclude that a carrier's authority to conduct charter opera- tions, granted by, and through comp$iance with, General Order No. 56-A, re- mains in force only so long as compliance with the order continues, and such compliance cannot continue unless the carrier holds a valid, effec- tive regular route Certificate of Convenience and Necessity issued by the Railroad Commission of Texas. SUMMARY A motor bus carrier whose regular route Certificate of Convenience and Necessity has been suspended cannot Honorable Homer Garrison, Jr., page 3 (S-133) continue to originate charter tripe from points along, and adjacent to, the routes named in the suspended certificate as he can no longer comply with Railroad Commission General Order No. 56-A. APPROVED: ,Yours very truly, Phillip Robinson JOHN BEN SEHPPERD Oil & Gas Division Attorney General of Texas W. V. Geppert Reviewer Robert S. Trotti Mert Starnes First Assistant Assistant John Ben Shepperd Attorney General