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TEICATI-ORNEYGENERAL
OF TEXAS
RonorebleJemesE. Kilday,Direotor
MotorTranaportationDivision
RailroadCmmission of Texas
Austin,Texea
Dear Sir: opinion No. o-4317
Re: Whether the subjectaaaocia-
tiGnlmy operatein the
manner describedwithout
authorityfrom the Railroad
colmniseion.
Your letterofJanuary E',lg42,requeste a legalopinionfran
this de*tmntand lucorporateathe follovingstatementaathe faotual
baaia tberefor:
"ClintonPark le a defensenegro reeidentieladdition,
onemile frcm the cltylimita ofHouetw,Texaaand consiata
of 500 h-6 on 206 acres of lend. The familiesof these
residentahevenomeena of trawportatlontoHouston except
byuee of their limitednlrmb~r ~fautamobileaor SOalone
P.aFk~Bue'~whioh
pemeti by said addition,but not ti~~or'tita
Beme. The owner of the GaleuaParkBua has offeredto provide
said tramp6rtati6nat the rate of 254 per rlde'perp&son.
The residentaof thitioawmnlty owot afford this high rate
of trafficend have banded togetherin form- a non-profit
orgenizetioncelled the ClintonPark Bus Awn; have purchased
ebns with a seetinScapacityof 39 perSonaand are enlisting
membershipsinto this club. Memperaare to coni3iat exclusively
of the resldetltaof ClintonPark Additionend no one can ride on
this bus but membera of this club and their guests. There is
to be no fee or fare chargedor collectedfor the me of this
ha. Membershipfee in said club is to be $l.COper month per
femily,end.this $l.OO permonth is tobe used in paying for
the bus, gas, oil, end maintenanceand operation. There are
to be no profits or dividendsdletribu'ced and this serviceEhall
not be open to the public but is to be epecificellylimitedt0
the exclusiveuse of the members of this club end their Sueeta
and the club membershipla to be limitedto the residentsof
this negm addition.
HonorableJames E. Xilday,Page 2 (O-4317)
"The abovemtlcned bus la not a bus for hire; ldentl-
fioatlonto ride will have to be eetabliahed,and the mQnber-
chip fee of $1.00 per mcnth ehall not l&&t the number of
ride8 a member or his familywlll'oroan make. The hue will.
only carry the member% throughthe additionto the closest
bus line in the oity of Houeton end vice veree and no farther.
Themembers of the club eremerelyettmupting to providethe
residentawith the aoocmdlationof transportation to and
fma the edditlonto eHouetonCamuou Carrieranarenot
attemptingto establisha bus servicefor profit or for hire.
"Eachmember haa individuellysigned the prauisory
note on the purchaseof theirbus end are proport.ionatelJ
liableon same. This I6 strictlya oammmity erraugment."
The queM%on asked Is whether this associationmay operatein the
manner deacrlbedwithout fir&having obtainedfra the RailroadCanrmission
a Certificateof Public Convenienceand Necessitypursuantto the provisions
of Articleglla, Vernon'sAnnotatedCivil Statutes.
Subsection(c),Section 1, Article 9lla, reads in pert aa
follows:
"The tern 'motorbua company'whenused in this act* **
meem every oorporationor personaae herein definedl l l
owning,oo&rolllng,operatiagormanaging anymotorpropelled
passengervehicle,notaaDallyoparetedonor overraiti, and
ei+ged in the bueineasof transportingpersonafor ocanpeaaetion
orhire over the publichighwayewithin the State ofTex=,
whetheroperatingover fixed route6 or fixed schedulesor
otherwi6e* * +." (Underscoringours)
Section5 of 9lla providese& follows:
"Nomotor-bus ccmpanyshellhereafterregularlyoperate
for thetransportationof person5aa passengerafor ccmpenaetion
orhire over the public highvassof this atatewithout first
havingobtainedfrcuuthe ooxmtissionunder the provisionaof tbia
Act l l * a certificateor permit declaringthat the public
convenienceand neoesaityrequiresuch operation.* * *.*
In our opinionthe operationsof t.heCllntonParkBue Aasoci-
t&m aa above describedwould not constitute"the businessof trans-
portatingperso? for compensationor hire." The associationirouldthere-
fore not be requiredto obtain authorityfrcuathe RailroadCcmmission.
.
HonorableJemee E. gilday,Page 3 (O-4317)
May we emphaaite,however, that our opinionis atriot limited
to the faot situation88 defined. Anamm&mentofthisnature eael4
edapte lteelfto eubterfugeand changes in certainessentialfeatures
of the operatlouwould render the Aeeociaticmamenableto'therequirements
ofArticle glla.
Yours verytruly
ATPORNEYGmERAL.avTExAs
By /a/ ZollieC. Steekley
ZollleC. StaeUey
Aaeistent
APPROVEDJAN 30, 1942 APPRovETl
OPImm
col4mT?mE
/B/ GroverSellma
F~TASSIEQWT
ATltXWEY-