Hon. James E. Kilday 

Director, Motor Transportation Division 

Railroad Commission of Texas 

Austin,Texas 

Dear Sir: 

Opinion No. O-2737 

Re: Jurisdiction of Railroad Commission over 

application of James W. White, proposing a 

motor bus operation, only 8 fractional pert of 

which is not within the limits of some incorporated city or town. 

From your letter of September 12, l&O, and the attached exhibits, we have 

the following information: James W. White has filed an application for a 

certificate of convenience and necessity to operate a motor bus company 

over the route "Fruitdale Acres, Texas, to Preston Hollow, Texas, via Dallas, 

Highland Park and University Park." Fruitdale Acres is an incorporated 

town and adjoining it on the north is the incorporated town of Honey Springs. 

There is a portion of the Southern boundary of Honey Springs which is coincident 

with the boundary line of the incorporated City of Dallas, but immediately 

to the north and east of Honey Springs there is a small area which does 

not lie within any corporation. North of Dallas and adjacent thereto is 

Highland Park, an incorporated town, and adjoining it on the north is the 

incorporated. town of University Park. Immediately north of University Park 

and adjacent thereto is Preaton:Hollow, also a separate corporation. The 

proposed operation would go easterly from Fruitdale Acres on a county road, 

not within the limits of any corporation but over a road Immediately contiguous 

to and forming a boundary of Honey Springs for a distance of approximately 

one third of a mile to U. S. Highway No. 75; thence in.S northerly directian 

over Highway No. 75, outside any corporate limits, but adjoining and forming a 

boundary of Honey Springs on the east, a distance of nearly a mile, to the 

Trinity River; thence in a northerly direction for a distance of about 1.1 

mile to the boundary of Dallas; thence on a road outside of any city limits 

but adjacent to and forming a boundary of the City of ~Dallas; a distance of 

4.4 miles, at which the corporate limits of the City of Dallas would be 

entered. The operation would then go through Dallas, Highland Park, 

University Park into Preston Hollow, at all timas being within the limits of 

one or the other of such corporations. You request our opinion as to whether 

the operations applied foraould come within the jurisdiction of the Railroad 

Commission of Texas. 
Hon James E. Kilday, page 2 o-2737 

In Article glla, Vernon's Civil Statutes, motor bus companies are made 

subject to regulation by the State of Texas through its Railroad Conmission. 

In this act we find a definition of the carrier which is made subject to such 

regulation. %&ion (c), of Saction 1. thereof reads: 

'The term 'Motor Bus Company when used in this Act (Art. glla; P. C. 

165Ca)means every corporation or persona as herein defined, their 

lessees, trustees, receivers, or trustees appointed by any court whatsoever, owning, controlling, operating, or managing any motor propallec! 

passenger vehicle, not usually operated on or over rails, and engaged 

In the business of transporting persons for compensation or hire over 

the public highways within the State of Texas, whether operating over 

fixed routes or fixed schedules, or otherwise; provided further, tlat 

the term 'Motor Bus Company' as used in this Act (Art. 911s; P. C. 

16')Ca) shall not include corporations or persons, their lessees, trustees, 

or recei.vera, or trustees appointed by any court wUk.oever, i~nsofnr as 

they own, control, operate, or manage motor propelled passenger vehicles 

operated wholly within the limits of any incorporated town or city and 

the suburbs thereof, whether separately incorporated or otherwise." 

Prom the above it ls seen that a person operating 'kholly within the limits 

of any incorporated town or city and the suburbs thereof, whether separately 

incorp.rated or not, is not a motor bus carrier subject to regulation 1'~ ihe 

Railroad Commission. In your letter you cell attention to the enclosed maps 

and say that "These maps seem to :.indicate clearly that the towns of Preston 

Hollow and Fruitdale Acres ar: au b urbs of the City of Dallas, since at the 

nearest point Preston Hollow i.s only about .@( mile from the tit;? 1imi.l;; of

Dallas, and at the nearest points Fruitdale is only one mile fro:,; ',~e cit,y 

limits oi‘ Dallas." Other than this statement from your letter an p,he Pect 

made obvjous by tb.e maps that all outside points concerned are vx-y cloee 

to the Cli~y of Dallas, the while distance covered by the operatk1 being; 

only about 1.3 miles, we are n,t advised whether or not the route: traversed 

outs!de of ?:;?e City of Dallas are all within its suburbs. We arc not ~l;:~:~?iciently fami.l:;ar with the facls to be able to say that as a matt:;' of ln~!,r all 

such outside pofnts are within the suburbs of the City, or that 'ny of tImm 

are not. The applicstion in i'self does not disclose the answer Lo the 

question either on? way or the other, as a matter of law. 

The Commission can he?>-? testimol~y on the question. If the evGk!ce shows 

conclusively that all p~'4a in\ ,lved in the operation are eithc * within the 

city limits of Dallas or ic' aubl?bs, or if the Commissica so f;,:.Is upon 

diquted evidence, then the apk-' ,-riion should be dismisr.ed, s5i: 3 the RatI'? ‘ati 

Commission would be without juris X&ion. On the other hand if 'xe evident:, 

shows beyond any dispute that SOIE parts of the operation i.rould ::? conducted 

outs?'.de the limits of Dallas and ::!,a suburbs, or if the Commiss, -1 so fi,rds 

upon contradictory testimony, the Commission would have jur.i.sdi~ ;~ion to 

entertain the application upon its :zits. 
Hon. James E. Kilday, page 3 O-2737 

In Woolf v. Del Rio Motor Tramp. CO., 27 S. W. (2d) 874, by the San 

Antonio Court of Civil Appeals, it was unsuccessfully contended that 

Villa Acma was a suburb of Del Rio. The Court remarked that "since the 

statute does not seek to define the word 'suburb', we are left to work out 

and give to that word theusual, familiar and generally uuderstood meaning, 

as used in everydaylife." We further quote from the opinion: 

,I . . . The use of the word suburb in Texas statutes in not new, for We 

have it used and well defined and understood in urban homesteads and 

other laws. Suburb is defined in Webster's New International Dictionary 

as follows: 'An outlying pert of a city or tam; a smaller place 

adjacent to a city.'" 

Regretting our inability to answer yourquestion categorically we trust that 

the above my be of some aid to you. 

Yours very truly 

ATTORNEY GENERALOFTEKAS 

s/ Glenn R. Lewis 

By 

Glenn R. Lewis 

Assistant 

GRL:AMM 

APPROVED SEP 27, 1940 

a./ Gerald C. Mann 

ATTORNEY GENERALOFTEKAS 

APPROVED OPINION C@iMITTEE BY B. W. B. CHAIRMAN