Honorable Homer Garrison,Jr.

Director,Texas Department of Public Safety Box 4087, North Austin Station Austin, Texas Opinion No. S-133

Dear Colonel Garrison: Re: legality of a motor bus carrier whose regular route Certificate of Convenienceand Necessity has been suspended continuingto originate charter trips from points along, and adjacent to, the routes set out in the suspended certificatewhen said carrier holds a Certificate of Compliance ,underRailroad Commission General Order No. 56-A.
We quote from .yourletter of June 8, 1954:
"In recentweeks
. . 1 at least one carrierwho voluntarily applied for and obtained from the Railroad Commission of Texas a suspensionof the motor bus service,authorized by his regular route certificatehas attempted to engage in the transportationof charterparties. It is the position of this Department that suchmotor bus carrier cannot, during the time that his regular certificate is under suspension, 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 interpretationof the law and general order number 56- A of the Railroad Commission of Texas?"
In answering your questionwe 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, issuedJune 7, 1940, this office concludedthat a carrier,holding a certificateauthorizing operationupon certain routes only, could not lawfully operate regularly or on a charter-tripbasis over other and different routeswithout securing an enlargement of the certificateto 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 Convenienceand Necessity issuedby the Commission authorizingthe transportation of passengers for hire is hereby authorizedto originate at any point along the routes named in its certificate or territory adjacent thereto which is not servedby any other Motor Bus Company operatingby authority grantedby this Commission, charter or specialparties and to transport them for hire on charter trips and party trips destined to any point in Texas, provided, said Motor Bus Company complies with the terms hereof.

"(2) That this General Order is the authority for each Motor Bus Company,which complieswith the terms hereof; ae*" (Emphasis added)
As above set out, General Order No. 56-A authorizes charter operations to be performedby each "holder of a Certificate of Convenience end Necessity issuedby the Commission". The carr$er discussed in your request clearly could not be such a "holder"because his certificateand all operationspursuant 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 certificatesor to those points $n the territory adjacent thereto. Following suspension of a carrier'sregular route certificatethere would be no authorized fixed route from which the.carrier could originate charter trips. We therefore conclude that a carrier'sauthority to conduct charter operations, grantedby, and through comp$iancewith, General Order No. 56-A, remains in force only so long as compliancewith the order continues,and such compliance cannot continueunless the carrierholds a valid, effective regular route Certificate of Convenienceand Necessity issuedby the Railroad Commission of Texas.

SUMMARY

A motor bus carrierwhose regular route Certificate of Convenience and Necessity has been suspended cannotHonorable Homer Garrison,Jr., page 

### 3 (S-133)

continue to originate charter tripe frompoints along, and adjacent to, the routes named in the suspended certificate as he can no longer complywith Railroad Commission General Order No. 

### 56-A.
APPROVED: ,Yoursvery truly, Phillip Robinson JOHN BEN SEHPPERD Oil & Gas Division Attorney General of Texas
W. V. Geppert Reviewer Robert S. Trotti First Assistant John Ben Shepperd Attorney General Mert Starnes Assistant