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 Convenience and Necessity has 

been suspended continuing to 

originate charter trips from 

points along, and adjacent to, 

the routes set out in the suspended certificate when said 

carrier holds a Certificate of 

Compliance ,under Railroad Commission General Order No. 56-A. 

We quote from .your letter of June 8, 1954: 

"In recent weeks . . 1 at least one carrier who voluntarily 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, 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 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 securing 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 transportation of passengers for hire is hereby authorized to originate 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 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 complies with the terms hereof; a e *" 

(Emphasis added) 

As above set out, General Order No. 56-A authorizes charter operations 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, th e origin points of all charter trips 

are limited to those points along the routes named in the carrier's certificates or to those points $n the territory adjacent thereto. Following 

suspension of a carrier's regular route certificate there would be no authorized fixed route from which the. carrier could originate charter trips. 

We therefore conclude that a carrier's authority to conduct charter operations, granted by, and through comp$iance with, General Order No. 56-A, remains in force only so long as compliance with the order continues, and 

such compliance cannot continue unless the carrier holds a valid, effective 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 

First Assistant 

John Ben Shepperd 

Attorney General 

Mert Starnes 

Assistant