Hon. Olin Culberson,Chairman Railroad Commission of Texas Austin, Texas OpinionNo.V-1402

Dear

fice when Re: Statutorypenalty for failure of a railroad to keep its ticket office open for half an hour prior to the departure of trains Sir: which are late.

You have requested the opinion of this ofas to the possible legal consequences Involved a Texas railroadhas advised its ticket office employeesnot to keep the ticket offices open for half an hour prior to the departure of trains operating behind schedule.

Your question requires a constructionof Article 6416,V.C.S., which reads as follows:

“Thepassenger fare upon all railroads in-thisState shall be three cents per mile,with an allowance of baggage to each passengernot to exceed one hundred pounds inweight; provided,however, that when the fare is paid to the conductor, the rate shall be four aents per mile, except from stationswhere no ticketsare sold, and that the minimum charges in no case shallbe less than twenty-five cents; and provided, further thatwhen the passenger fare does not end in five or naught, the nearest sum so ending shall be the fare; provided, that in no case shall children under ten years of age be charged a higher rate of fare than two cents per mile. Railroads shall be required to keep their tlm offices open for half an hour prior to the departure of trains. and upon failure to doHon. Olin Culberson, Page 2 (V-1402)

so they shall not chargemore than three cents per mile." [Emphasissupplied) Initiallywe must determinewhether this statuterequires a railroad to keep its ticket office open for half an hour prior to the scheduled departure or prior to the actual departure of passenger trains,when there is a variancebetween such times.

In discussing the particularportion~of Article 6416, with which we are here concerned, the Texas Supreme Court used the following language in Mlssourf PacificRy. Co. v. McClanahan, 66 Tex. 530, W 576 (1886):

. * I,

. .The sectionreferred to fixes the passenger fare upon all railroads in this state at three cents per mile, and contains the followingprovisions: 'Provided,however, thatwhere the fare Is paid to the conductor, the rate shall be four cents per mile, except from stationswhere no tickets are sold: * * * provided, further, railroads shallbe required to keep their ticket offices open half an hour prior to the departureof trains, and upon failure to do so, they shall not chargemore than three cents per mile.' The first provision in the section as quoted,was~obviously intended to~,induce passengers to buy tickets before ,enteringthe Cars;:andwas doubtless'inserted In the Interestand for the protection of the~rallroadcompanies; .The~ object of the second, on the otherhand,was to protect passengersagainst the contingency of having to pay the advancedrate of fare without being afforded ample opportunityto procure tickets.

. 0

. "In the opinion of the court, If these companies keep their ticket offices openhalf an hour before the departure of trains, they have a right to claim of passengers entering the carswithout tickets, fare at the rate of four cents per mile; but, if the officebe not so kept open, in no case can more than 'threecents per mile be rightfully demanded e
. ."Hon. Olin Culberson, Page 3 (V-1402)

Although the Texas Court did not have before It a situationwhere the train departed behind schedule,we find authorities in other jurisdictionshaving statutes similar to the Texas statute where that questionhas been decided.

Kansas has a statute very similar to Article 6416, V.C.S. It requires railroads to keep thelr_ticketoffices open for at least thirtymin- ;%&"$mmedlately prior to the starting of such

In Atchison, T. & S.F; Ry. Co. v. Dwelle, 44 I&. 394. 24 Pac. 500 (logo)

. the Kansas Sunreme Court heid that keep& the ticket office open-for thirtyminutes prior to the scheduled time of departure, but not until the actual delayed departure, was not sufficient to complywith the Kansas statute when the passenger trainwas behind time.

On the otherhand, In the case of Pondee
v. Lexington & E. Ry. Co., 164 Ky. 69, 174 s.W.6 (1915),under a Kentucky statute which required rallroads-to keep their ticket offices open at least thirtyminutes "Immediatelypreceding the scheduled time of departure of all passenger trains", the Court held that the companywas only required to keep its offices open for thirtyminutes prior to the scheduled time of departure,as the statute did not require the company to keep its offices open until a delayed train had arrived and departed.

The Texas statutemakes no distinctionbetween the scheduleddepartureand the actual departure of a late train. As was pointed out In Missouri PacificRy. Co. v. McClanahan,supra, the purpose of the Texas statute Is to afford a passenger an "ample opportunity" to procure a ticket, and thiswould unquestionablybe denied such a passenger If the ticket officewere not kept open for at leasthalf an hour before the departure of a late train,particularly is this true because the circumstanceof the train'sbeing late Is beyond the control of the passenger.

We thereforehold that railroads must keep their ticket offices open at leasthalf an hour prior to the actual departure of their passenger trains, irrespective of whether the train departs on schedule.Hon. Olin Culberson, Page 4 (V-1402)

You also inquire as to the legal consequences of a railroad's falling to keep its ticket offices open as we have indicatedherein. The statute.clearlyprovides that in the event of such failure, the companymay not chargemore than three centsper mile as passenger fare. Gulf C. &S.F. Ry. Co. v. Dyer, 95 S.W. 12 (Tex.Civ. App. 1906, error ref.)

SUMUARY

Railroads are required to keep their ticket offices open for half an hour prior to the actual departure of passenger trains. Upon their failure to do so, they are not authorized to chargemore than three cents~ per mile as passenger fare. Article 6416, V.C.S.

Yours very truly,

APPROVED:
Charles E. Crenshaw 011 and Gas Division

E. Jacobson ReviewingAssistant PRICEDANIEL Attorney General

BY

Charles D. Mathews First Assistant
DJC:mds