2023 Montana Code Annotated › Title 69. Public Utilities and Carriers › Chapter 12. Motor Carriers › Part 1. General Provisions › 69-12-101. Definitions

69-12-101. Definitions.
Unless the context requires otherwise, in this chapter the following definitions apply:
(1) "Between fixed termini" or "over a regular route" means the termini or route between or over which a motor carrier usually or ordinarily operates motor vehicles, even though there may be periodical or irregular departures from the termini or route.
(2) "Certificate" means a certificate of public convenience and necessity or a certificate of compliance issued under this chapter.
(3) "Certificate of compliance" means written authorization to operate issued by the commission for Class A or Class E motor carriers that transport passengers declaring that the motor carrier meets the fitness requirements of this chapter.
(4) "Certificate of public convenience and necessity" means a written authorization to operate issued by the commission for Class A motor carriers that transport property or persons and property and Class D motor carriers declaring that the motor carrier service is required by the public convenience and necessity, as provided in this chapter.
(5) "Charter service" means a service used for the transportation of passengers by a motor carrier with rates not subject to approval by the commission if:
(a) the transportation of passengers is based on a single contract;
(b) the contract is entered into in advance of the transportation and does not result from a spontaneous, curbside agreement;
(c) the contract includes a single fixed charge and fares are not assessed per passenger;
(d) the passenger or group of passengers acquires exclusive use of the motor vehicle through the contract; and
(e) when applied to a group of passengers being transported, the group of passengers travels together to a specified destination.
(6) "Compensation" means the charge imposed on motor carriers for the use of the highways in this state by motor carriers under 69-12-421.
(7) "Corporation" means a corporation, company, association, or joint-stock association.
(8) "Digital network" means any online-enabled application, software, website, or system offered or utilized by a transportation network carrier that enables the prearrangement of rides with transportation network carrier drivers.
(9) "For hire" means for remuneration of any kind, paid or promised, either directly or indirectly, or received or obtained through leasing, brokering, or buy-and-sell arrangements from which a remuneration is obtained or derived for transportation service.
(10) "Garbage" means ashes, trash, waste, refuse, rubbish, organic or inorganic matter that is transported to a licensed transfer station, licensed landfill, licensed municipal solid waste incinerator, or licensed disposal well. The term does not include wastewater and waste tires.
(11) "Household goods" means any of the following:
(a) personal effects and property used or to be used in a dwelling when they are a part of the equipment or supply of the dwelling. The term does not include property moving from a factory or store unless the property is purchased by a householder for use in a dwelling and is transported at the request of the householder.
(b) furniture, fixtures, equipment, and the property of stores, offices, museums, institutions, hospitals, or other establishments when those items are a part of the stock, equipment, or supply of the stores, offices, museums, institutions, hospitals, or other establishments. The term does not include the stock-in-trade of an establishment, whether consignor or consignee, other than used furniture and used fixtures, except when transported as incidental to moving of the establishment or a portion of the establishment from one location to another.
(c) articles, including objects of art, displays, and exhibitions that because of their unusual nature or value, require the specialized handling and equipment usually employed in moving household goods and other similar articles.
(12) "Motor carrier" means a person or corporation, or its lessees, trustees, or receivers appointed by a court, operating motor vehicles upon a public highway in this state for the transportation of passengers, household goods, or garbage for hire on a commercial basis, either as a common carrier or under private contract, agreement, charter, or undertaking. A motor carrier includes a transportation network carrier.
(13) "Motor vehicle" includes vehicles or machines, motor trucks, tractors, or other self-propelled vehicles used for the transportation of property or persons over the public highways of the state.
(14) "Person" means an individual, firm, or partnership.
(15) "Personal vehicle" means a vehicle that is used by a transportation network carrier driver in connection with providing a prearranged ride and is:
(a) owned, leased, or otherwise authorized for use by the transportation network carrier driver; and
(b) not a taxicab, limousine, or for-hire vehicle.
(16) "Prearranged ride" means transportation provided by a driver to a rider, beginning when a driver accepts a ride requested by a rider through a digital network controlled by a transportation network carrier, continuing while the driver transports a requesting rider, and ending when the last requesting rider departs from the personal vehicle. A prearranged ride does not include transportation provided using a taxicab, limousine, or other for-hire vehicle pursuant to Title 69, chapter 12.
(17) "Public highway" means a public street, road, highway, or way in this state.
(18) "Railroad" means the movement of cars on rails, regardless of the motive power used.
(19) "Recyclable" means any material diverted from the solid waste stream that can be reused in the production of heat or energy or as raw material for new products and for which markets exist.
(20) "Transportation network carrier" means an entity that uses a digital network or software application service to connect passengers to transportation network carrier services provided by transportation network carrier drivers. A transportation network carrier may not be deemed to control, direct, or manage the personal vehicles or transportation network carrier drivers that connect to its digital network, except where agreed to by written contract.
(21) "Transportation network carrier driver" or "driver" means an individual who:
(a) receives connections to potential riders and related services from a transportation network carrier in exchange for payment of a fee to the transportation network carrier; and
(b) uses a personal vehicle to provide a prearranged ride to riders upon connection through a digital network controlled by a transportation network carrier in return for compensation or payment of a fee.
(22) "Transportation network carrier rider" or "rider" means an individual or persons who use a transportation network carrier's digital network to connect with a transportation network carrier driver who provides prearranged rides to the rider in the driver's personal vehicle between points chosen by the rider.
(23) "Transportation network carrier services" means the transportation of a passenger between points chosen by the passenger and prearranged with a transportation network carrier driver through the use of a transportation network carrier digital network or software application.
History: En. Sec. 1, Ch. 184, L. 1931; re-en. Sec. 3847.1, R.C.M. 1935; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 153, L. 1943; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 262, L. 1947; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 204, L. 1963; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 190, L. 1969; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 275, L. 1971; amd. Sec. l, Ch. 168, L. 1973; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 174, L. 1973; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 315, L. 1974; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 66, L. 1975; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 139, L. 1977; R.C.M. 1947, 8-101(part); amd. Sec. 18, Ch. 43, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 341, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 481, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 364, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 8, Ch. 358, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 218, L. 2011; amd. Sec. 8, Ch. 456, L. 2015; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 512, L. 2021; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 422, L. 2023.