Opinion ID: 368276
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Staff Report

Text: 24 Against this backdrop of Commission precedent, the ICC staff issued a report in July, 1977, entitled Improving Motor-Carrier Entry Regulation which dealt with the efficacy of the existing regulations governing the licensing of motor carriers. The staff noted that the report had its genesis in the wide-spread feeling that more competition should be encouraged in the motor transportation industry and that the congested state of the Commission's motor carrier docket should be eased. 25 With specific reference to dual operations, the staff found that instances of rate discrimination practiced by carriers engaged in dual operations were virtually non-existent. It therefore recommended that the Commission issue, after appropriate administrative hearings, a general, prospective finding that the holding of dual authority was consistent with the public interest. The staff additionally recommended that the Commission seek the legislative repeal of Section 210. 26 The Commission issued a notice of proposed rule-making wherein it highlighted three factors which favored the staff's proposed general finding, Viz. (1) the presence of Section 218 of the Act, 49 U.S.C. § 318, 10 which gives the Commission disciplinary power over the rates and practices of motor carriers; (2) the desirability of reducing reliance on the entry control mechanism to ensure fair rate practices; and (3) a reduction in the administrative burden in light of the number of motor carrier applications filed annually. 27 The Commission solicited comments from interested parties, and received some 32 responses. The majority of the respondents supported the proposed rule. In particular, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Justice concurred in the staff conclusion that past implementation of § 210 has resulted in protracted and expensive litigation, yielding inconsistent results, and revealing virtually no instances of discrimination or other abuse. 11 28 The rule-making proceeding culminated in the issuance of the final rule contested here, which appears as subpart 1004.3 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations and reads as follows: Applications involving dual operations 29 When the Commission considers applications for motor carrier authority which involve dual operations, it is required by section 210 of the Interstate Commerce Act to find, or to have found, that it would be consistent with the public interest and the national transportation policy for the applicant to hold both common and contract carrier authority. The Commission has concluded that section 210 does not require an individual finding for each application, and it has issued a general finding, effective June 1, 1978, that the holding of both common and contract carrier authority normally is consistent with the public interest and the national transportation policy. Consequently, the Commission will not give individual consideration to this issue in applications involving dual operations, which are filed subsequent to June 1, 1978, unless there is a showing, in the particular case, that rate or service preference is likely to be extended or other discrimination is likely to be practiced. It will not be sufficient, in order to make such a showing, to establish only that dual service will be provided for the same shipper or consignee. Any grant of authority enabling dual operations will expressly reserve to the Commission the right to impose whatever terms, conditions, or limitations, may be necessary to ensure that applicant's operations conform to section 210 of the Act.