222 Ga. 276 | Ga. | 1966
This record makes the following case: On July 25, 1962, the Georgia Public Service Commission granted Watson-Wilson Transportation System, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as Watson-Wilson) a Class A certificate of public convenience and necessity authorizing it to provide service as a motor common carrier of property for hire from Atlanta to Augusta over State Highways 8 and 10 (U. S. 29 and 78) via Tucker, Lawrenceville, Winder, Athens, Lexington, Washington, Thomson and all intermediate points. Both before and after that certificate was granted the Commission issued certificates of public convenience and necessity to Brown Transport Corporation and six other motor common carriers authorizing each to transport property for hire over
There is attached to and made a part of the petition the proceedings filed with the Commission, including all of the evidence it heard with reference thereto. The defendant Commission and R. C. filed separate answers to the petition in which they denied that the Commission’s order granting the certificate applied for was for any reason illegal or unsupported by evidence. The trial judge, after hearing further evidence, denied the injunctive relief sought and from that judgment petitioners entered an appeal to this court. Held:
1. By its several orders granting certificates of public convenience and necessity to Watson-Wilson and the 7 protesting certificate holders, the Public Service Commission necessarily found and determined there was a need for all of those property transportation facilities between Atlanta and Augusta and the record in this case does not involve or question their
2. “Neither the trial court, nor this court on review, will substitute its own discretion and judgment for that of the Public Service Commission where it has exercised its discretion in a matter over which it has jurisdiction, and neither court will interfere with a valid order of the Public Service Commission unless it be clearly shown that the order is unreasonable, arbitrary, or capricious.” Atlanta Motor Lines, Inc. v. Georgia Public Service Commission, 211 Ga. 698 (1) (88 SE2d 387).
3. Code § 68-609, as amended by the Act of 1950 (Ga. L. 1950, pp. 186, 187), in part provides: “No certificate or authority shall be granted to an applicant proposing to operate over the route of any holder of a certificate or authority when the public convenience and necessity with respect to such route is being adequately served by such certificate or authority holder; and no certificate or authority shall be granted to an applicant proposing to operate over the route of any holder of a certificate or authority unless and until it shall be proved to the satisfaction of the Commission that the service rendered by such certificate or authority holder, over the said route, is inadequate to the public needs; and if the Commission shall be of opinion that the service rendered by such certificate or authority holder over the said route is in any respect inadequate to the public needs, such certificate or authority holder shall be given reasonable time and opportunity to remedy such inadequacy before any certificate or authority shall be granted to an applicant proposing to operate over such route.” Under the facts of this case the Commission was authorized to find that the service being rendered by Watson-Wilson was wholly inadequate and, since it had failed to resume operations and thereby render adequate service after notice, the Commission was authorized under the above quoted portion of Code § 68-609 to substitute R.' C. as a certificated carrier for Watson-Wilson. And by this substitution the Commission did not, as contended by appellants, impair in any respect the separate certificate rights which had been granted them
4. The protesting certificate holders contended that there was no need for the certificate of convenience and necessity applied for by R. C. since they as a group of separate certificate holders could and would render adequate property transportation service from Atlanta to Augusta. This position is untenable. No one of these protesting certificate holders, or all as a group, has unrestricted certificate authority to transport property over the entire route from Atlanta to Augusta. The certificate of Huckabee Transport Corporation, one of the protesting carriers, authorizes it to transport property from Atlanta to Washington with closed doors to Augusta, except at Camp Gordon and the other 6 have authority to transport property over only relatively short segments of such route between fixed terminal points. By granting R. C.’s application, the Commission necessarily found and determined that such a plan or proposal would not provide adequate transportation service for the entire route from Atlanta to Augusta. As to this question, the Commission had jurisdiction, and neither the trial court, nor this court on review, should interfere to control the exercise of its discretionary power.
5. From the evidence which shows that the cities and towns along the aforementioned highways have during recent years experienced a tremendous growth in population, industry, and
Judgment affirmed.