The following words and terms, when used in this subchapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

1. (1) Certificate--A certificate of public convenience and necessity issued by the commission.

2. (2) Charter or special party--A group of persons who, pursuant to a common purpose and under a single contract, have acquired exclusive use of a passenger-carrying motor vehicle to travel together as a group to a specified destination or on a particular itinerary, either agreed to in advance or subject to modification; provided, however, that said term shall not include:

   1. (A) students 19 years of age or younger, who in the course of secondary or elementary school activities, under the direction of public, private, or parochial school authorities, acquire the exclusive use of a passenger-carrying vehicle registered to a bus company with insurance on file with the commission, and travel together as a group; or
   2. (B) military troops whose transportation is contracted for by the state or federal government.
3. (3) Commission--The Railroad Commission of Texas.
4. (4) Director--The director of the Transportation/Gas Utilities Division of the Railroad Commission of Texas. Any act or function assigned to the director by the commission may be delegated by the director.

5. (5) Motor bus company--A person owning, controlling, operating, or managing a motor bus over the public highways within the State of Texas whether operating over fixed routes or fixed schedules, or otherwise. However, the following are not motor bus companies for purposes of this title:

   1. (A) persons operating a motor bus wholly within the limits of any incorporated town or city, and the suburbs thereof;
   2. (B) persons operating motor buses for van-pooling or any other nonprofit ride-sharing arrangement by which a group of people share the expense of operating or owning and operating a vehicle in which they commute to and from work with one member of the group serving as driver in exchange for transportation to and from work and reasonable personal use of the vehicle; or
   3. (C) persons owning, controlling, operating, or managing motor propelled vehicles designed for carrying no more than five passengers not including the driver;
   4. (D) corporations or persons to the extent that they own, control, operate, or manage vehicles in compliance with the Texas Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility Act, Texas Civil Statutes, Article 6701h, and only when those vehicles are used to provide transportation subsidized in whole or part by and provided under contract to clients of the Texas Department of Aging, Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Texas Commission for the Blind, Texas Cancer Council, Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, Texas Commission for the Deaf, Texas Department of Health, Texas Department of Human Services, Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, Texas Rehabilitation Commission, community action agencies created as provided by federal law, and the Texas Youth Commission, and each agency shall stipulate in the contract with a transportation provider the amount of liability insurance coverage necessary for vehicles covered under this subsection.
6. (6) Motor bus--Motor propelled vehicle capable of transporting passengers with a rated seated capacity of six or more passengers not including the driver.
7. (7) Person--An individual, firm, partnership, corporation, company, association, or joint stock association, or other legally appointed receivers or trustees.
8. (8) Railroad crew motor bus company--Any person in the business of transporting railroad crews, pursuant to Texas Civil Statutes, Article 911a, §2a.

Source Note:The provisions of this §5.201 adopted to be effective July 18, 1995, 20 TexReg 4917.