§ 2 — Definitions

§ 2. Definitions. Whenever used in this chapter, unless a different\nmeaning clearly appears from the context the terms:\n 1. "Baggage company" means a person engaged under contract or\nagreement with a railroad company or street railroad company in the\nchecking of baggage, or in the collection and delivery of baggage\nbetween railroad stations, or between railroad stations and hotels,\nresidences, business places or steamer docks.\n 2. "Bus company" means a person, or a lessee, trustee or receiver\nappointed by any court whatsoever, owning, leasing, or operating or\nproposing to own, lease or operate a bus line.\n 3. "Bus line" is a sub-classification of common carrier of passengers\nby motor vehicle that is usually characterized by the use of vehicles\nhaving a seating capacity of greater than twenty passengers; by multiple\npickup and discharge points along designated routes; and by no\nprearrangements or reservations by passengers.\n 4. "Certificate" means operating authority issued under this chapter\nto common carriers of passengers by motor vehicle, common carriers of\nproperty by motor vehicle and common carriers of household goods by\nmotor vehicle.\n 4-a. "Commercial motor vehicle" means any self-propelled or towed\nmotor vehicle used on a highway in intrastate, interstate or\ninternational commerce to transport passengers or property when the\nvehicle (a) has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross combination\nweight of ten thousand one pounds or more, whichever is greater; or (b)\nis designed or used to transport more than eight passengers including\nthe driver for compensation; or (c) is designed or used to transport\nmore than fifteen passengers including the driver and is not used to\ntransport passengers for compensation; or (d) is used in transporting\nmaterial found by the United States secretary of transportation to be\nhazardous under section 5103 of title 49 of the United States code and\ntransported in a quantity requiring placarding under regulations\nprescribed by such secretary under subtitle B, chapter I, subchapter C\nof title 49 of the code of federal regulations.\n 5. "Commissioner" means the state commissioner of transportation.\n 6. "Common carrier" means a railroad company, street railroad company,\nexpress company, car company, sleeping-car company, freight company,\nfreight line company, baggage company, transfer company, carrier by\nwater, person or the lessee, trustee or receiver appointed by any court\nwhatsoever, owning, operating or managing any such agency for public use\nin the conveyance of persons or property within this state other than by\nuse of ski tows and other passenger tramways operated at ski centers.\nThe term shall not include an express company, baggage company or\ntransfer company unless it is operated wholly or in part upon or in\nconnection with a railroad or street railroad or a municipally owned\nferry or ferry company operating under a lease from a city or a carrier\nby water except where it is engaged or may be required to be engaged\nwith a carrier by railroad in the transportation of passengers or\nproperty over a through route partly by water and partly by railroad for\na continuous carriage or shipment between points in this state.\n 7. "Common carrier of passengers by motor vehicle" means any person\nthat transports passengers by motor vehicle for compensation by\nproviding service for the general public on an individual fare basis\nover regular or irregular routes. It shall include a bus line as defined\nby subdivision three of this section.\n 8. "Common carrier of property by motor vehicle" means any person that\ntransports property by motor vehicle for compensation for the general\npublic.\n 9. "Contract carrier of passengers by motor vehicle" means any person\nthat transports passengers by motor vehicle for compensation, in\nchartered party or special party service, or by providing service under\na continuing agreement calling for the exclusive use of vehicles by a\nperson or persons.\n 10. "Contract carrier of property by motor vehicle" means any person\nthat transports property by motor vehicle for compensation under special\nand individual continuing contracts or arrangements with one person or a\nlimited number of persons for an extended period of time, or that\nprovides services in addition to transportation services that are not\nnormally made available or provided by common carriers of property.\n 11. "Corporation" means and includes a corporation, company,\nassociation and joint-stock association.\n 12. "Department" means the state department of transportation.\n 13. "Governing body" means the local legislative body as such term is\ndefined in subdivision seven of section two of the municipal home rule\nlaw.\n 14. "Highway" means a highway, road, street, alley, avenue,\nthoroughfare, bridge or public driveway which is opened to the public\nand publicly maintained, whether by the state or a subdivision thereof,\nor by a public authority.\n 15. "Household goods" means:\n (a) personal effects and property used or to be used in a dwelling\nwhen a part of the equipment or supply of such dwelling and such other\nsimilar property as the commissioner may provide by regulation; except\nthat this paragraph shall not be construed to include property moving\nfrom a factory or store, except such property as the householder has\npurchased with intent to use in his or her dwelling and which is\ntransported at the request of, and the transportation charges paid to\nthe carrier by, the householder;\n (b) furniture, fixtures, equipment, and the property of stores,\noffices, museums, institutions, hospitals or other establishments when a\npart of the stock, equipment, or supply of such stores, offices,\nmuseums, institutions, hospitals, or other establishments and such other\nsimilar property as the commissioner may provide by regulation; except\nthat this paragraph shall not be construed to include the stock-in-trade\nof any establishment, whether consignor or consignee, other than used\nfurniture and used fixtures, except when transported as incidental to\nmoving of the establishment, or a portion thereof, from one location to\nanother; and\n (c) articles, including objects of art, displays, and exhibits, which\nbecause of their unusual nature or value require the specialized\nhandling and equipment usually employed in moving household goods and\nsuch other similar articles as the commissioner may provide by\nregulation; except that this paragraph shall not be construed to include\nany article, whether crated or uncrated, which does not, because of its\nunusual nature or value, require the specialized handling and equipment\nusually employed in moving household goods.\n 16. "Infant" or "minor" means a person who has not attained the age of\neighteen years.\n 17. "Motor carrier" includes common and contract carriers of\npassengers by motor vehicle, common and contract carriers of property by\nmotor vehicle, and common carriers of household goods by motor vehicle.\nAny reference in article six, seven, eight or nine of this chapter to a\n"common carrier", "contract carrier", "common carrier of property",\n"contract carrier of property", "common carrier of passengers", or\n"contract carrier of passengers" shall be deemed to mean such type of\ncarrier by motor vehicle.\n 18. "Motor vehicle" means a vehicle, machine, bus, tractor, truck\ntrailer or semi-trailer, propelled or drawn by mechanical power and used\nupon the highways in the transportation of property or passengers, but\ndoes not include any locomotive or car operated exclusively on a rail,\nrails or track.\n 19. "Municipal corporation" or "municipality" means a county, city,\nvillage or town; except that in articles three, four and five,\nsubdivision three of section one hundred seventy-one and section one\nhundred ninety of this chapter, a "municipality" shall not include a\ncounty.\n 20. "Non-profit car pools" means the prearranged transportation of\npassengers by motor vehicle to and from their place of employment or\nother destination, where moneys paid to the motor vehicle owner are only\nfor a recovery of some or all of the expenses related directly to the\ntransporting of the passengers, including tolls, fuel, insurance and\ndepreciation, provided that the operator of such vehicle does not drive\nthe motor vehicle for profit.\n 21. "Permit" means operating authority issued under this chapter to\ncontract carriers of passengers by motor vehicle and contract carriers\nof property by motor vehicle.\n 22. "Person" means and includes an individual, firm, copartnership,\nassociation or corporation.\n 23. "Private carriage" means the transportation of property by a\nperson other than a motor carrier when such person is the owner, lessee\nor bailee of the property being transported and when such transportation\nis for the purpose of sale, lease, rent or bailment.\n 23-a. "Private carrier of passenger by motor vehicle" means any person\nthat transports passengers by commercial motor vehicle which is provided\nin the furtherance of a commercial enterprise and which is not for\ncompensation and is not available to the public at large, in intrastate,\ninterstate or international commerce.\n 23-b. "Private motor carrier" means any person who provides\ntransportation of property or passengers by commercial motor vehicle for\na business purpose and is not a common or contract carrier of passengers\nor property by motor vehicle.\n 24. "Railroad" means a railroad, other than a street railroad,\noperated for public use in the conveyance of persons or property for\ncompensation, with all bridges, ferries, tunnels, equipment, switches,\nspurs, tracks, stations and terminal facilities used, operated or owned\nby or in connection therewith.\n 25. "Railroad company" means a person, or a lessee, trustee or\nreceiver appointed by any court whatsoever, owning, operating or\nmanaging any railroad or cars or other equipment used thereon or in\nconnection therewith.\n 26. "School" means every place of academic, vocational or religious\nservice or instruction for persons under the age of twenty-one, except\nplaces of higher education. It shall include every child care center;\nevery institution for the care or training of the mentally or physically\nhandicapped; and every day camp.\n 27. "Services and transportation provided by a contract carrier of\npassengers by motor vehicle" means and includes all vehicles operated\nby, for or in the interest of such carrier irrespective of ownership or\nof contract, express or implied, together with all facilities and\nproperty operated or controlled by such carrier and used in the\ntransportation of passengers or in the performance of any service in\nconnection therewith.\n 28. "Shipment" means a lot of freight tendered to a carrier by one\nconsignor at one place at one time for delivery to one consignee at one\nplace on one bill of lading.\n 29. "Street railroad" means a railroad by whatever power operated, or\nan extension or branch thereof, for public use in the conveyance of\npersons or property for compensation, being mainly upon, along, above or\nbelow any highway, including all equipment, switches, spurs, tracks,\nright of trackage, subways, tunnels, stations, terminals and terminal\nfacilities used, operated or owned by or in connection therewith, but\nshall not include a railroad constituting or used as part of a trunk\nline railroad system.\n 30. "Street railroad company" means a person, or a lessee, trustee or\nreceiver appointed by any court whatsoever, owning, operating or\nmanaging any street railroad or cars or other equipment used thereon or\nin connection therewith.\n 31. "Tank motor vehicle" means a motor truck, trailer or semi-trailer\nrespectively, used for the transportation of liquids, and provided with\na tank or tanks therefor which are mounted on the frame or chassis or\nare an integral part of such vehicle.\n 31-a. "Telecommuting" shall mean the conservation of energy through\nthe reduction of travel by employees of the department to and from their\ndesignated workplace through the use of telecommunication and computer\ntechnology in tasks including, but not limited to, information transfer\nand processing.\n 32. "Transfer company" means a person engaged under contract or\nagreement with a railroad company or street railroad company in the\ntransfer of passengers or property between railroad stations, or between\nrailroad stations and hotels, residences, business places or steamer\ndocks.\n 33. "Transportation of property" includes any service in connection\nwith the receiving, delivery, elevation, transfer in transit,\nventilation, refrigeration, icing, storage and handling of the property\ntransported.\n 34. "Utility company" or "public utility company" is used to avoid\nrepetitions in a provision applying to one or more persons operating an\nagency or agencies for public service, and who or which is or are\nsubject to the jurisdiction, supervision and regulations prescribed by\nor pursuant to this chapter; such term being so used only as a general\nterm descriptive of such a person.\n 35. "Van service" is a sub-classification of common carrier of\npassengers by motor vehicle that provides service on a prearranged\nregular daily basis between a zone in a residential neighborhood and a\nlocation which shall be a work related central location, a mass transit\nor mass transportation facility, a shopping center or recreational\nfacility, but shall not include service to or from an airport. Such\nservice is usually characterized by the use of vehicles having a seating\ncapacity of twenty passengers or less. Provided, however, that if a city\nwith a population of over one million adopts a local law or ordinance\npursuant to subdivision five of section eighty of this chapter, the term\n"van service" as it applies to van service in such city shall include\nservice that otherwise meets the requirements of this subdivision but is\nservice to or from an airport.\n