California Motor Transport Co. v. Railroad Commission

This is a review of an order of the Railroad Commission (now the Public Utilities Commission) commanding petitioner California Motor Transport Company, a highway common carrier (hereinafter designated Motor Transport), to refrain as underlying carrier or otherwise from transporting property via Pacheco Pass between San Francisco and Fresno and other San Joaquin Valley points unless it obtains a certificate of public convenience and necessity from the commission; and commanding petitioner, California Motor Express, an express corporation (hereafter designated Motor Express), to refrain from using Motor Transport as an underlying intermediate for the transportation of express between the same points unless the latter obtains the above mentioned certificate.

There are two main highway routes between San Francisco and Los Angeles commonly designated the coast route and the valley route, respectively. Paso Robles is a city on the coast route, Fresno is a city on the valley route, and Pacheco Pass is a lateral connecting the two routes at a point between San Francisco and Los Angeles. There is also a connecting lateral from Paso Robles to the valley route.

Motor Transport acquired (1)…

I concur in the judgment. The amendment to section 50¾ of the Public Utilities Act, added in 1941 (Stats. 1941, p. 2061), in effect, authorizes a carrier, without the approval of the commission, to combine operative rights owned by it. But to serve Fresno via Pacheco Pass, the petitioners would not be making use of the certificate allowing the transportation of freight to that point insofar as the route is concerned.