§ 62-262.2. Discontinuance or reduction in service.
§ 62‑262.2. Discontinuance or reduction in service.
(a) When a bus company proposes to discontinue service over anyintrastate route or proposes to reduce its level of service to any points on aroute to a level which is less than one trip per day (excluding Saturdays andSundays), it shall petition the Commission for permission to do so. Within 10days after the filing of a petition, the Commission shall require notice to begiven.
(b) Any person or the Public Staff may object, to theCommission, to the granting of permission to any bus company to discontinue orreduce transportation under this section. If neither objects to the granting ofpermission to discontinue or reduce service under this section, within 30 daysafter the notice as required by subsection (a) of this section, the Commissionmay grant the permission based on the record and without hearing.
(c) If, within 30 days after the notice as required bysubsection (a) of this section, any person or the Public Staff objects inwriting to the Commission to granting of such permission, the Commission shallgrant such permission unless the Commission finds as a fact, that thediscontinuance or reduction in service is not consistent with the publicinterest or that continuing the transportation, without the proposeddiscontinuance or reduction, will not constitute an unreasonable burden oninterstate commerce. In making a finding under this subsection, the Commissionshall accord great weight to the extent to which the interstate and intrastaterevenues from the transportation proposed to be reduced or discontinued areless than the variable costs of providing the transportation, includingdepreciation for revenue equipment. The Commission may also consider, to theextent applicable, all other factors which are to be considered by theInterstate Commerce Commission in a proceeding commenced under 49 U.S.C. §10935. For the purposes of this section, the bus company filing a petition forpermission to discontinue or reduce service shall have the burden of proving(i) the amount of its interstate and intrastate revenues received fortransportation to, from or between, but not through, points on the involvedintrastate route; and (ii) the system variable costs of providing thetransportation.
(d) The Commission may make its determination with or without apublic hearing. The Commission shall take final action upon the petition notlater than 120 days after any written objections to the petition are filed.
(e) The provisions of G.S. 62‑262(k) shall not be applicableto bus companies. (1985, c. 676, s.21; 1989 (Reg. Sess., 1990), c. 1024, s. 15.)