(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section and in § 271-16, no person shall engage in the business of a contract carrier by motor vehicle over any public highway in this State unless there is in force, with respect to the carrier, a permit issued by the public utilities commission authorizing the person to engage in this business.
Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
Contract carrier by motor vehicle: means any person that engages in transportation by motor vehicle of passengers or property for compensation (other than transportation referred to in the definition of "common carrier by motor vehicle") under continuing contracts with one person or a limited number of persons for the furnishing of transportation services:(1) Through the assignment of motor vehicles for a continuing period of time to the exclusive use of each person served; or (2) Designed to meet the distinct need of each individual customer. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 271-4
Motor carrier: includes both a common carrier by motor vehicle and a contract carrier by motor vehicle. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 271-4
Motor vehicle: means any vehicle, machine, tractor, trailer, or semitrailer propelled or drawn by mechanical power and used upon the highways in the transportation of passengers or property, or any combination thereof determined by the commission, but does not include any vehicle, locomotive, or car operated exclusively on a rail or rails or a trolley bus operated by electric power derived from a fixed overhead wire, furnishing local passenger transportation similar to street-railway service. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 271-4
Permit: means a permit issued under this chapter to contract carriers by motor vehicle. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 271-4
persons: means any individual, firm, copartnership, corporation, company, association, or joint stock association; and includes any trustee, receiver, assignee, or personal representative thereof. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 271-4
(b) Applications for permits shall be made in writing, on paper or electronically, to the commission, be verified under oath, and shall be in a form, contain the information, and be accompanied by proof of service upon interested parties, as the commission shall by rule require.(c) Subject to § 271-15, a permit shall be issued to any qualified applicant therefor, authorizing in whole or in part the operations covered by the application, if it is found that the applicant is fit, willing, and able to properly perform the service of a contract carrier by motor vehicle, and to conform to this chapter and the lawful requirements and rules of the commission thereunder, and that the proposed operation to the extent authorized by the permit will be consistent with the public interest and the transportation policy declared in this chapter; otherwise, the application shall be denied. In determining whether issuance of a permit will be consistent with the public interest and the transportation policy, the commission shall consider the number of shippers to be served by the applicant, the nature of the service proposed, whether the proposed service can be or is being properly performed by existing common carriers, the effect that granting the permit would have upon the services of the protesting carriers, the effect that denying the permit would have upon the applicant’s proposed shipper or shippers, and the changing character of shipper requirements; provided that a permit shall not be issued in any case where it has been established that an existing common carrier is properly performing the proposed service. The commission shall specify in the permit the business of the contract carrier covered thereby and the scope thereof, and it shall attach to it at the time of issuance, and from time to time thereafter the reasonable terms, conditions, and limitations consistent with the character of the holder of the permit as a contract carrier, including terms, conditions, and limitations respecting the person or persons, their names, the number or class thereof for which the contract carrier may perform transportation service, as may be necessary to assure that the business is that of a contract carrier and within the scope of the permit, and to carry out with respect to the operation of the carrier the requirements established by the commission under sections 271-9(a) (2) and 271-9(a) (4). Any permit covering the transportation of passengers may include authority to transport, in the same vehicle with the passengers, baggage of passengers and also authority to transport baggage of passengers in a separate vehicle; provided that within the scope of the permit and any terms, conditions, or limitations attached thereto, the carrier shall have the right to substitute or add to its equipment and facilities as the development of its business may require; and provided further that no motor carrier shall commence operations under any contract carrier authority granted under this section until it has filed with the commission a certified copy or an electronic copy of a written contract or contracts executed with the shipper or shippers for whom the service is authorized in the permit to be provided, the contract or contracts to be bilateral and impose specific obligations upon both carrier and shipper or shippers, and to set forth all terms and conditions of any transportation agreement obtaining between the motor carrier and the shipper or shippers.
