(1) "Carrier" means a person who undertakes the transporting of goods or passengers for compensation.

(2) "Certificate" or "motor carrier certificate" means a certificate of public convenience and necessity issued pursuant to this part or under the "Motor Carrier Act of 1929," under the "Motor Carrier Act of 1931," or under prior law.

(3) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of public safety.

(4) "Company" shall include a corporation, a firm, a partnership, an association, or an individual.

(5) "Corporate sponsored vanpool" means a rideshare program sponsored by an employer in which the employer pays all or some of the costs associated with the transportation of its employees to a single work reporting location and all the vehicles used in the program have a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating of not more than 10,000 pounds and are designed to carry not more than 15 passengers including the driver.

(6) "Department" means the Department of Public Safety.

(7) "Exempt rideshare" means:

(A) Government endorsed rideshare programs;

(B) Rideshare programs in which a rideshare driver seeks reimbursement for, or the rideshare participants pool or otherwise share, rideshare costs such as fuel; or

(C) The leasing or rental of a vehicle, in the ordinary course of the lessor's or rentor's business, for rideshare purposes as part of a government endorsed rideshare program, or for rideshare under a contract requiring compliance with subparagraph (B) of this paragraph.

(8) "For compensation" or "for hire" means an activity relating to a person engaged in the transportation of goods or passengers for compensation.

(9) "Government endorsed rideshare program" means a vanpool, carpool, or similar rideshare operation conducted by or under the auspices of a state or local governmental transit instrumentality, such as GRTA, a transportation management association, or a community improvement district, or conducted under the auspices of such transit agencies, including through any form of contract between such transit instrumentality and private persons or businesses.

(10) "GRTA" means the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority, which is itself exempt from regulation as a carrier under Code Section 50-32-71.

(11) "Household goods" means any personal effects and property used or to be used in a dwelling when a part of the equipment or supplies of such dwelling and such other similar property as the commissioner may provide for by regulation; provided, however, that such term shall not include property being moved from a factory or store except when such property has been purchased by a householder with the intent to use such property in a dwelling and such property is transported at the request of, and with transportation charges paid by, the householder.

(12) "Motor carrier" means:

(A) Every person owning, controlling, operating, or managing any motor vehicle, including the lessees, receivers, or trustees of such persons or receivers appointed by any court, used in the business of transporting for hire persons, household goods, or property or engaged in the activity of nonconsensual towing pursuant to Code Section 44-1-13 for hire over any public highway in this state.

(B) Except as otherwise provided in this subparagraph, the term "motor carrier" shall not include:

(i) Motor vehicles engaged solely in transporting school children and teachers to and from public schools and private schools;

(ii) Taxicabs which operate within the corporate limits of municipalities and are subject to regulation by the governing authorities of such municipalities; the provisions of this division notwithstanding, vehicles and the drivers thereof operating within the corporate limits of any city shall be subject to the safety regulations adopted by the commissioner of public safety pursuant to Code Section 40-1-8;

(iii) Limousine carriers as provided for in Part 3 of this article;

(iv) Hotel passenger or baggage motor vehicles when used exclusively for patrons and employees of such hotel;

(v) Motor vehicles operated not for profit with a capacity of 15 persons or less when they are used exclusively to transport elderly and disabled passengers or employees under a corporate sponsored vanpool program, except that a vehicle owned by the driver may be operated for profit when such driver is traveling to and from his or her place of work, provided each such vehicle carrying more than nine passengers maintains liability insurance in an amount of not less than $100,000.00 per person and $300,000.00 per accident and $50,000.00 property damage. For the purposes of this part, elderly and disabled passengers are defined as individuals over the age of 60 years or who, by reason of illness, injury, age, congenital malfunction, or other permanent or temporary incapacity or disability, are unable to utilize mass transportation facilities as effectively as persons who are not so affected;

(vi) Motor vehicles owned and operated exclusively by the United States government or by this state or any subdivision thereof;

(vii) Vehicles, owned or operated by the federal or state government or by any agency, instrumentality, or political subdivision of the federal or state government, or privately owned and operated for profit or not for profit, capable of transporting not more than ten persons for hire when such vehicles are used exclusively to transport persons who are elderly, disabled, en route to receive medical care or prescription medication, or returning after receiving medical care or prescription medication. For the purpose of this part, elderly and disabled persons shall have the same meaning as in division (v) of this subparagraph; or

(viii) Ambulances.

(13) "Passenger" means a person who travels in a public conveyance by virtue of a contract, either express or implied, with the carrier as to the payment of the fare or that which is accepted as an equivalent therefor. The prepayment of fare is not necessary to establish the relationship of passenger and carrier, although a carrier may demand prepayment of fare if persons enter his or her vehicle by his or her permission with the intention of being carried; in the absence of such a demand, an obligation to pay fare is implied on the part of the passenger, and the reciprocal obligation of carriage of the carrier arises upon the entry of the passenger.

(14) "Permit" means a written or electronic authorization issued by the department to motor carriers of passengers and nonconsensual towing companies for the purpose of providing services in accordance with the rules and guidelines of the department.

(15) "Person" means any individual, partnership, trust, private or public corporation, municipality, county, political subdivision, public authority, cooperative, association, or public or private organization of any character.

(16) "Public highway" means every public street, road, highway, or thoroughfare of any kind in this state.

(17) "Vehicle" or "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 commissioner.