768                               LAWS OF MARYLAND                        [CH. 441

reasonable and proper, any common carrier company to issue mile-
age, excursion, school commutation, commutation passenger, or joint
interchangeable mile tickets for all or any part of its route in this
state, and (2) to require any two or more common carriers whose
lines form a continuous line of transportation, or which could be
made to do so by switch connection, to establish through routes and
joint rates, provide for the manner of securing or paying them and
apportion them as between the companies affected thereby.

68.    (Expiration, Abandonment or Discontinuance of Franchise.)

(a)  The commission may require the continuance of any service
rendered to the public by any public service company under any
franchise, right, or permit, after its expiration date, if any; and no
service under a franchise, right or permit shall be discontinued or
abandoned without the consent of the commission, which shall be
granted if the commission finds that the present or future public
convenience and necessity permits such discontinuance or abandon-
ment. Denial of such consent shall not preclude subsequent re-
applications whenever the public service company thinks them
warranted.

(b)  Whenever the commission permits abandonment or discon-
tinuance of any franchise or right in whole or in part involving
service to and/or from suburban communities, the commission shall
consider all applications to acquire the franchise or right to render
such service and shall grant the application of the best qualified
applicant. If the abandoned or discontinued right, as acquired by
the abandoning or discontinuing public service company or its prede-
cessor, extended from mid-city to suburban termini, or was operated
between such termini during most of the time of its existence, or
for an aggregate of fifteen years or more, then the said franchise
or right to be granted in accordance with this subsection shall like-
wise extend between such mid-city and suburban termini.

SUBTITLE V—PROCEDURE BEFORE THE COMMISSION

69.    (In General.)

All proceedings before the commission shall be governed by the
rules of the commission, conformably with the provisions of this
article. The commission shall not be bound by the technical rules of
evidence or procedure of courts of law or equity. Any official act
of the commission shall be valid if it complies substantially with the
requirements of this article, and shall not be vitiated by any deficient
cies of a technical nature.

70.    (Commencement of Proceedings.)

(a)  The commission shall receive complaints from any person, in
writing, setting forth the circumstances allegedly constituting a
violation of the provisions of this article by any public service com-
pany. If the complaint on its face states such a violation or is
deemed by the commission to be deserving of explanation the com-
mission shall serve a copy on the public service company complained
of, together with an order that the complaint be satisfied or answered
in writing within a specified time.

(b)  If any complaint is filed with the commission which con-
cerns the illuminating power, purity or pressure of gas; or the