(a) All street, suburban, or interurban railroad companies incorporated under the laws of this state shall have the power to purchase, acquire, own, hold, lease, operate, mortgage, sell, assign, transfer, pledge, or otherwise dispose of motor buses or trackless trolleys; to purchase, acquire, own, hold, mortgage, sell, assign, transfer, pledge, or otherwise dispose of the capital stock, bonds, or other securities or evidences of indebtedness of corporations organized to own and operate motor buses or trackless trolleys; to issue their own capital stock or bonds or other securities in payment therefor; and, while they are the owners of such stock in such companies, to exercise all the rights of stockholders, provided that nothing in this Code section shall be construed to confer upon any person any exclusive or irrevocable right or franchise to operate motor buses or trackless trolleys upon the public highways of this state or upon the public streets, lanes, or alleys of any municipality. Such person shall, in regard to the operating of such motor buses and trackless trolleys, be subject, in addition to its occupation or other taxes or assessments, to the same occupation or other taxes as are those persons engaged exclusively in the business of operating motor buses or trackless trolleys. This Code section shall not be construed to confer any right to use the public streets, lanes, or alleys of any municipality without the consent of such municipality; and such municipality shall have no authority to confer any irrevocable right to such companies to use such public streets, lanes, or alleys.

(b) Any motor buses and trackless trolleys when operated by any such railroad company shall be subject to the rules and regulations of the commission, provided that trackless trolleys shall be classed as streetcars and the operations thereof shall be subject to the same municipal ordinances, rules, and regulations, and the vehicles and structures incident to the operations thereof shall be subject to the same state, county, municipal, and school district taxes that apply to the operation of streetcars. Such taxes shall be allocated among counties, municipalities, and school districts served on the same basis as is required of street railroads by law.

(c) Nothing in this Code section shall be construed to modify Code Section 46-8-343, relating to substitution by street, suburban, or interurban railroad companies of trackless trolleys for rail systems in parts thereof. Nothing in this Code section shall be construed to impair any valid contract or ordinance contract existing between any municipality and any street, suburban, or interurban railroad company as of March 27, 1941. The commission shall not have the power or authority to increase or authorize the increase of, in regard to trackless trolley service, fares which have been fixed prior to March 27, 1941, by contract or ordinance contract on the lines on which trackless trolleys may be substituted pursuant to Code Section 46-8-343. Such fares shall in all respects appertain and apply to such substituted service when inaugurated.