It would carry passengers in a trailer/trail vehicle. For example, in Army Basic Training, trainees are often transported in gooseneck trailers towed by Class 7 trucks. Were these allowed on public roadways, they would require a Class A with passenger endorsement (and the road test portion of the Passenger test would have to be done in a passenger transport vehicle which required the operator to hold a Class A CDL).
The Mercury Mariner is a passenger vehicle. It's only a commercial vehicle if used for commercial purposes. If it has passenger plates, it is not considered a commercial vehicle, and is not subject to commercial vehicle restrictions.
At a minimum, a Class C Commercial Drivers Licence with Passenger endorsement and no air brake restriction (if the vehicle is equipped with air brakes). If the vehicle has a GVWR of over 26,000 lbs (which is a bit unlikely with an 18 passenger vehicle), then a Class B CDL would be required, again with the Passenger endorsement and without a restriction on air brakes, if the vehicle were so equipped.
For anything which is a licensed, road legal vehicle, you need to take a test and obtain whatever class license is necessary for that vehicle, be it Class C/D for your passenger cars, and Class A or B for heavy commercial vehicles.
Articulated bus
If operated by a private company, yes. If operated by the state, it is not considered to be used for commercial purposes, although it is still subject to FMCSA and FHWA regulation, and the driver must possess a CDL of a class appropriate to the vehicle with Passenger and School Bus endorsements.
If operated by a private company, yes. If operated by the state, it is not considered to be used for commercial purposes, although it is still subject to FMCSA and FHWA regulation, and the driver must possess a CDL of a class appropriate to the vehicle with Passenger and School Bus endorsements.
Yes but not a plug made for a passenger tire.
All you have to do to get the endorsement is pass the written test and road test in a passenger vehicle. However, if you have a Class A CDL and road test in a vehicle requiring only a Class C CDL, you'll be restricted to operating passenger vehicles in that class and lower.
NOT necessarily. A company owned passenger car that is intended for the personal transportation of company employees would not need to be registered as a commercial vehicle. However, a vehicle used to transport goods would be considered a commercial vehicle. This is common in the logistics and transport industries.
A bus is a large commercial motor vehicle designed for passenger transportation by road.
Take and pass the written passenger test, and do a road test in a passenger vehicle. If you take your road test in a bus under 26,000 GVWR, you'll be restricted to passenger vehicles requiring a Class C CDL. If you take your road test in a single vehicle over 26,000 GVWR, you'll be restricted to operating passenger vehicles requiring a Class B or Class C CDL. You're really not going to find any Class A CDL passenger vehicles.
NO. Commercial (or Fleet) insurance is much more expensive than general insurance. However, if you are asking whether insurance is cheaper for a commercial vehicle (carrying produce for example) than a bus (carrying passengers) then, yes, it is cheaper.