The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
An automobile of the private passenger type, the designed seating capacity of which does not exceed seven persons, excluding the operator, rented for hire and operated by the owner or by an operator in the employ of the owner, and used for weddings, social functions, funeral purposes, shopping trips, touring and similar purposes, and excluding the following:
Vehicles operated for hire from a stand at a hotel, station, dock or place of public resort;
Vehicles operated as a bus or on a schedule along a regular route;
Vehicles used for trips at fares determined by zone or taximeter;
Vehicles carrying any sign that such motor vehicle is for public hire; or
Motor vehicles while actually used in the conduct of funerals or by a funeral director or his agents in connection with the conduct of a funeral. This exclusion shall apply only to motor vehicles registered in the name of the undertaker or funeral director in charge of the funeral.