SMALL BUSES

Charleston, S.C., City Code ch. 29, art. IV, div. 3

in effect

Charleston, S.C., City Code § 29-109 Certificate of appropriateness required.

Sec. 29-109. - Certificate of appropriateness required. No small bus shall operate for touring without a duly issued certificate of appropriateness or without having paid such fee therefor that city council may, from time to time, establish. (Ord. No. 1983-22, § 26, 5-10-83; Ord. No. 1985-148, § 2, 12-17-85)

Charleston, S.C., City Code § 29-110 Route limitations.

Sec. 29-110. - Route limitations. (a) Small buses may operate on all streets in the districts, with the exception of brick and cobblestone streets, any public way designated as an alley, lane or court, on Tradd Street, between Meeting and Church Streets, and such streets as may be restricted from such use by the department of traffic and transportation and so designated in the office of tourism. (b) The peninsula city shall be divided into zones of operation as may be recommended from time to time by the commission and approved by city council. A map outlining such zones shall be maintained in the office of the department of livability and tourism. (c) Every touring entity having regularly scheduled small bus tours shall submit to the director of livability and tourism or his/her designee the schedule of times it offers small bus tours. The director of livability and tourism or his/her designee shall assign to touring entities with regularly scheduled small bus tours a route, per regularly scheduled tour, that must be followed and adhered to by the touring entity on a given tour, and shall continue to do so on an annual basis thereafter upon the issuance or renewal of a certificate of appropriateness. Routes assigned by the director of livability and tourism or his/her designee shall be distributed equally among the touring entities submitting schedules to the tourism director. (d) Upon being assigned a particular route for a given tour, the touring entity must follow such route and utilize its best efforts to spend equal amounts of time in each zone of operation on the route. (e) Those touring entities having small buses, but which do not conduct regularly scheduled tours, must notify the director of livability and tourism or his/her designee, at least twenty-four (24) hours in advance of a tour, of its intention to conduct a tour, and shall then be assigned a route which must be followed on such tour. (Ord. No. 1983-22, § 27, 5-10-83; Ord. No. 1984-171, § 1, 11-13-84; Ord. No. 1985-148, § 3, 12-17-85; Ord. No. 2023-064, § 5, 3-28-23)

Charleston, S.C., City Code § 29-111 Tour guide required.

Sec. 29-111. - Tour guide required. All tours on small buses must be conducted by a tour guide. (Ord. No. 1983-22, § 28, 5-10-83; Ord. No. 2016-054, § 8, 4-26-16; Ord. No. 2023-063, § 11, 3-28-23)

Charleston, S.C., City Code § 29-112 Passenger loading.

Sec. 29-112. - Passenger loading. No small bus shall pick up or discharge passengers at any location on the public streets or public properties of the city except at duly designated passenger loading zones. (Ord. No. 1983-22, § 29, 5-10-83)

Charleston, S.C., City Code § 29-113 Parking.

Sec. 29-113. - Parking. No small buses shall park at any location on the public streets of the city except at the following locations: (a) The Gaillard Municipal Auditorium; (b) The visitor information center; (c) In designated areas: (1) On North Market Street near Meeting Street; (2) On Wentworth Street near Glebe Street; (3) On the east side of East Battery between Murray Boulevard and South Battery; (4) On the west side of Meeting Street between Queen Street and Courthouse Square; (5) On the south side of Cumberland Street between Meeting and Church Streets. (d) At other locations approved by the department of traffic and transportation with the approval of the committee on traffic and transportation and so designated in the office of tourism. (Ord. No. 1983-22, § 30, 5-10-83; Ord. No. 1998-174, § 14, 9-22-98)

Charleston, S.C., City Code § 29-114 Limitation upon number of small buses in operation.

Sec. 29-114. - Limitation upon number of small buses in operation. (a) There shall not be operated on the streets of the city, pursuant to section 29-81, more than thirty-six (36) small buses at any one (1) time. Should the number of persons desiring to operate small buses exceed thirty-six (36), then the director of livability and tourism or his/her designee with the advice of the tourism commission shall devise a lottery or similar system to ensure that all operators have an equal opportunity to operate for reasonable periods of time. (b) When the number of small buses operating at the same time reaches thirty-six (36), the bus operators must report to the small bus gate keeper who will be housed at the permit office in the visitor center, to obtain a medallion. This will ensure that all operators will have an equal opportunity to operate for reasonable periods of time. (Ord. No. 1995-487, § 1, 10-10-95; Ord. No. 1998-174, § 15, 9-22-98; Ord. No. 2010-102, § 1, 6-15-10; Ord. No. 2023-064, § 6, 3-28-23)

Charleston, S.C., City Code § 29-115 Exception to the size of small buses in operation.

Sec. 29-115. - Exception to the size of small buses in operation. (a) There may be operated on the streets of the City of Charleston, pursuant to section 29-81, no more than one (1) small bus that is greater than twenty-six (26) feet in length but no more than twenty-six (26) feet six (6) inches in length if such bus is accessible to persons with disabilities and meets all requirements of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. This bus shall be included in the limitation upon the number of small buses in operation as provided for in section 29-114. (b) All tour bus entities and drivers shall refer patrons with disabilities to the small bus authorized to operate pursuant to this section so that tour bus service shall be accessible to persons with disabilities in the Old and Historic District of the City of Charleston. (c) In the event there is a desire by persons or entities to operate more than one (1) bus in the city as described in subsection (a), the right to operate shall be made available to persons or entities whose buses met subsection (a) by the director of livability and tourism or his/her designee conducting a drawing on a six-month basis to determine which bus shall operate in the next succeeding six (6) months. (Ord. No. 2004-146, § 2, 11-23-04; Ord. No. 2009-62, § 2, 4-28-09; Ord. No. 2023-064, § 7, 3-28-23)

Source: City of Charleston, South Carolina, Code of Ordinances and Zoning Ordinance (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/sc/charleston/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=CICO_CH29TO_ARTIVTRMOVEPUTO_DIV3SMBUFetched: 11/7/2026