A Darlington city ordinance upsets local medical transportation company

DARLINGTON, S.C. (WBTW)-The city of Darlington has an ordinance that affects private transportation services. Among other things, it requires all transport services to pass a series of inspections including background checks and it requires them to have a taxi license.

“I felt as if my profession had been downgraded.”

That is how Allen Tisdale the director of Community Pastor Care felt when he learned the medical transportation company he works for needed a taxi license.

“I went to school for two years to become a paramedic in South Carolina and all to be a taxi driver is the way I felt about it. And not degrading that career path however I provide life saving treatments and have ten years of experience.” 

Due to an increase in private transportation, the city of Darlington wanted to better-regulate transportation services. The new ordinance says the term “taxicab” as used in this article shall mean any motor vehicle and a driver operating upon any street, on call or demand, accepting or soliciting passengers indiscriminately for hire between such points along such streets as may be directed by the passenger being transported.

But Tisdale says he doesn’t believe his company’s services fall under that definition.

“A patient that we transport that is bed confined and has a condition such as dementia or some other, advanced alAlzheimerthey in fact cannot tell us where to go.”

The city of Darlington maintains that they aren’t being hard to work with….they’re just focused on everyone’s safety.

“That’s the most important thing right there, ensuring the safety of the people we serve. It’s not to keep anyone from doing business, we want people to do business in the city of Darlington.”

But Tisdale says if a taxi license is what’s required, he’s simply not willing to do it.

“I will withdraw from business in the city of Darlington before I will purchase a taxi license from the city.”

Police chief Danny Watson says he understands the concerns these companies have and plans to request an ordinance that is more specific to these companies.