Big Bus Tours

Big Bus Tours

Founded June 1991
Headquarters London
Service type Open-top sightseeing tours
Destinations London, Vienna, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Istanbul, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Miami, Las Vegas, Budapest, Paris, New York, Sydney, San Francisco & Muscat & Los Angeles
Operator Maybury family 70%
Al Fahim Group 30%
Big Bus company kiosk and bus queue at Speakers' Corner, London.

Big Bus Tours[1] (formerly The Big Bus Company), founded in London in 1991, is the largest operator of open-top bus sightseeing tours in the world, providing sightseeing tours in 18 cities across three continents. Typically, Big Bus Tours use open top double-decker buses in burgundy and cream-colored livery. They operate more than 150 buses across the world.

Company history

The Big Bus Company began operating in London, England in June 1991, with four buses. It later expanded to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Philadelphia.

In May 2007, the Abu Dhabi company Al Fahim Group purchased a 30% stake in The Big Bus Company.[2][3]

The Big Bus Company Ltd of London and Les Cars Rouges Company of Paris merged in May 2011.

Until 2015, it was a family-owned company, owned by Richard, Eleanor and Desmond Maybury.

The current cities offering Big Bus Tours include Abu Dhabi, Budapest, Chicago, Dubai, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Las Vegas, London, Miami, Muscat, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, Rome, San Francisco, Shanghai, Vienna and Washington, D.C.

Overview of Operation

Each tourist attraction bus travels near all major landmarks around the town or city it tours. Pre-recorded or live commentary about the landscape is provided through small headphones worn by each passenger. Users may leave the bus and board again without limit (so called hop-on, hop-off) at special bus stops on a circular route. In large cities, buses go on more than one route. In some cities (such as Hong Kong) some variants of the ride include traveling by boat.

A free map of the route for each city is offered as a guide to riders. Tourists may purchase tickets for one-day or two-day tours. Tickets may be purchased at tour landmarks or online. In some cities, rides by City Sights are included in the city's guest card.

Operations by Country

 Australia

 Austria

 China

Big Bus in Hong Kong

On 15 December 2008, The Big Bus Hong Kong was established. With the largest fleet of open-top buses in the city, it serves three sightseeing routes: Hong Kong Island (Red Tour), Kowloon (Blue Tour) and Stanley (Green Tour). The tour offers a wide range of packages which include free travel on the Peak Tram, entry to the Sky Terrace on Victoria Peak, a traditional Sampan ride, and a Star Ferry harbour tour.

In April 2010, The Big Bus Shanghai was established. It operates a fleet of eight Ankais.[4]

 France

 Hungary

 Italy

 Oman

 Turkey

 UAE

In 2002, The Big Bus Tours Dubai was established. The buses used are traditional open-top double-decker buses. The tour visits numerous sights throughout the Emirate; including the Wafi Mall, Dubai Creek, Creekside Park, Dubai Museum, The Old Souq, Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum House, Heritage & Diving Village, Dubai Gold Souk, Deira City Centre, Jumeirah Mosque, Souq Madinat Jumeirah, Burj Al Arab, the Palm Dubai Mall, and the Burj Khalifa.

 United Kingdom

The Big Bus Tours London operates three routes with stops at these tourist destinations: Madame Tussauds, Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall, Westminster Bridge, London Eye, Covent Garden, St Paul's Cathedral, London Bridge, Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Harrods, Kensington Palace and Kensington Gardens.[5][6]

Fleet

Dennis Condor of Big Bus

Originally, the fleet was built up with former route service double deckers that were converted to open top for a second life. AEC Routemasters, Daimler Fleetlines, Leyland Atlanteans and Leyland Titans were all used during the 1990s. These were replaced by 3-axle Dennis Condors, Leyland Olympians and MCW Metrobuses purchased from Hong Kong. The depot is in Wimbledon. In 2008, the fleet consisted of 10 East Lancs Visionaire-bodied Volvo B9TLs. These were followed by 26 Optare Visionaire-bodied Volvo B9TLs and 3-axle Ankais.

 United States

Trivia

Big Bus London has been featured in many TV shows. These include So Graham Norton, The Big Breakfast Show, BBC TV's Facing the Music, and Outnumbered, among others. Other celebrities who became Big Bus Tour Guides for television and film projects include Shane Ritchie, Lorraine Kelly, Lauren Booth and Jerry Springer. In addition, Jenny Platt, who plays barmaid Violet Wilson on ITV's Coronation Street, was once a Tour Guide with the company; as was actress Georgina Sutcliffe, who married actor Sean Bean in London on February 19, 2008.

The Company appeared with its Guide Manager, Miles Tredinnick, on BBC1 Television's Don't Get Done, Get Dom, presented by Dominic Littlewood, in December 2006.

Ant and Dec filmed their opening credits to ITV's Britain's Got Talent from the top of a Big Bus driving along London streets in June 2007.

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ↑ Companies House extract company no 1360202 The Big Bus Company Limited
  2. ↑ Al Fahim Group acquires 30 per cent equity interest in the Big Bus Company ameinfo.com 29 May 2007
  3. ↑ Al Fahim Group buys 30% stake in Big Bus Company Gulf News 29 May 2007
  4. ↑ Big Bus Tours (The Big Bus Company, London, England) The Open Top Bus Site
  5. ↑ London Stops List Big Bus Tours April 2012
  6. ↑ Map Big Bus Tours February 2013

External links

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