Open top bus company shows London the future

London's sightseeing supremos, The Original Tour, is making anunprecedented investment of £1.6 million in new easy accesslow floor buses to complement their existing open topped busfleet.

The launch of the purpose designed new vehicles means thatwheelchair users will be able to enjoy the round London tours forthe first time – an ideal way for tourists to see the capital.

The Original Tour's commercial director, Colin Atkins, said:

An open top bus ride is a great way to see London,whether you live in the capital or are just visiting. I believethat the new Volvo buses will not only give our passengers a bettersightseeing experience but they will be cleaner and quieter andoffer a long overdue facility to customers withdisabilities.

The move by The Original Tour, part of Arriva plc, follows majorexpenditure earlier in the year in preparation for the new vehiclesincluding updating their head office, garages, opening a centralLondon base and purchasing a new freehold bus site in East London.

Colin Atkins added:

Our capital city is looking better than ever and we arecommitted to ensuring that London has the best possible sightseeingservice. With Transport standards in the city improving all thetime, our new sightseeing buses are now ahead of the game. Weintend to order more of these buses in the nearfuture.

The move was welcomed by Stephen Dowd, chief executive ofUKinbound, the organisation representing the UK travel industry. Hesaid:

UK inbound members are committed to delivering qualityservices and products for all our visitors and we are delightedthat The Original Tour, one of our key Senior Partners, is soclearly demonstrating this commitment by investing in new, state ofthe art tour buses that will greatly enhance their customerexperience

The investment has received praise from London Mayor KenLivingstone, who said:

Any initiative to improve and ensure the higheststandards of the capital's attractions and facilities is to bewelcomed. These new buses will make it much easier to get aroundand see the city.

The introduction of the new fleet was also praised by DavidHornby, commercial director of Visit London who said:

This is fantastic news for visitors to London, andhelps to provide the capital with even more top classfacilities.

Notes to Editors

• Founded in 1951 at the time of The Festival of Britain, TheOriginal Tour is now the largest single sightseeing operation inthe world. The hop-on hop-off service allows customers to board anyof its tour routes at over 90 different stops. Services operatedaily, with a commentary in English or a wide choice of languages.A free river cruise is included with every ticket and the Kids'Club provides an educational but fun alternative for 5-12 yearolds. For more information you can visit their web sitewww.theoriginaltour.com