The Original Tour is a London bus tour operator using open-top double-decker buses. It also holds the franchise to run City Sightseeing's London tour. It is based in Wandsworth and is a subsidiary of the RATP Dev.
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History
The Original Tour was founded in by June 1951 by the London Transport Executive at the time of The Festival of Britain. In 1986 it was privatised, being sold to London Coaches / Blue Triangle. In December 1997 it was sold to Arriva. In September 2014, the business was sold to RATP Dev.
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Sightseeing tours
After purchase of a 24-hour ticket or 48-hour ticket, ticket-holders may board any of the tour routes at over 80 different stops without another charge. Services operate daily, with a recorded commentary in English and several other languages which can be listened to with headphones. A river cruise and three walking tours are included in the ticket price.
The Original Tour operates four sightseeing routes, with two connectors from other places linking to them:
+ Pre-recorded language commentaries provided on the T2 and T4 routes are English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, Japanese, as well as the "Kids' Club" children commentary in English.
T-prefixed Route Numbers
The "T.." route numbers introduced from April 2001 but used primarily for internal and licensing purposes. Used more widely during 2004 and fully adopted in 2005 with the entry into service of the Ayats bodied Volvo B7Ls, which were specified with electronic destination displays. Previously, the routes were only distinguishable by a coloured triangle, propped up on the dash on the bus, although some had a metal holder on the front. Since 2004 the triangle (which still exist for the older tour buses) have "T.." printed on them for the appropriate coloured triangle. Also, some buses now have destination display blinds, traditionally removed from these buses, which have the coloured triangle on them with the "T.." route number inside that.
Fares
The Original Tour tickets are valid for one or two days. Each ticket includes three free walking tours (Changing of the Guard, Rock 'n' Roll and Jack the Ripper) and a 24-hour River Cruise Pass; tickets can also be combined with attraction tickets for even better discounts. Price as of April 2015 is £30 for adults (£26 online), £15 for children (£12.50 online), and £75 for a family group of two adults and two children.
The Original London visitor centre
At the end of 2007 The Original Tour opened a visitor centre on 17-19 Cockspur Street, off Trafalgar Square. It sells tickets to the major London attractions, out-of-town tours, and tickets for The Original Tour buses. General advice is also given.
Transport for London Route 337
In May 2004 Wandsworth garage commenced operating route 337 under contract to Transport for London bringing route service buses to the garage. Route 337 passed to London General in 2011.
Fleet
Historically the fleet consisted of former double deck route buses, that after being converted to open top configuration, were given a second life. However, in 2005 ten Ayats Bravo City bodied Volvo B7Ls were purchased new. As at September 2014, the fleet consisted of 90 buses.
Allocation
Some of the buses are in the standard City Sightseeing livery, rather than the Original Tour version, for use on route T2, which is branded as City Sightseeing. However, in practice, buses can be mixed up.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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