Company history
The City Sightseeing name was first used in 1972 after Peter Newman used it for his City Coach Lines company, which ran tours of London four times a day.
In 1998, Ensignbus revived the name and developed the red livery in the Spanish city of Seville. There it helped an established sightseeing operator relaunch itself with double-deckers, using the experience and expertise developed with London Pride Sightseeing, through Ensignbus' vehicle business. With the sale of the London Pride Sightseeing, Peter Newman stated his intention to introduce a global brand of sightseeing buses. It also set up operations in Sydney, Australia, not as a franchise, but directly owned, during this year.[4]
In March 2000, the franchise model was initiated, with tours starting in Glasgow, Scotland. Startup operations employed a British manager until local staff were trained. During this year, operations expanded in the UK in York, Edinburgh, and Bath. Edinburgh's Lothian Buses introduced the first purpose-built open top low floor buses. In December of that year, the online booking system was introduced.
In 2001, operations expanded further in the UK, Spain, Australia, and into Copenhagen, Denmark.
In 2002, operations in Alberta, Canada opened but have since closed. Ensignbus acquired City Sightseeing's biggest rival, Guide Friday,[4] which had a base in Stratford-upon-Avon and operated tours across the UK and in major European cities.[5] Operations were either rebranded as City Sightseeing, or absorbed into existing operators where Guide Friday had been a direct competitor. The acquisition brought City Sightseeing's operations up to nearly 70 cities worldwide with nearly 250 vehicles.[4]
In 2003, operations started in Italy. During this year, City Sightseeing introduced the first purpose-built sightseeing bus. It was an Ayats Bravo City bodied Volvo B7Ls. They featured equipment specifically designed for tours and were "low floor". These appeared first in Spain and then in the UK. By 2004 they were featured around the world.
Since 2004, the company has been part of Singapore Ducktours, sold to RATP Group in September 2014. Both London and Singapore's City Sightseeing operations are under Extrapolitan Sightseeing Group. Extrapolitan had transferred City Sightseeing's operations to Julia Travel for both London and Singapore in 2023, and for Singapore's case Julia Travel has collaborated with Gojek.
Ensignbus owned the operations in Bath, Cardiff, Eastbourne and Windsor until its subsidiary, Bath Bus Company, was sold to the RATP Group in February 2011.[6][7][8] It also owned the operation in Cambridge and Stratford-upon-Avon, but these were passed to Stagecoach, who also provided normal bus services in that area.
In 2011, Ensignbus sold its 100% ownership of the business to the Spanish franchisee Enrique Ybarra's City Sightseeing Worldwide of Spain.[9]
Ensignbus retained its ownership of City Sightseeing in Sydney,[10] but sold its interest in City Sightseeing Italy and its shareholding in Washington, D.C. This was sold to Big Bus Tours in September 2011. Sydney, along with several other locations, including Munich, Frankfurt, Perth and Bristol have all left City Sightseeing, and now operate independently. The Mornington Peninsula service which commenced 1 November 2014, ceased on 25 January 2015.[11]
