London Pride Sightseeing was an open top sightseeing bus operator in London.
History
In 1983, the state owned London Transport ceased operating their Round London Sightseeing Tour operation as the market was opened up to competition by the government. This had been run since March 1973.
A number of companies established private tour bus companies in London. In 1984, Emmerheath Ltd., one such private operator, established the Grand Guided Tour of London as London Pride Sightseeing, with a white/pink/orange livery, a small operation with 10 buses and operating from one stop.
In 1985 London Pride merged with Ensignbus, who had also started their own tour operation, with Emmerheath buses being repainted into Ensignbus standard blue/silver, with London Pride markings.
Ensign had a competitive advantage with its ready supply of Fleetlines being disposed of early by London Transport into its sales business. As part of this, Ensign had developed expertise in half and full open-top conversion of these vehicles. Ensignbus had earlier operated brand-new DMS-class Fleetlines under contract on the Round London Sightseeing Tour.[1]
Ensign went on to develop London Pride with the open-top vehicles, multiple stops, 24-hour operation and tickets, shuttle buses, different routes and attraction tie-ins. It also introduced the use of high capacity tri-axle coach vehicle on open-top operation, such as the