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::Date:30 March 2000

Newman back in open-top sightseeing

Australia first target in an ambitious plan to take hop-on hop-off city bustours to a global market
by Mark Williams

Peter Newman has launched himself into open-top sightseeing again with the promise of being in 20 cities world-wide by the end of this year. Operations in Glasgow and the Australian capital, Canberra, have kicked off a plan to spread open-topping at an unprecendented rate. Mr Newman says a combination of fleet ownership, equity buying and marketing deals will put his new company into 50 cities by the end on 2001. City Sightseeing has been launched by the former London Pride Sightseeing owner with fleets of MCW Metrobuses in Canberra, a marketing arrangment with established Glasgow operator Scotguide travel services, online internet booking, and a plan to grow at a staggering rate.

The Glasgow tour brings newly converted vehicles and re-liveries the fleet of dominent operator Scotguide. Managing director Alex Pringle says his plan to improve quality is now being realised: "The Glasgow Tour concept drives us further down that road, with significant investment in purpose-engineered vehicles and new electronic, flexible ticketing arrangements allied to our expert local knowledge and extended routes", he said. The first two 'half and half' MCW Metrobus conversions -partly roofed - were launched in the new livery last week in Glasgow, and the Canberra launch a week earlier saw the local chief minister a guest of honour aboard an ex-Hong Kong Metrobus. The Canberra service ran free for the first few days to give staff and passengers a taste of open-toppings.

But Mr Newman told CBW these are humble beginnings for a much more ambitious plan: "We will be in 20 cities, with 200 buses, by the end of the year, " he told CBW. "By the end of 2001, we will have launched Citysightseeing in 50 cities world-wide and be in control of 500 vehicles." Mr Newman said the nature of each operation will vary, some being new companies with their own fleet, others using local operators to run existing or newly converted vehicles, and some like the Scotguide deal merely marketing and branding arrangements with an established operator.

In the Canberra operation, the vehicles are run out of Transborder's depot, bu the management is British. Miles Millington-Wallace is director of Australian operations and each location will initially have a British manager on secondment until local staff are trained.

The marketing effort on which the venture depends will include a 'global' ticket-selling exercise via the internet, and discounts which can be carried from one city to the next. Each city will get it's own livery, the only common factor being a red background and a yellow band at the front. Canberra and Glasgow liveries, with their 'graffiti' style murals, will be typical of the approach, said Mr Newman.