please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article contains content that is written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . november 2015 learn how and when to remove this template message this article may require copy editing for major issues of style cohesion and tone . it should probably be in userspace for now . . you can assist by editing it . november 2015 learn how and when to remove this template message this article may lend undue weight to certain ideas incidents or controversies . please help to create a more balanced presentation . discuss and resolve this issue before removing this message . november 2015 this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . may 2010 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message city sightseeing gozo king long in 2012 parent enrique ybarra founded 1999 headquarters spain service type open top bus tours website www.city sightseeing.com buses of the original tour on whitehall westminster london in 2009 city sightseeing bus in the foreshore cape town south africa in 2016 . northern counties palatine bodied volvo olympian in newcastle upon tyne in 2005 leyland olympian in manchester in 2008 colchester eastern coach works bodied leyland atlantean an68 1r in 2004 northern counties palatine ii bodied daf db250 for the cambridge city sightseeing tour note non standard offside centre door in 2008 ayats bravo bodied volvo b7l in stratford upon avon in 2008 bath bus company ayats bravo bodied volvo b7l in bath england on 2008 bath bus company ayats bravo bodied volvo b7l in windsor england in 2009 alexander dennis enviro500 open top bus of grayline new york sightseeing in 2011 hippo tours operation in singapore in 2006 city sightseeing bus in moscow in 2014 spring bus that looks like cs in shanghai in 2012 city sightseeing is a sightseeing bus tour operator . it operates tour bus services in more than one hundred cities globally . typically the tours are operated by red open top double decker buses . it was created by ensignbus which retained 100 % ownership until being sold to a spanish franchise in 2011 . the tourist attraction buses travel near major landmarks while prerecorded or live commentary is provided through headphones to passengers . tourists may leave and board the company buses within their ticket s time limit called hop on hop off at special bus stops on a circular route . in some locations buses may go on multiple routes go to suburban areas such as from sintra to cabo da roca or operate at night such as in new york . in certain cities such as prague moscow and saint petersburg some variants of the ride include traveling by boat . the united kingdom italy and spain are the countries with the most city sightseeing locations . usually tickets are issued for one or two day rides . tickets are either purchased at tourist attractions or online via the internet . in 2011 nearly 13 million tourists took city sightseeing tours . 1 in 2015 californian officials raised safety concerns about city sightseeing tours after certain irregularities were discovered and a major crash occurred in san francisco . contents 1 company history 2 safety issues 3 franchise model 4 locations served 11 4.1 australia 4.2 belgium 4.3 canada 4.4 colombia 4.5 cyprus 4.6 czech republic 4.7 denmark 4.8 estonia 4.9 finland 4.10 france 4.11 georgia country 4.12 germany 4.13 greece 4.14 hungary 4.15 iceland 4.16 ireland 4.17 italy 4.18 luxembourg 4.19 malta 4.20 netherlands 4.21 norway 4.22 panama 4.23 peru 4.24 poland 4.25 portugal 4.26 russia 4.27 singapore 4.28 south africa 4.29 spain 4.30 sweden 4.31 united arab emirates 4.32 united kingdom 4.33 united states 5 see also 6 references 7 external links company history edit the city sightseeing name was first used in 1972 when peter newman used it for a pair of ex standerwick gay hostess leyland atlanteans on his city coach lines company which ran tours of london four times daily . in 1998 ensignbus revived the name and developed the red livery in the spanish city of seville where it helped an established sightseeing operator relaunch itself with double deckers using the experience and expertise developed with london pride sightseeing and links forged through the sale of open top buses around the world through ensigbus vehicle business . it also set up operations in sydney australia not as a franchise but directly owned . 2 with the sale of london pride sightseeing in 1998 peter newman stated his intention to introduce a global brand of sightseeing buses . city sightseeing was officially launched at the london world travel market in 1999 . 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 . in 2000 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 2000 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 . as of february 2016 the canadian tours operate in only two cities both in the province of ontario namely toronto and niagara falls . in 2002 they also expanded in the uk . in 2003 operations started in italy . in may 2002 ensignbus acquired city sightseeing s biggest rival guide friday which had a base in stratford upon avon and operated tours across the uk and in major european cities . operations were either re branded 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 . in 2003 city sightseeing introduced the first purpose built sightseeing buses . these were ayats bravo city bodied volvo b7ls . they feature equipment specifically designed for tours and are also low floor . these appeared first in spain and then in the uk and later around the world by 2004 . in singapore the company has been part of singapore ducktours limited since 2004 . 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 . 3 4 5 it also owned the operation in cambridge and stratford upon avon but these passed to stagecoach who also provide 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 . 6 ensignbus retained its ownership of city sightseeing in sydney 7 but sold its interest in city sightseeing italy and also its shareholding in washington dc which was sold to big bus tours in september 2011 . sydney along with a number of other locations including munich frankfurt perth and bristol have all recently left cs and now operate independently . in the case of sydney as the sydney explorer . following this the other australian operations have also chosen to operate under the explorer brand except melbourne which still operates as city sightseeing . the mornington peninsula service which commenced 1 november 2014 ceased 25 january 2015 . 8 according to its website in may 2016 city sightseeing had operations in 97 cities in 33 countries . 9 safety issues edit in november 2015 a city sightseeing bus injured 20 people in a crash at union square san francisco reportedly due to failed brakes according to the driver . 10 a city official questioned the safety of city sightseeing tours and the california public utilities commission released a statement describing various irregularities and problems with city sightseeing including multiple permit suspensions since 2007 due to security infractions . 10 franchise model edit the company has been largely developed along the franchise model . some operations were wholly owned by city sightseeing and some were joint ventures but the majority of tours are now operated by franchisees either existing bus operators in the locality or new companies either rebranding existing vehicles or introducing new ones . operators have the choice of flexibility in how much or how little direct involvement with city sightseeing company they have . they can choose vehicles and systems appropriate to themselves . through the franchise model operators have access to group expertise to solve problems and to providers of equipment such as off board ticketing gps linked commentary systems and vehicle refurbishers . operators can also take advantage of block negotiation with promotional partners that may not necessarily wish to deal with smaller operators . as a minimum the franchise operator must carry the city sightseeing red base colour and graffiti style . they must use the global booking web site and a percentage of any revenue taken is returned to city sightseeing . in recent times however new cities have maintained their own liveries such as helsinki and gothenburg and entire countries such as italy have decided to opt out of the global ticketing arrangements whilst other locations such as baku kiev & granada have ceased operating as cs . operators are free to apply a specific local branding within the red scheme with local identities or the guide friday name retained if thought necessary . locations served 11 edit australia edit melbourne sydney brisbane belgium edit brussels canada edit toronto colombia edit cartagena cyprus edit paphos czech republic edit prague denmark edit copenhagen estonia edit tallinn finland edit helsinki france edit paris georgia country edit tbilisi germany edit aachen berlin cologne dortmund hannover kiel potsdam stuttgart trier greece edit athens corfu hungary edit budapest iceland edit reykjav k ireland edit dublin italy edit florence genoa livorno messina milan naples padova palermo rome sorrento turin verona luxembourg edit luxembourg malta edit gozo valletta sliema netherlands edit amsterdam rotterdam norway edit lesund bergen geiranger oslo stavanger panama edit panama city peru edit lima poland edit krakow warsaw portugal edit albufeira aveiro lhavo funchal lisbon porto sintra cabo da roca russia edit kazan moscow saint petersburg singapore edit singapore south africa edit cape town johannesburg spain edit barcelona benalm dena c diz c rdoba jerez las palmas de gran canaria lleida m laga palma de mallorca santa cruz de tenerife santander seville toledo sweden edit gothenburg stockholm united arab emirates edit sharjah dubai united kingdom edit bath belfast bournemouth brighton isle of bute cambridge cardiff chester derry edinburgh glasgow inverness llandudno london newcastle upon tyne gateshead norwich oban oxford stratford upon avon windsor york united states edit chicago los angeles hollywood miami new orleans new york city city sightseeing new york 455 12th ave. new york ny 10018 212 445 7599 philadelphia san antonio san francisco washington d.c. see also edit the big bus company tourism sightseeing gray line new york skyride references edit dnata . www.dnata.com . retrieved 2016 06 02 . about city sightseeing city sightseeing the history of ensignbus ensignbus tour de france city bus firm bought by european business bath chronicle 2 march 2011 ratp dev announces the acquisition of the original tour ratp group 11 september 2014 ensignbus sells city sightseeing focus news city sightseeing banksmeadow australian bus fleet lists losses bring tourist bus to an early halt mornington peninsula news 26 january 2015 city sightseeing showcases its newest operation in dubai in its fifteenth wtm attendance in a row city sightseeing 12 november 2014 a b woodrow