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Open Top Sightseeing Washington DC
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Visiting Washington DC in the summer of 2010 the open top operations were in the hands of the Gray Line franchisee Open Top Sightseeing and City Sightseeing. The open top tour market is always in a state of flux, particularly in the USA, and though buses were still in this patriotic livery at least three years later the operation became part of Big Bus who expanded the fleet drafting in more open top buses from other operations in the US, UK and even ex Hong Kong Olympians working in Budapest. The fleet of Enviro500 buses were all, bar number 5, transferred to the New York fleet. The Open Top Sightseeing Washington company was owned by Paris based Les Cars Rouge who merged with Big Bus in May 2011.
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 Seen on the DC tour Alexander Dennis Enviro500 10 was one of the few Enviros whose full livery was not hidden under huge adverts. |
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 The main staging post for all DC tours is outside Union Station where Alexander Dennis Enviro500 5 is loading. As can be seen the bus has a huge advert for Carnival Cruises which is plastered over the lower deck windows, likewise the Popchips ad on the Enviro waiting behind. Patrons will get a raw deal if it starts raining as the view from downstairs will be severely limited, especially as - from experience - contravision adverts on American buses have samller holes for the light than on UK ads. |
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 Earlier in the day 5 was on layover at Union Station. Being the only Enviro500 retained in Washington it is now in burgundy and cream Big Bus livery and numberd ADL5. It has been joined by two other Enviro500 buses from the San Francisco operation of Open Top Sighstseeing (ADL13 and ADL16). |
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 Plying the streets of Washington is Enviro500 3. It too has the Carnival Cruises advert. |
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