York tour bus operator plans further investment after huge demand boosts the city

City Sightseeing York’s parent company, Transdev, said the tour operator has had a successful 2020 despite restrictions imposed during the pandemic, with almost 20,000 people joining its circular tours of York’s historic landmarks since the service resumed on the easing of lockdown rules in early July.

The bus tours are now suspended during the second lockdown until December 3, when the company hopes its red, open top buses will return to York’s streets with Christmas-themed special tours.

In early August, City Sightseeing York’s tours doubled in frequency to run every 15 minutes, seven days a week, to meet rising demand.

The company has launched the first of a new generation of high specification, low emission buses featuring "smart new interiors, stylish seating" and mobile device charging at every seat.

City Sightseeing York has launched a number of themed tours, including a "spine-tingling Hallowe’en chiller hosted by famed folklore figure Mad Alice".

The firm said its one-off specials have proved popular with both visitors and locals, with many journeys completely sold out. More are planned for the run-up to Christmas, providing national travel restrictions are relaxed as the Government intends in early December.

City Sightseeing York's general manager, Ben Mansfield, said: “I’m really proud of the hard work our team in York has put in to achieve such impressive success in this challenging year.

"To carry almost 20,000 people in a season which had to be shortened to comply with restrictions on travel and tourism in our city is an amazing achievement.

“A vitally important part of what we do is to act as a visitor gateway to all that York’s tourism industry has to offer. We’re often the first to welcome people to the city when

they arrive, and as our knowledgeable team of drivers and guides all live locally and know the city inside out, we are proud to see our role as ambassadors for York and point to the many other attractions our great city has to offer."

He said that the firm's success has helped York’s tourism attractions to increase their visitor numbers. which he said was vital for jobs and the city’s economy in general.

“Our winning formula this year was underpinned by investment in high-spec buses with free Wi-Fi, USB power, a 10-language speaker system and Clean Air Zone-ready Euro 6 engines," he said.

"The new buses clearly proved highly popular with our customers. Within weeks of their launch, our service won TripAdvisor’s Travellers’ Choice award, placing us among

the top 10 per cent of attractions listed on its global website.

“Following this year’s successful growth and excellent performance, we plan to invest further with additional top-spec buses coming to our City Sightseeing York operation in

2021. This reflects our confidence that the tourism sector is well placed to lead York’s recovery when pandemic restrictions are eased.”

Special discounts for York residents and key workers helped to grow 2020 customer numbers. On the final day before November’s lockdown, all tours were offered at half price to thank everyone for their support this year.

In line with national travel restrictions which began on Thursday, November 5, City Sightseeing York’s bus tours are now suspended until Thursday, December 3.