Norwich open-top tours return for the second year under First Bus operation, reports David Jordan
On Saturday 24 May, open-top tours returned to the streets of Norfolk’s county city in time for the main summer tourist season. Running daily from Saturday 24 May to 20 September this year, the service offers a scenic circular route with 11 hop-on, hop-off stops around the historic city. Buses run hourly from 1000 to 1600hrs, and while on board passengers can enjoy an audio commentary, rich with local insight and fascinating facts.
With a history of such tours in some shape or form going back over 40 years (albeit with a number of periods of hiatus on the way), 2025 marks the second season where operation has been undertaken on a purely commercial basis by First Bus East of England. Following a reportedly successful but relatively short trial season the previous year, the business has felt confident enough in the medium-term sustainability of such a service to invest further in the project with a new look and new name, as well as a much longer period of operation; the pilot in 2024 lasted little more than a few weeks during peak summer.
Norwich Sightseer is the name that has been selected for the 2025 season and is carried by the part open-top Enviro400 which wears an attractive two-tone blue livery applied in the style of the now standard First Bus ‘Ultraviolet’ scheme. Prior to transferring to Norwich, the bus was used on the spectacular First South West Atlantic Coaster service around the furthest tip of Cornwall, having been converted to open top in 2020, and retains London dual-door configuration from being new to Metroline in 2009. It has been refreshed inside and out prior to starting work in Norwich and it is understood that the wet-weather contingency vehicle will be taken from a member of the standard Norwich-based fleet, many of which have the same Hannover next-stop audio-visual equipment that has been repurposed to provide the detailed commentary on the tour.
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