Big Bus, a subsidiary of a London-based tour bus franchise, has opened operations in Los Angeles, challenging the city's biggest tour company, Starline.
Big Bus hopes to steal customers from Starline Tours by offering guides to narrate tours for its hop-on-hop-off bus rides. Starline Tours uses prerecorded audio narration that tourists listen to through onboard headsets as they ride the company’s 130 buses. The California Public Utilities Commission doesn’t keep data on the number of sightseeing bus companies in Los Angeles County, but the agency reports that 2,624 passenger carrier businesses — including limousines, charter buses and tour bus companies — operate in the county. That total is up sharply from the 1,275 that operated in 2015.
Sapir expanded his tour company and bought out his biggest competitor, Grayline Tours, before selling it. “Competition is always good in this industry,” said Kami Farhadi, chairman of Starline Tours. “You learn from each other to make sure you are better at what you do.”Starline plans to keep hold of its dominant position in the county and expand beyond Hollywood sightseeing tours, Farhadi said.Starline’s sister company, Tour Coach, operates more than 150 coaches that large groups of visitors can charter to long-haul destinations such as Las Vegas or the Grand Canyon.
Big Bus also offers prerecorded audio narration, but it is supplemented by a live tour guide on each bus.