NEW DELHI: With the popularity of Hop-On-Hop-Off (HoHo) sightseeing bus service on the wane in recent years, Delhi’s tourism department has planned to ring in changes to revive flagging interest in the service. The proposed changes include altering routes and rationalising ticket prices. A senior Delhi government official, associated with its revamp, said a plan is afoot to add 80 more historic sites and tourist attractions to the existing network.
“At present, the service has only one route, which covers more than 20 tourist sites such as heritage buildings, museums and markets. The department is planning to introduce two more routes after modifying the existing one. The idea is to take the service beyond Red Fort to Civil Lines and Delhi University campus and putting important sites associated with the country’s freedom struggle on the map,” the official said.
HOHO, a Low Floor AC bus, was launched in October 2010 during the Commonwealth Games in the national capital to attract visitors coming to witness the sporting event. The service enables a tourist to get on and off the bus at different points of his choice. A live commentary is also delivered informing about the site or place in English and Hindi.
A guest relations executive travels in each bus, giving all relevant information about all the sites. Based on a successful model operating in 35 countries such as Spain (Barcelona and Madrid), United Kingdom (london), United States (Washington DC), Australia (Sydney), Ireland (Dublin), Florence (Italy), and France (Paris), the service was launched with 15 buses. However, as its occupancy rates dipped to about 20 %, nine buses were withdrawn over the years.
Six buses can ferry about 350 passengers daily. During the winter season and on national holidays, number of riders increases up to 50%.As a step in line with HOHO’s revitalisation plan, the department will also purchase 25 new buses including a few ‘open deck’ buses to attract more riders.“After a destination management plan, we want to procure 25 new buses. We want to run open deck buses, wherever it will be possible. We don’t want to run this service on commercial basis in future.
Therefore, ticket charges for an adult will be reduce to `200, as `500 seems on the higher side. Nowadays, a family can book a cab for about `1,300, which has enough space for a comfortable ride for four people. Hence, the existing price of a single ticket is higher,” said the official, who is privy to the revamp project.
The other reason to slash ticket price is to create a buzz among local sightseers. The officials said besides international tourists, the decision to bring down prices will help draw passengers from the city.