Sightseeing bus service Toon Tour in Newcastle and Gateshead has become the inaugural winner of the UK Open Top Bus Cup.
The circular hop-on, hop-off service beat fellow finalist New Forest Tour in the Ticketer-sponsored contest, which was decided by votes on social media over the August Bank Holiday weekend.
The competition was set up by Great Scenic Journeys and began with 32 entries at the beginning of July, these being whittled down knockout-style until the final two fought it out from last Friday to yesterday. Ultimately, Toon Tour polled 62.2% of the 831 votes versus the 34.8% for New Forest Tour.
Ben Maxfield, Business Director at Go-Ahead North East, which operates Toon Tour, says: “We are thrilled to hear that our Toon Tour has been named the best open-top bus tour in the UK.
“The team work hard to make this service a success and I think it’s a fantastic way to see the area. I’d encourage anyone who fancies to go for a ride, it is particularly good for a day out with the kids.”
Toon Tour starts and finishes at Newcastle Central Station and includes 20 stops, taking in sights including the Quayside, Sage Gateshead, St James’ Park football ground and Great North Museum for an adult fare of £12.50.
Aside from New Forest Tour, operated by Go-Ahead’s Morebus, other tours to make the semi-finals were Jurassic Coaster and Skycar 69. Portland Coaster, Land’s End Coaster, Peak Sightseer and Edinburgh City Tour were among those going out at the “group stage”.
All entrants are featured as part of the collection of Great Scenic Journeys, which promotes transport trips of leisure interest and scenic interest across UK and Republic of Ireland. Launching in March 2022, it was set up as a portal to accredit and recommend bus routes.
Alex Warner, Chief Executive of Great Scenic Journeys, says: “We’re not surprised that both Toon Tours and New Forest Tours made it to the Final. We carry out customer service reviews of all the routes that are part of the Great Scenic Journeys collection, and these performed really well in their reviews last month.
“You can’t get much different when it comes to the scenery in the eclectic Toon and the stunning New Forest landscape, but both companies share a passion for making customers happy. The Geordie locals, also got massively behind their favourite route and roared them on to victory, with their customary gusto and fervour”.
