What is the difference between Bigbus and TootBus?
Big Bus and TootBus are both popular hop-on-hop-off sightseeing services in cities like London and Paris, with Big Bus generally offering more comprehensive coverage and extensive guided tours, while TootBus is noted for being more budget-friendly, eco-friendly, and offering unique kids' commentary. Big Bus has a higher volume of routes and stops, often including guided walking tours, whereas TootBus focuses on app-based, self-guided tours.
Big Bus Tours (formerly Les Cars Rouges and The Big Bus Company), is an operator of open top bus sightseeing tours formed in May 2011 after "Les Cars Rouges" and the "Big Bus Company" merged. The company operates in 28 cities of 18 countries with 444 buses operating around the world.
How long is the tour? The Red Route lasts approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes, with buses departing every 10 to 20 minutes. The Blue Route lasts about 3 hours and 20 minutes, with buses running every 10 to 20 minutes. The Green Route lasts about 1 hour, with buses running every 20 minutes.
One of the best bus routes for sightseeing in London is route 11, which passes by some of London's top attractions including St Paul's Cathedral, Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey.
Big Bus Tours operates sightseeing tours of London on open-top double-decker buses. See all the top sights, and enjoy an entertaining and informative recorded commentary, available in a choice of 7 languages. You can hop on and hop off the bus at any Big Bus stop to visit London's key landmarks and attractions.
On our London tours, you will see Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Westminster Abbey, London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden, The Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, St Paul's Cathedral, St. James Palace and many more! Complete your visit to London with a cruise along the river Thames.
London's "1 hour rule" refers to the Hopper Fare, which allows unlimited bus and tram journeys for a single £1.75 fare within one hour of your first tap-in, using the same contactless or Oyster card. It means you can switch between buses and trams as much as you like, even linking with the Tube or DLR (though the main benefit is bus/tram hopping), without paying again, provided your subsequent taps are within 60 minutes of the initial touch.
There are three main types of buses: the data bus, which allows data to travel between the CPU and memory; the address bus, which carries location information of data in memory; and the control bus, which carries control signals.
Book London Hop-on Hop-off tickets and visit the city at your own pace over 24, 48 or 72 Hours. Check out all the wonderful things London has to offer in a day when you hop on board the Tootbus London Discovery tour!
Where can I buy a ticket for the tour? You can purchase tickets on this website, from a member of Big Bus Tours staff at one of our stops or on our buses, and from most London hotel concierges.
Below are some typical configurations and their bus seat capacity: Minibuses: 24-28 passengers. Midi Buses: 33-40 passengers. Large Buses: 54-70 passengers.
Freedom Pass is a concessionary travel scheme, which began in 1973, to provide free travel to residents of Greater London, England, for people with a disability or over the progressively increasing state pension age (60 for women in 2010, increased to 66 for everybody until about 2026, then increasing further).
Bus Lanes usually operate in one of three ways; at peak times only (7am-10am & 4pm-7pm), at peak and interpeak times (7am-7pm) and 24 hrs at any time. Whilst most London Boroughs and TfL tend to follow these standard operating times, local circumstances can sometimes result in variations.
Service: Big Bus wins when it comes to bus frequency, especially at major stops like the London Eye and Marble Arch. The blue route also offers a more frequent service compared to its Tootbus counterpart.
No, an Oyster card is generally not cheaper than tapping with contactless (bank card or phone), as they both use the same "pay as you go" (PAYG) system and have identical fare caps and discounts, making them the same price for most journeys. Contactless is often more convenient as it avoids the £5 Oyster card cost and the hassle of topping up, but Oyster can prevent foreign transaction fees if using a foreign bank card.
Buses 11, 211, C1, and C10 stop near Buckingham Palace. Get off at the Wilton Street bus stop and walk to the entrance. It is just a 3-min walk. For further information, visit the Transport for London website.
