New "hop-on hop-off" double decker bus service coming to Christchurch

Visitors on Hassle Free double decker bus

Hassle-free Tours announced that they will be launching a new city sightseeing “hop-on, hop-off” double decker bus service to help encourage visitors and residents to get out and explore Christchurch’s many widespread attractions.

The new hop-on hop-off service will replace the current double decker 1-hour central city tour, providing passengers with increased flexibility to enjoy Christchurch’s top attractions at their own pace. The new service will also navigate the city on a tour route nearly double the size of the previous one.

Mark Gilbert, Owner and Managing Director of Hassle-free Tours, believes that the new service will fulfil a gap in the market-place, encouraging visitors to explore Christchurch beyond the central city limits.

The hop-on hop-off city circuit route will also include Riccarton Mall, Margaret Mahy playground and popular central city attractions such as; The Arts Centre, Cathedral Square, Cardboard Cathedral, New Regent Street, The Art Gallery and Botanic Gardens.“The predicted growth in tourism and increased pressure on our city’s roads makes a modern double decker bus service a great solution to traffic congestion, offering higher seating capacity yet occupying less road space than a standard bus,” says Mark. “We want to encourage visitors to enjoy the city’s many ‘hidden’ treasures outside of the central city including recently re-opened heritage buildings such as Riccarton House and Bush and Mona Vale Homestead and Gardens.”

“Double-decker hop-on hop-off city sightseeing tours are extremely popular in all major cities throughout the world thanks to their unique, uninterrupted views, varied tour routes and informative, entertaining commentaries,” said Mark. “We are confident that this new service will help provide a much-needed boost to our city’s tourism economy and look forward to welcoming both visitors and local residents on-board.”

Hassle-free Tours plan to invest over half a million dollars in this project which includes the purchase of a brand new ANKAI open top double decker bus. The bus is being purpose built to handle Christchurch’s unique road conditions and will include the very latest technology and safety features. It will also run on environmentally friendly bio-fuel like the rest of the Hassle-free Tours fleet.

The hop-on hop-off service will utilise up to three modern and classic double decker buses with each vehicle seating up to 60 passengers. Local guides will provide a live informative and entertaining commentary about the history of the city throughout the journey. Multi-lingual commentaries will also be available in Mandarin, Japanese, German, French, Spanish and Portuguese via an in-built GPS operated system.

Commencing 1 November the Christchurch hop-on hop-off service will operate half hourly departures from 10am to 5pm throughout summer. In winter, (1 May – 31 October) the service will run hourly departures from 10am to 4pm.