The City Sightseeing name was first used in 1972 after Peter Newman used it for his City Coach Lines company, which ran tours of
London four times a day. In 1998,
Ensignbus revived the name and developed the red livery in the Spanish city of
Seville. There it helped an established sightseeing operator relaunch itself with double-deckers, using the experience and expertise developed with
London Pride Sightseeing, through Ensignbus' vehicle business. With the sale of the London Pride Sightseeing, Peter Newman stated his intention to introduce a global brand of sightseeing buses. It also set up operations in
Sydney, Australia, not as a franchise, but directly owned, during this year. In March 2000, the franchise model was initiated, with tours starting in
Glasgow, Scotland. Startup operations employed a British manager until local staff were trained. During this year, operations expanded in the UK in
York,
Edinburgh, and
Bath. Edinburgh's
Lothian Buses introduced the first purpose-built open top low floor buses. In December of that year, the online booking system was introduced. In 2001, operations expanded further in the UK, Spain, Australia, and into
Copenhagen, Denmark. In 2002, operations in
Alberta, Canada opened but have since closed. Ensignbus acquired City Sightseeing's biggest rival, Guide Friday, Operations were either rebranded as City Sightseeing, or absorbed into existing operators where Guide Friday had been a direct competitor. The acquisition brought City Sightseeing's operations up to nearly 70 cities worldwide with nearly 250 vehicles. It also owned the operation in
Cambridge and
Stratford-upon-Avon, but these were passed to
Stagecoach, who also provided normal bus services in that area. In 2011, Ensignbus sold its 100% ownership of the business to the Spanish franchisee Enrique Ybarra's City Sightseeing Worldwide of Spain. Ensignbus retained its ownership of City Sightseeing in
Sydney, but sold its interest in City Sightseeing Italy and its shareholding in
Washington, D.C. This was sold to
Big Bus Tours in September 2011. Sydney, along with several other locations, including Munich, Frankfurt, Perth and Bristol have all left City Sightseeing, and now operate independently. The
Mornington Peninsula service which commenced 1 November 2014, ceased on 25 January 2015. == Operations ==