After having a good experience with Big Bus tours in London, I decided to book 2 days hop-on-hop-off with this company in New York.
However I was not overly impressed with the service.
First of all I had booked my ticket online and it hasn't been made clear that I would need a printed ticket; when I received my online confirmation I was directed to download a ticket to display on my mobile phone and, pleased to be paperless, I was under the impression that's all I needed. But when I boarded my first bus I was told that I should have gone to the main office in Madame Tussaudes to get a printed ticket. I had chosen to board my first bus near Grand Central Station, which is not near Madame Tussaudes so would have been really inconvenient to head out of my way there, and I was also told that as it was around 4pm, the office there would be closed (so was pleased I hadn't made the effort to go there especially). Thankfully the guide and driver were happy for me to board, which was nice of them. (However as I got off to visit the Met museum, I then had an identical conversation when boarding the next bus to continue my journey!)
Secondly, the signage for bus stops needs to be a lot clearer. Or actually exist.
The printed map gives a description of the location of bus stops, for instance between two banks, but it doesn't help when one of those banks is not there any more and there is no bus stop sign on the pavement. Found myself walking up and down in the area, wondering if I was going to be anywhere near where the bus stopped.
Of the 3 guides I experienced, 2 were fine, with good information about the sites etc, but 1 had such a strong accent with a drawl that I found it almost impossible to understand what he was saying. Pity as I think he sounded as if he may have been the most humerous of the lot.
On my second day I boarded the bus outside Madam Tussauds for the downtown route. After a promising start, we hit heavy traffic (nobody's fault and to be expected in a city) nd progress was very slow. Then it seemed roads had been closed due to the United Nations Youth Climate Summit. It was chaos. The guide seemed to have no idea what was going on and we ended up on a diversion. My plan has been to connect with the purple Brooklyn tour but we ended up going in the opposite direction to the area where that bus runs. After a long time sitting in queues, the driver found a side street about 15 minutes walk from 911 museum to dtop us off. Admittedly, we were given instructions on how to find our way from there to the 911 memorial.
However I was astounded that the company do not brief guides and drivers about road closures and diversion plans ahead of the day; not sure how things operate in USA but in UK an application for road closures is publicly known well in advance. After all, this Climate Change Summit was not planned last minute!
I had a short stay in New York and has bought this bus ticket in order to fit in as much as possible so if I'd known how long I'd be stuck on 1 bus, with no hope of connecting to the other, I would have jumped on the subway. It turned out that I was so late getting to the world trade centre area that I had no chance to utilise the extra routes that I had paid for and after my visit to 911 museum my only choice was to get on the subway to head back to midtown where in time to meet friends.
So, for the high price paid, not overly impressed.
Одговор домаћина
Oct 2019
Good Afternoon Philippa D,
We are extremely apologetic for this very unfavorable situation with us, for we strive daily to provide the best sightseeing experience in New York. If you purchase online, you would just simply present your voucher at any one of our stops. If there is not an agent located at the stop you choose to board, you will still be permitted to board and have your voucher scanned at the next stop with an agent. The exception is if you purchase a “Big Pass” ticket that comes with attractions. You are correct, we must improve our sign postage. We always monitor our route to keep updated information and in the belief, we are provide the best sights while moving efficiently.
Our guides are trained to present a commentary that is both informative and enjoyable, explaining the history of different buildings and sights, all while adding information and facts about Manhattan. They are also expected to treat our guests with courtesy, respect and kindness. We appreciate you providing names and descriptions of the tour guides and drivers that you had on your tours, as this information helps us with coaching and retraining to
[email protected].
Whenever we have to change or alter a route, or close a stop completely, we only do so once mandated by the Dept. of Transportation. We post these changes on our website and app under “Service information" with the exception with the little or no notice closures by NYPD. All of our guides and agents are aware of these changes and should be informing customers also. Still, rest assured we working strenuously to improve our communication system in hopes to speed up our alerts. We’re usually known for our exceptional customer service and we regret that we didn’t live up to those expectations here.
Kind Regards,
BBTNY