Red double decker buses to ply on Muscat roads

Muscat: Come May and Muscat will have an added attraction of open red double decker buses, like the ones in London, UAE and 12 cities around the world, ferrying tourists across the town, starting from the Muttrah Souq.

The new service, offered by leading Omani travel agency Travel Point and London-based Big Bus, will start with a Panoramic Tour that will have two stops. The open bus tour will start from Muttrah and end in Qurum encompassing the charm of old city and modern edifice like Royal Opera House.

The operators are keen to keep the big buses out of the view of Muscat residents until the day of the soft-launch in mid-May. "We want to keep the element of surprise thus we plan to bring the Red Big Buses in the dark of the night and uncover them only on the morning of the soft launch," Sunil Prabhakar, Group General Manager of Travel Point, told Gulf News on the sidelines of the media briefing held to announce the new service.

In reply to a question, Mike Lees, General Manager, Big Bus Tours, Dubai said that the soft launch in summer season would give them opportunity to iron out any flaws before the peak season starts in October. "To start with, we will offer two-hour Panoramic Tour and give tourists two stops - five minutes at the Marina Bandar Rowda and 20-minute walk through the AL Alam Palace in Muscat," he elaborated.

Talking about scorching heat in summer of May onwards, Lees said that the air-conditioning option would be available in the 77-seat buses.

The fare for the tour will be 15 Omani riyals and would be the same when they start 24-hour hop-on hop-off tour from October onwards.

When asked why the Grand Mosque - the iconic landmark in Muscat - was not included as part of the Red Rout of this new service, Lees promised that they would consider including the Grand Mosque in the hop-on hop-off tour.

"We will look forward to feedback from tourists during the off-peak season and accordingly modify the rout in future," added Prabhakar.

The Travel City General Manager also pointed out that Omani drivers, above the age of 40, will be employed to drive these buses. "They would be given proper training in Dubai before they take behind the wheels in Muscat," he assured.

Prabhakar also said that a dedicated guide on board bus would give commentary throughout the two-hour ride.

When asked, Lees confirmed that the operators would tie up with Cruise Liner around the world to offer Red Bus ride to their passengers as they arrive at the Sultan Qaboos Port, which is very close to the starting point of Red Route at Muttrah Souq.

Lees, who said that the Dubai tours were a great success, sees a great potential in Muscat. "We have been working on this project for almost a year and we are quite optimistic about the success of this new venture in this scenic country," he said, adding that they have so far received good response and support from the local tourism authorities.

The five Red Buses will surely stand out against the backdrop of black-brown mountains of Muscat that is dotted mostly with white symmetrical buildings.