Tourmobile
Tourmobile was a sightseeing company that operated in Washington DC from 1969 until 2011.[2][3] The company was founded as a subsidiary of Universal Studios with three buses and grew to become an independent company carrying more than 700,000 passengers per year at $32 per ticket on its fleet of 45 vehicles.[4] Passengers were able to board and alight as often as they liked on the day in which a ticket was purchased.[5][6] Tourmobile operated a legal monopoly for guided tours of the National Mall and Arlington National Cemetery, which prevented the DC Circulator, Capital Bikeshare, WMATA,[7] and other organizations from providing services in highly-traveled parts of the city.[8][9] This monopoly was highly controversial from the start.[10] The National Park Service received an estimated $330,000 per year from the arrangement.[11] After the termination of the Tourmobile contract, companies including Gray Line Worldwide and Open Top Sightseeing began providing National Mall tours.[12] The company's fleet consisted of a distinctive style of bus, the newest of which was manufactured in 1976.[13]