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Here’s what happened to the double-decker tour buses downtown

City Sightseeing of San Antonio closed shop in January

Old Town Trolley Tours, featuring orange and green-style busses, offers visitors a 90-minute narrated tour with 14 stops throughout San Antonio. (Photo by Bria Woods/San Antonio Report) (Copyright 2024 by San Antonio Report - All rights reserved.)

SAN ANTONIO – Remember the bright, red double-decker tour buses downtown? Well, they have gone out of business, and a new company has taken their place.

David Strainge, founder of City Sightseeing of San Antonio, started the trolley company in 2010, according to the San Antonio Report. He opened the company as a franchise of the international tour bus operator based in Seville, Spain.

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City Sightseeing closed shop in early January. Since the closure, Strainge has branched off into other business opportunities.

This has made way for Historic Tours of America to bring Old Town Trolley Tours to San Antonio.

“The timing could not have been more perfect. We have been looking to expand and the opportunity presented itself in this amazing city,” said Historic Tours of America’s CEO Chris Belland.

Old Town Trolley Tours, featuring orange and green-style busses, offers guests a 90-minute narrated tour with 14 stops throughout San Antonio.

City Sightseeing closed shop back in January, making way for Historic Tours of America to bring Old Town Trolley Tours to San Antonio. (Copyright 2024 by Historic Tours of America - All rights reserved.)

The 12-mile tour ride includes stops at the Alamo Plaza, Japanese Tea Garden, San Antonio Zoo, Witte Museum, Botanical Gardens, The Pearl, San Antonio Museum of Art, Veteran’s Memorial Park, The Tobin Center, Buckhorn Saloon, E. Houston Street, Spanish Governor’s Palace, Historic Market Square, Tower of the Americas, Hemisfair, The Alamo, and the Crockett Hotel.

“San Antonio is a city with incredible history, attractions, sites, and fabulous people which is what we look for when going into a city,” said Belland.

Old Town Trolley Tours also offers a ‘Hometown Pass’ to Bexar County residents, granting free access when bringing an adult paying guest, according to a press release.

In addition to San Antonio, the release mentioned Old Town Trolley Tours also operates in Key West, Boston, Washington, Savannah, St. Augustine, San Diego, and Nashville.

For more information, click here.


About the Author
Spencer Heath headshot

Spencer Heath is a Digital Journalist at KSAT. Spencer graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied Radio-Television-Film. He’s worked as a journalist in San Antonio since June of 2022. Outside the newsroom, he enjoys watching movies and spending time with family.

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