The new double-decker tour buses that recently made their debut in New Orleans drew scrutiny from the City Council on Thursday, with members questioning the effect the buses might have on residential communities and recently repaired roadways. The council's transportation committee heard from French Quarter residents and Malachi Hull, director of the New Orleans Taxicab Bureau, which hands out...
The new double-decker tour buses that recently made their debut in New Orleans drew scrutiny from the City Council on Thursday, with members questioning the effect the buses might have on residential communities and recently repaired roadways.
City Sightseeing New Orleans kicked off their new sightseeing tours on the iconic red double decker bus back in September near Jackson Square.
The council's transportation committee heard from French Quarter residents and Malachi Hull, director of the New Orleans Taxicab Bureau, which hands out permits for tour buses to operate.
Hull said there are seven double-decker buses operating in New Orleans -- five run by a company called City Sightseeing New Orleans and two by New Orleans Bus Vision -- but no new permits are in the offing until their impact is assessed.
On the other hand, Hull said the city ultimately has no cap on tour bus permits. Nor does the council have restrictions on the routes these types of buses can ply outside of historic areas like the French Quarter, although the bureau approves specific routes and the council does have authority to create new restrictions.
Neither of those facts appeared to sit well with Councilwoman Kristin Gisleson Palmer, who chairs the transportation committee.
"So we could be overrun by tour buses across the city and not have recourse?" Palmer said, suggesting the issue might be worth another hearing on its own.
Hull acknowledged the point, but said concerns about market saturation come into play when the bureau decides whether or not to hand out new permits.
Carol Allen, president of the French Quarter group VCPORA, noted that her organization, along with a few others that have formed an ad-hoc committee, recently had a "very positive" meeting with Hull on the issue. But she raised a few concerns, pointing out that double-decker buses can diverge from routes approved by the taxi bureau if they're chartered by groups; that from the vantage of the top deck, tourists will be looking directly into second-floor apartments along Decatur Street; and that not all of the buses are abiding by restrictions on loudspeakers.
The taxi bureau approved double-decker permits on the condition that tour guides would not be serenading the general public with microphones from the second story, instead offering customers headsets with recordings in multiple languages.
Allen said that rule is being flouted. "These buses have been spotted with broadcasting going on," she said. "It's not so much that people like myself are out there standing around in the Quarter trying to take pictures of all violations. People call these in to us and send us pictures."
Hull said any bus company using speakers outside could face a $500 fine and the possibility of having their license suspended or revoked.