NEW DELHI: The Hop-On, Hop-Off (HoHo) tours that provided sightseers a ride through the prominent spots in the city until two years ago will make a comeback ahead of the G20 events. Started by Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC) during the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in the capital, the HoHo bus service covered 18 tourist attractions and allowed the visitors the flexibility of getting on a bus at any of the pick-up and drop points.Delhi government’s tourism department is planning to revive the bus service with several new features and attractions, including route rationalisation, additional sightseeing options, increased frequency and G20 branding. “The plan is not to limit the bus to popular monuments, but to take it also to lesser-known monuments and shopping places,” said a tourism official.Another official said, “Also, the plan is to not have just one route. Delhi has a large number of tourist destinations, some of them historical, others cultural or modern. All these cannot be covered by a single route. We are working out different circuits that could intersect at two-three locations to enable the tourists to go to locations of their choice.”If everything goes according to plan, the bus service could be back within a few months. The G20 summit will be held in the capital on September 9 and 10, 2023.According to tourism department officials, several cities across the globe, among them Barcelona, Madrid, London, Washington DC, Sydney, Dublin, Florence and Paris, have well-loved HoHo services and Delhi will replicate their operation model. A live commentary will be provided in English and Hindi with information about the site or place visited.There were plans to revamp the HoHo bus services earlier, but the Covid-19 outbreak brought things to a halt. The contract with the last operator ended in July 2020. For two years since, the tourism department had been planning to revamp the bus service — launched in October 2010 to cater to visitors during the Commonwealth Games — with a proposal to add 80 more historic sites and tourist attractions to the circuit.A senior official said that Delhi government was yet to decide whether the tourism department would run the bus service or hire an agency for operations.The tourism department had also planned earlier to have an ‘experience zone’ behind Red Fort with magic shows, royal camel, elephant and buggy rides and where visitors could dress up as sultans or rajas and ranis for photographs. The project, however, did not materialise.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/hoho-services-will-be-back-in-time-for-g20-summit-in-delhi/articleshow/96379848.cms
