Tour the 'Burgh on an English style bus
She once was part of a fleet that tooled around London, offering double-decker views of Piccadilly Circus and Tower Bridge.
The 1964 Routemaster known as "Martha" now calls Pittsburgh home and plies her way along the sometimes circus-like East Carson Street and across the West End Bridge, offering riders a "tour and explore" experience of the South Side, North Shore, Strip District and Downtown.
"I always wanted to put my own mark on Pittsburgh, give it something it never had before," said Vince LaMonica, 33, of West View.
LaMonica and his wife, Manon -- who own Celebrity Limousines -- started The Pittsburgh Tour Co.'s Double Decker Tours two weeks ago. In late May, they traveled to Canada to pick up their bus, which joined London's transit system the same year Beatlemania hit America.
The tour features "hop-on, hop-off" service, which allows riders to get off the bus at any of the nine stops along the route. The bus returns about every two hours, as it continues subsequent tours. A guide offers bits of history and fun facts about the city from a spot formerly occupied by a "clippie," or bus conductor who took and sold tickets.
The 14-foot-tall London icon is original down to the red paint, bell cord and open rear platform. A front destination blind still reads "Knightsbridge Stn" -- just west of Central London. An authentic diesel scent wafts through the driver's cabin. Even the plaid, moquette fabric covering the seats is the real deal, though a few stitches and patches are required to mend four decades of wear and tear.
Martha is No. 2,174 of 2,760 Routemasters -- including four prototypes -- ever made, said Robert Bird, senior curator at the London Transport Museum. About 1,200 still exist.
Routemasters were launched in 1959 and withdrawn from London service on all but two tourist routes in December 2005.
It is likely the LaMonica's bus was one of many Routemasters sold out of service beginning in the mid-1980s as the new designs were phased in, Bird said.
"Some were then used in other places in the U.K. for a few years and were very popular with passengers," Bird said.
Martha's other destination blinds include places such as Rochford, Ballards Gore and Priory Crescent, which might be "left over from use in Essex, possibly Southend," Bird said.
Diane Fogarty had ridden a double-decker bus in London, but not again until visiting Pittsburgh this week.
"This was my first time to Pittsburgh, and I loved it," said Fogarty of Lakewood, N.J. "I thought the tour was great. I had a good time."
Fogarty's host, Dora Kartsonas of Upper St. Clair, admitted that touring Pittsburgh isn't something she does regularly. Still, she gave her stamp of approval.
"I enjoyed it," Kartsonas said. "We don't come into the city to see all of this. We come in to go to a restaurant but not to tour. This was nice."
One rider learned a bit of personal history on the tour.
Jim Murray of Staten Island, N.Y., retired after 35 years with the Fire Department of New York's "Fort Pitt" Ladder 18 in Lower Manhattan. He had never been to Pittsburgh or heard of the original Fort Pitt.
"I knew they got it from somewhere, that they didn't make it up," Murray said. "They got it from you guys."
LaMonica, a native of Queens, N.Y., hopes his tour becomes a "must-do," even for stamped-in-iron Pittsburghers.
"It's an awesome way to see the city," he said. "And you get to ride on a London bus. I guarantee 99 percent of people in Pittsburgh haven't done that before."
Additional Information:
Take a tour
When: Every two hours starting at 10 a.m. until 8:15 p.m.
Where: A kiosk at East Carson and 27th streets at the SouthSide Works.
Stops: Ninth and East Carson and Station Square on the South Side; near the Carnegie Science Center and PNC Park on the North Shore; the Heinz History Center and Wholey's in the Strip District; and Downtown at the Westin Convention Center and the Omni William Penn hotels before returning to the SouthSide Works. Riders can disembark at any stop, any time, to explore and can resume the tour later.
Tickets: $20; $10 for kids ages 5-13 and free for kids under 5. Riders can buy tickets and catch the bus at any stop.
Details: www.pghtours.com or 412-381-8687.
