Tourmobile was a sightseeing company that operated in Washington DC from 1969 until 2011. The company was founded as a subsidiary of

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

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. Passengers were able to board and alight as often as they liked on the day in which a ticket was purchased. Tourmobile operated a legal monopoly for guided tours of the

National Mall The National Mall is a Landscape architecture, landscaped park near the Downtown, Washington, D.C., downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institut ...

and

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

, which prevented the DC Circulator,

Capital Bikeshare Capital Bikeshare (also abbreviated CaBi) is a bicycle-sharing system which serves Washington, D.C.; Arlington County, Virginia; the cities of Alexandria, Virginia and Falls Church, Virginia; Montgomery County, Maryland and Fairfax County, Virg ...

WMATA The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA ), commonly referred to as Metro, is a tri-jurisdictional government agency that operates transit service in the Washington metropolitan area. WMATA was created by the United States Con ...

, and other organizations from providing services in highly-traveled parts of the city. This monopoly was highly controversial from the start. The

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

received an estimated $330,000 per year from the arrangement. After the termination of the Tourmobile contract, companies including Gray Line Worldwide and Open Top Sightseeing began providing National Mall tours. The company's fleet consisted of a distinctive style of bus, the newest of which was manufactured in 1976. Tourmobile plaque

References

{{authority control Companies based in Washington, D.C. Travel and holiday companies of the United States National Mall National Mall and Memorial Parks Conservation and restoration of vehicles Transportation companies based in Washington, D.C.