Next time, take a bus: Actor Kareena Kapoor in Delhi. (PTI file picture)

New Delhi, Dec. 13: Imagine a Delhi where you can enjoy the sights sitting in a bus with wide windows, get off at Red Fort and soak in the atmosphere, walk out and catch the bus again, perhaps to Qutab Minar or Dilli Haat.

The Great Delhi Tour is here. From the realm of imagination, it rolls on the roads tomorrow. Inspired by London?s The Big Bus Company, Delhi tourism is launching hop-on, hop-off tourist buses that will touch Connaught Place, Red Fort, the National Museum, the Lotus temple, Qutab Minar and Dilli Haat.

London-struck during a recent visit to Europe, Delhi tourism minister Arvinder Singh Lovely has brought back the idea for the lakhs of international and domestic tourists who visit the capital every year.

?With these buses, the tourist will have transport and do sight-seeing at the same time. Delhi is such a beautiful city and this bus is going to leave that impression on the tourists,? said Lovely.

The buses for the tour will be distinctive, painted with Delhi?s monuments. They won?t be open-top or have glass ceilings now, but the 18-seater minibuses would be air-conditioned and the windows would be larger than usual.

It is a pilot run, said Delhi tourism officials and initially there will be only two buses running on two different routes. Both will start from Connaught Place and while one will take the Red Fort-National Museum-Dilli Haat route, the other will go via Lotus Temple and Qutab Minar. The ticket for the entire tour will be Rs 100; each hop will cost Rs 25.

For foreigners, the buses could be ideal to enjoy the monuments and shopping attractions of the capital without having to worry about harassment at the hands of autorickshaw/taxi drivers or the notorious touts.

The menace recently forced Delhi police to employ special tourist police personnel at strategic points.

In London, The Big Bus Company with its fleet of open-top buses with hop-on, hop-off facility is the best and cheapest way to see the city. On purchase of a ticket that has several complimentary offers, the bus gives tourists the option of taking a whirlwind tour of the full circuit or hop off and on at dozens of its world famous attractions.

The company began in 1991 with only two buses. Now it has 400 buses in its fleet. The idea has become so popular that similar bus tours have been started in Dubai (2002) and in Philadelphia (2003).

The Great Delhi Tour plans to include other historical destinations like Humayun?s Tomb, Tughlakabad Fort, Lutyen?s Delhi in its itinerary and throw in stops at major shopping areas like Hauz Khas Village, Dilli Haat, Khan Market, Connaught Place and Santushti Complex, among others.

The ambitious plan holds out the promise of a hassle-free and fulfilling experience for tourists, but much of its success will depend on the frequency of the buses and how well they are able to maintain the timetables.