There should be no mistaking the location - the Monument in Washington DC. There could be some mistaking of the bus. The MCW Metrobus bears plates from former South Yorkshire PTE 490, but the City Sightseeing Metrobus fleet is a mixed bag and there is no need to maintain the correct registration plate on a particular bus once the bus has left UK shores. But 318 (JWF490W) is believed to be authentic.
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Metrobus 316 in the DC sightseeing fleet seen in August 2010 is former London Buses M51, still bearing the plate WYW51T. In common with other former London Metrobuses, the centre doors have been panelled over and an UK offside entrance provided centrally opposite the original centre doors.
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The new door arrangement can be seen on former London M729 (KYX729X) whose UK registration appears to be the only means of identification. The bus is seen near George Washington's house downtown (not the White one!).
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MCW Metrobus 325 arrived in Washington by way of Seville, Spain where it had seen use by City Sightseeing. The bus was originally London M45 (WYW45T) but retains its Spanish registration, SE-5947-DG. It is seen here at the main departure point for all city tours, Washington Union Station in the company of its competitors. Immediately behind is the comparatively infrequent Tourmobile which uniquely drives through the Arlington Cemetery. Then there is the Old Town Trolley in orange and green and - finally - in the distance there is an open top Alexander Dennis Enviro500 of Open Top Sightseeing who run a parallel operation to City Sightseeing but with a much newer fleet of Enviros and Ayats bodied Volvos. They are a franchisee for rival Big Bus.
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