- Title: Amphibious tour bus makes a splash in its Paris debut
- Date: 26th August 2021
- Summary: SEVRES, FRANCE (AUGUST 25, 2021) (REUTERS) AMPHIBIOUS BUS DRIVING FROM GROUND TO RIVER WATER SPLASHING ON BUS WINDSCREEN AS BUS ENTERS WATER PASSENGERS LOOKING AT VIEW BOATS ON SEINE AMPHIBIOUS BOAT SAILING ON SEINE PASSENGERS LOOKING AT VIEW (SOUNDBITE) (French) 8-YEAR-OLD PASSENGER FROM PARIS' SUBURBS, MARCEL PINAULT, SAYING: "It is something that is a bit strange. But it is very different from other boats, and other buses. It's a mix of both." PARIS, FRANCE (AUGUST 25, 2021) (REUTERS) AMPHIBIOUS BUS DRIVING PAST EIFFEL TOWER AMPHIBIOUS BUS DRIVING TOWARDS ARC DE TRIOMPHE AMPHIBIOUS BUS DRIVING AROUND ARC DE TRIOMPHE PRESIDENT AND CO-FOUNDER OF "LES CANARDS DE PARIS" AMPHIBIOUS TOUR BUS COMPANY, PAUL MICHEL, OPENING ACCESS FOOTBRIDGE MICHEL SHOWING FLYER TO MAN (SOUNDBITE) (French) PRESIDENT AND CO-FOUNDER OF "LES CANARDS DE PARIS" AMPHIBIOUS TOUR BUS COMPANY, PAUL MICHEL, SAYING: "So here you can see the front of the bus is shaped like boat's prow, to allow it to sail in the water, more easily than if it were a squared bus front, which would slow it down. Here is the access footbridge, which is used for boarding. Because compared to a traditional bus, this deck is particularly high, to be as far from the water as possible, for safety reasons." FEET WALKING DOWN FOOTBRIDGE (SOUNDBITE) (French) PRESIDENT AND CO-FOUNDER OF "LES CANARDS DE PARIS" AMPHIBIOUS TOUR BUS COMPANY, PAUL MICHEL, SAYING: "All the life jackets are up here, life belts, and there are many safety features for sailing on the river. You can see the wheels here. The wheels stay in the water. People often ask if they fold up or not, but no they stay in the water and they can even help us nanigate. The front wheels are so big that they allow us to direct (the bus). So the driver uses the steering wheel on the ground but also on the water." LIFE JACKETS AND LIFE BELT ON BUS' CEILING PROPELLER SHAFT AT BACK OF BUS BUS PARKED IN FRONT OF EIFFEL TOWER TOUR GUIDE TALKING IN MICROPHONE WITH PEOPLE LISTENING PINAULT RAISING HAND PASSENGERS ANCHOR SEVRES, FRANCE (AUGUST 25, 2021) (REUTERS) AMPHIBIOUS BUS SAILING WOMAN HELPING CHILD PUTTING ON LIFE JACKET MAN HOLDING CHILD LOOKING AT VIEW CHILD LOOKING AT VIEW PARIS, FRANCE (AUGUST 25, 2021) (REUTERS) TOUR GUIDE TALKING TOURISTS FROM NEW-YORK, CHLOE AND CLAUDINE LOOKING AT VIEW (SOUNDBITE) (English) 41-YEAR-OLD TOURIST FROM NEW-YORK AND INTERIOR DESIGNER, CLAUDINE, SAYING: "We got to see parts of Paris that we didn't see on other tours." JOURNALIST: "Like what?" CLAUDINE: "Like where we went in the water, and we saw the houseboats, and it was just a different part of Paris than we had seen before." SEVRES, FRANCE (AUGUST 25, 2021) (REUTERS) AMPHIBIOUS BUS DRIVING FROM GROUND TO RIVER / SAILING PARIS, FRANCE (AUGUST 25, 2021) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) 12-YEAR-OLD TOURIST FROM NEW-YORK, CHLOE, SAYING: "I just thought it was like cool how we got to go in the water. And it was kind of unlike anything else we've done in Paris so far, so it was a lot of fun." SEVRES, FRANCE (AUGUST 25, 2021) (REUTERS) WATER SPLASHING ON BUS WINDSCREEN AS BUS ENTERS WATER CHILD SEATED ON DRIVER'S LAP HOLDING STEERING WHEEL PARIS, FRANCE (AUGUST 25, 2021) (REUTERS) HAUSSMANNIAN BUILDING WITH PASSENGER, VALERIE KORN, LOOKING AT VIEW TOUR GUIDE TALKING (SOUNDBITE) (French) PASSENGER WHO LIVES IN PARIS, VALERIE KORN, SAYING: "Actually I wanted to treat my niece and her best friend to a day in Paris. So I was looking for something original to do in Paris, and interesting as well, because they are 17 years old. And I thought of the visit and the splash." "LES CANARDS DE PARIS" AMPHIBIOUS TOUR BUS COMPANY LOGO ON SHIRT / TOUR GUIDE AMPHIBIOUS BUS PARKED (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) 12-YEAR-OLD TOURIST FROM ITALY, GIULIA GALLO, SAYING: "It was very different from the usual but it was very nice." "LES CANARDS DE PARIS" LOGO ON BUS MICHEL TALKING TO PEOPLE BUS PARKED IN FRONT OF EIFFEL TOWER
- Embargoed: 9th September 2021 08:57
- Keywords: France Paris amphibious bus boat bus innovation tourism
- Location: PARIS & SEVRES, FRANCE
- City: PARIS & SEVRES, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Topics: Europe,Living/Lifestyle,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA001ERX1YYV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: It looks like a bus that has taken a wrong turning as the vehicle speeds down a slipway into the River Seine, scattering swans and prompting screams from the passengers.
But when the splash subsides, the bus floats serenely along the river.
Welcome to one of the French capital's newest tourist attractions: an amphibious bus that drives along the city streets, and then converts instantly into a river-going pleasure boat.
"It was very different from the usual," said Giulia Gallo, a 12-year-old girl from Italy who was on board the bus for an excursion this week. "But it was very nice."
Amphibious tour buses -- commonly known as ducks -- have been used for years to ferry tourists around other cities in the world.
They are often modified military sea-borne assault craft.
Some have made headlines by sinking, or catching fire.
But the version in use in Paris is a new purpose-built design constructed largely in France, and, according to its operators, it is the first amphibious vehicle to gain a license to carry tourists on the roads and waterways of Paris.
The tours have been run since this summer by a firm called "Canards de Paris", French for ducks of Paris.
On an excursion this week, the vehicle in conventional bus mode carried passengers past sights including the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower.
Later, the bus switched to boat mode, engaging its propeller at the rear, to float along the river Seine.
Life vests were suspended from the ceiling, and an anchor was stowed in a box on the side of the bus.
Marcel Pinault, an 8-year-old from a suburb near Paris who was on the bus with his family, said it was "very different from other boats, and other buses. It's a mix of both."
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