The president of the Board of Supervisors wants to follow New York City’s lead and silence any amplified commentary coming from open-air sightseeing buses that cruise San Francisco’s streets.
David Chiu asked the city attorney on Tuesday to draft legislation for new tour bus regulations, restricting loudspeakers used by tour guides to imform passengers about the sights they’re passing, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The legislation would also crack down on buses that idle too long at curbsides and block traffic, possibly raising the penalty from an infraction to a misdemeanor and increasing the $100 fine.
Some residents hate the noise emanating from the tour buses, according to ABC7. Chiu represents several neighborhoods that are popular with tourists, such as Fisherman’s Wharf, Chinatown, North Beach and Union Square.
Tour bus operators say the city needs to go after buses that are too loud and not require all of them to stop using loudspeakers, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
New York City adopted a law in May that will require open-air tour buses to use headphones for their passengers and silence their loudspeakers. The New York law will be phased in next summer.
