Double decker bust up over tours

A bitter row over the right to offer double-decker bus tours around Vienna has broken out after a German company accused a  Vienna rival of being allowed to operate a monopoly.

The German company based in Munich has been trying for years to get a licence to offer double-decker tours around Vienna and now a legal challenge is set to be heard in the Constitutional Court.

At the moment there is currently only one bus operator licensed to do the tours in Vienna. The so-called hop on hop off tours are extremely popular attractions in other cities like London and are increasingly popular with tourists.

But the Germans claim that the Austrian company Vienna Sightseeing Tours has been allowed to operate a monopoly.

The German company Yellow Cab says it is big business in Vienna and they want to take part. But their initial application was rejected three years ago by magistrates at a court in Vienna who argued that it would cause congestion and it would also be competition that would put at risk the current licence holder.

The German firm however pointed out that they want to take a different route ruling out the traffic congestion argument and accusing rivals of having a monopoly.