NEW YORK — New York Attorney General Letitia James announced today that her office has secured more than $2.5 million in penalties from two of New York City’s biggest hop-on/hop-off bus tour companies—Big Bus Tours Limited (Big Bus) and Twin America, LLC (Twin America)—after uncovering a series of illegal agreements that stifled competition and harmed consumers.
Following a comprehensive investigation, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) found that the two companies engaged in collusive deals starting in 2020, where Twin America agreed to exit the bus tour market in exchange for lucrative commissions on reselling Big Bus tickets. In addition, Big Bus operated several Twin America buses to create a false appearance of competition, while allowing Twin America to retain valuable city bus stop permits.
“Healthy competition among bus tour companies helps ensure that the millions of people who visit New York City every year get a high-quality experience,” said Attorney General James. “Twin America and Big Bus colluded behind the scenes to stop competing and split the commissions from ticket sales, cutting services for customers looking for bus tours. Today we are holding them accountable and ending their illegal agreements.”
Collusion That Hurt Consumers
According to the OAG, the companies’ illegal market division reduced customer choice, service innovation, and competitive pricing in the city’s popular bus tour industry. The backroom agreements meant fewer options for tourists and higher costs for a service that many rely on to explore New York City.
As part of the settlements:
- Big Bus will pay $2 million in penalties.
- Twin America will pay $500,000, plus 30% of the proceeds from any future sale of its stock or assets, up to an additional $900,000.
- Both companies will terminate all collusive agreements.
- They are barred from entering any future anticompetitive arrangements and must notify OAG before acquiring any other hop-on/hop-off operators in New York City. A Pattern of Antitrust Enforcement
This latest action adds to a string of high-profile antitrust wins by Attorney General James:
- In March, she won a case against ski resort owner Intermountain for illegally acquiring and shutting down a competitor.
- That same month, she secured a settlement with the NCAA, ending restrictive rules that limited student athletes’ ability to learn about name, image, and likeness (NIL) opportunities before choosing a college.
- In January 2025 and December 2024, she finalized settlements targeting no-poach agreements in the building services sector.
- In May 2024, she joined 40 other states and the Department of Justice in a lawsuit accusing Live Nation and Ticketmaster of monopolizing the live music industry.
Today’s settlement underscores the state’s ongoing commitment to ensuring fair competition and protecting New Yorkers—residents and visitors alike—from deceptive or manipulative business practices.
For more information or to report suspected anticompetitive conduct, visit the New York Attorney General’s website at ag.ny.gov.
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