Music, narration combine for unforgettable bus tour

Visitors and local residents who traipse ’round town aboard any bright red, double-decker AlohaBus are likely to disembark with more knowledge of Hawaii than they had before boarding — as well as a mental soundtrack to accompany the memories.

Gray Line Hawaii/Polynesian Adventure Tours, which operates AlohaBus, was provided with three hours of music to play for passengers by Mountain Apple Co. Inc.

"It was a natural, since they stop at so many of the locations where music is available," said Leah Bernstein, Mountain Apple Co. president.

Those passengers might, after all, want to take chunks of that memorable soundtrack home with them, "as a souvenir of their trip to the islands, (to) edit their photos and video with these songs and show it to their family and friends upon their return," she said.

AlohaBus passengers get headphones allowing them to hear GPS-activated audio guides describe what they’re seeing and where they’re going in English, Japanese, Mandarin, Korean and Spanish.

Now they can listen to uninterrupted music as well, by artists including Amy Hanaiali’i, the Brothers Cazimero, Brother Noland, Hapa and, of course, the late Israel Kamakawiwo’ole.

Hawaiian music "immediately will transport you back to the wonderful vacation you experienced, no matter how much time has passed and how many miles away from Hawaii you may be," Bernstein said.

Adding music was "part of our initial plan," said Lee Collins, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Gray Line Hawaii.

Tasked with researching other double-decker bus tours in selected mainland cities, Collins went to San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York.

"I thought it was a great product, but the challenge was, it was live commentary, in only one language — just English." Also, noise ordinances in some areas of the cities forced the narrators to go silent.

Then there’s the human factor. "If you get a good guide, great," but what if the guide’s mood is not so great one day?

Canadian-based AudioConexus Inc. entered the picture. The company’s GPS-fired system offers up to 20 channels of audio, allowing for the multilingual narration and the music.

Gray Line/PolyAd worked with the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association to prepare the narration, Collins said. It is "the most authentic information anywhere" and is "fun and energizing, and people are going to walk away with this wonderful appreciation for the Hawaiian culture."

The scripts were handled by local and Broadway talent.

Passengers need not choose between the narration and the music, because the tunes are integrated into the scripts — and play between bits of narration. "It just added that dimension that we needed to make it world class," Collins said.

What will become the normal rate of $39 for a basic 24-hour pass is $29 for AlohaBus’ first year (the service started in April) or $24 for military or kamaaina. Additional discounts for kids and longer-duration passes can be found online, at selected hotels and other travel partners, by telephone at 833-3000 or toll-free at 800-622-3011.

"The way we’ve done this, our buses run every 20 minutes. Whenever you get off, another bus will stop by in 20 minutes," so many riders "jump off, shop, grab something to eat" and get right back on the bus and on their way, Collins said.

AlohaBus offers three loop tours, through the city, including Waikiki and downtown with stops throughout; a Pearl Harbor Express; and the Night Loop that goes from Ward Centers through Ala Moana and Waikiki from 5:30 to 10 p.m.

From Dec. 4 through 30, another tour will give people a two-hour ride around Honolulu’s holiday lights — but it will be only two hours if riders don’t hop off at Honolulu Hale or some other stop for food, fun, retail therapy or other frolic before hopping back on.

Reach Erika Engle at erika@staradvertiser.com.