Ride the Ducks

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Ride the Ducks
Amphibious vehicle tours
Industry Tourism
Founded Branson, Missouri, 1977
(47 years ago)
 (1977)
Founder Bob McDowell
Headquarters Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Number of locations
5
Subsidiaries Classic Cable Car, Amphibious Vehicle Manufacturing
Website www.ridetheducks.com

Ride the Ducks is a national duck tour operator, and an eponymous tourist attraction in U.S. cities such as Branson, Missouri; Newport, Kentucky; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Stone Mountain Park, Georgia.[1] It makes use of over 90 amphibious vehicles (nicknamed "ducks") to provide tours of cities by boat and by land. Ride the Ducks is owned by Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation, which is involved in various family entertainment ventures.

Ride the Ducks of San Francisco operates Classic Cable Car Sightseeing in which customers can take a city tour on a San Francisco Classic Cable Car.[2]

Similar duck-boat based tours operate in other cities (such as Cincinnati, Boston, Portland, Seattle,[3] and Toronto), but are not operated by Ride the Ducks. Ride the Ducks has provided vehicles to some of these other companies, such as their relationship with Boston Duck Tours.[4]

The Ducks

File:Ride the Ducks retro logo.png
Ride The Ducks logo 1986 - 1995

The actual vehicle is based on the famous World War II DUKW amphibious design (see post-war use). Today, the company manufactures its own amphibious vehicles that incorporate advances in marine design and safety.[5] Drivers are certified by the Coast Guard and hold commercial drivers' licences, and the vehicles are all equipped with personal flotation devices.[6]

Incidents

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The duck boats operated by Ride the Ducks have been involved in a number of incidents. In July 2010 one of the amphibious vehicles stalled on the Delaware River in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was struck by a barge, sinking the duck boat and killing two of the passengers. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of the accident was the tugboat operator's inattention to his duties.[7]

On May 8, 2015, a Ride the Ducks boat struck and killed a woman crossing the street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's Chinatown section. Witnesses at the scene say that the woman crossed against a red light while viewing content on a tablet and was struck while in the boat's front blind spot. The incident is still being investigated.[8]


References

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  5. [1] Archived February 26, 2009 at the Wayback Machine
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  8. "Woman Struck, Killed by Duck Boat in Philadelphia's Chinatown Section." 6abc.com. ABC Inc., WPVI-TV Philadelphia, 8 May 2015today it was. Web. 8 May 2015.

External links