his month in order to bring seasonal greetings to commuters and to make their usually bland bus rides more colorful and memorable. The Santa drivers, introduced by Capital Bus, which operates 45 bus routes in the greater Taipei area, also hand out candies and cookies to passengers during the Christmas season. Christmas is not a public holiday in Taiwan.
More and more drivers undergo the voluntary Yuletide transformation, which started a few years ago, following growing public demand.
"We had only a few Santa drivers at first, but many passengers would wait at the bus stops for Santa drivers and buses with Christmas decorations," said Yang Shu-ting, the station master at Er-chong, Taipei County.
The company then asked all its drivers to dress up as Santa Claus on a voluntary basis and most drivers have cooperated, Yang added. Many other staff members also wear Santa costumes, which are provided by the management.
Over the years, many drivers have taken pride in being able to bring Christmas greetings to bus passengers but for at least some of them, taking on this extra role was not easy at first.
"My 10-year-old son was shocked to see me in a Santa costume and asked me what I was doing dressed like a clown," said Wu Chen-sen.
After some explanation, his children had a change in attitude and are now proud to have a dad who is a Santa driver.
"It's going to be December again. Don't forget to become a Santa driver," Wu's children remind him.
Another driver, Chao Er-ge, said: "I was a bit shy at first but now I'm used to it."
"I'm very happy to dress up like a Santa Claus to serve my passengers," he added.
Besides adding color to the journey, Santa drivers make sure passengers do not miss their stops.
"Welcome aboard Capital Bus Route 292 from Er-chong to Lin-Gwang MRT Station. Next stop Zhong-shan MRT Station," a driver announces.
"I was too shy to address the passengers at first," Wu said. "But now, even if there is only one person left on the bus, I still make the announcements."
"It has become a habit," said Wu, who also drives a Route 292 bus.
Reactions from passengers to the Christmas service have been "mostly positive," said Yang.
A passenger, who preferred to remain anonymous, praised the idea and said: "I really like the service they provide."
Capital has been named Taipei's top bus operator 16 times by the city government's Department of Transportation.
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