Some 500 Capital Bus drivers are dressing up as Santa Claus this month in what has become a holiday tradition for the company in Taipei.
Capital Bus operates 45 bus routes in the greater Taipei area. Its Santa-clad drivers hand out candies and cookies to passengers during the Christmas season.
Christmas is not a public holiday in Taiwan.
More drivers are volunteering to wear the costumes, which have proven popular with riders.
"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 a station master at Er-chong, Taipei County, surnamed Yang (
The company then asked all its drivers to dress up as Santa Claus on a voluntary basis and most have cooperated, he said. Many other company workers are also donning Santa costumes, which are provided by the management.
Many drivers take pride in being able to extend Christmas greetings to their passengers, but some admit their initial foray into the realm of jolly old St. Nicholas was not easy at first.
"My 10-year-old son was really shocked to see me in a Santa costume. He asked me what I was doing dressed like a clown," a driver surnamed Wu (
After some explanations, his children 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 said his children tell him
"I was a bit shy at first but now I'm used to it," said another driver, surnamed Chao (趙). "I'm very happy to dress up like a Santa Claus to serve my passengers."
Besides adding color to an often drab journey, Santa drivers make sure passengers do not miss their stops.
"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."
Reactions to the Santa service have been "mostly positive," Yang said.
One rider, who preferred to remain anonymous, praised the idea: "I really like the service that they provide."
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) yesterday said that private-sector refiners are willing to stop buying Russian naphtha should the EU ask them to, after a group of non-governmental organizations, including the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), criticized the nation’s continued business with the country. While Taiwan joined the US and its Western allies in putting broad sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022, it did not explicitly ban imports of naphtha, a major hard-currency earner for Russia. While state-owned firms stopped importing Russian oil in 2023, there is no restriction on private companies to
President William Lai (賴清德) is expected to announce a new advanced “all-domain” air defense system to better defend against China when he gives his keynote national day speech today, four sources familiar with the matter said. Taiwan is ramping up defense spending and modernizing its armed forces, but faces a China that has a far larger military and is adding its own advanced new weapons such as stealth fighter jets, aircraft carriers and a huge array of missiles. Lai is expected to announce the air defense system dubbed “Taiwan Dome” in his speech this morning, one of the sources said. The system
RSS