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."
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their
RSS