Ho-Ho-Hold on to your Compass Cards, Rudolph is comin’ to town!

That’s right! The Reindeer Bus (aka: 9543) has saddled up and is out and about spreading some holiday cheer throughout the region.

Spot it, snap it and share it on social media with the hashtag #ReindeerBus. We want to see your pics!

The bus gets bigger and better every year. New this year is an inflatable Santa Claus inside the bus along with improved lights, and larger and more detailed antlers.

Returning are the Rudolph’s flashing red nose, the Christmas lights adorning the outside of the bus from top to bottom, holiday carols, lights and garland inside the vehicle.

A huge thanks to staff who volunteered their time (and decorations) to help deck the bus from top to bottom.

Did you know? The antlers are made out of fiberglass by staff in our body shop and Rudolph’s red nose is a buoy?

The Reindeer Bus operates out of Vancouver Transit Centre, so expect to see it on different bus routes in Vancouver like the 15, 25, 50, 32 and 41. Want to know where it is? Just tweet @TransLink or give Customer Information a call at 604.953.3333. If you’ve been good this year and lucky, you might just bump into Mr. and Mrs. Claus on the bus!

The bus also makes appearances at community events throughout the region. First up — the Telus Vancouver Santa Claus Parade this Sunday, December 2. It will also make appearances at the upcoming Annual Christmas Wish Breakfast at the Pan Pacific  (December 13, 2018 – 6 a.m. – 9 a.m.) and local agencies including the Canuck Place and Ronald McDonald House.

Operating out of Port Coquitlam Transit Centre (PTC) is the Reindeer Bus’s little sibling, the Reindeer Shuttle (aka: 16562)! The elves over at PTC are still decking the halls, but hope to have have this special shuttle servicing Tri-Cities routes soon.

For more than 30 years, staff from Coast Mountain Bus Company (CMBC) have been dressing up one bus and more recently one community shuttle during the holiday season. This initiative began just after the very first Toys for Tots charity drive back in 1985, and every year since, TransLink enterprise employees have committed to donating new unwrapped toys and money for the less fortunate during the holiday season.

Donations are collected from each transit centre, TransLink Lost Property as well as the HQs for TransLink, CMBC, BCRTC and Transit Police. Just before Christmas, we load the Reindeer Bus with all the donated toys and deliver it to the Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau.

These decorated vehicles spread the holiday cheer throughout Metro Vancouver, surprising passengers with a unique ride! Santa, Mrs. Claus and Sparky the bus-operating elf have been known to periodically visit the bus, and stopping at random stops to surprise customers when not in service!