TransLink's fleet of nine Reindeer Buses returns for the Christmas season

TransLink's Reindeer Bus fleet (TransLink)

It’s that time of year again when TransLink starts to spread some holiday cheer.

As of today, the fleet of nine Reindeer Buses has been redeployed to bus routes across Metro Vancouver.

Each Reindeer Bus is named after a different reindeer guiding Santa’s sleigh, and the routes these buses will travel vary each day based on bus depot scheduling.

Decorating the buses with the Christmas festive spirit — giant red noses, eyes, and antlers for the exterior, and decked-out interiors with lighting and other decorations — has been a longtime tradition of workers with TransLink subsidiary Coast Mountain Bus Company.

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While this tradition is intended to cheer up everyday passengers, it also serves the purpose of benefiting families with young children who are in need through the “Toys for Tots” initiative. For 37 years, bus drivers and maintenance workers have been collecting toys and cash donations for the Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau. Over the decades, nearly 90,000 toys and more than $53,000 have been donated.

The entire effort from dressing up the buses to undergoing the fundraising and toy-collecting effort is completely volunteer-driven.

#TransLink is deploying a fleet of 9 reindeer buses for the 2021 Christmas season! Look out for them on the bus routes. #ReindeerBus 🦌🎄🎅https://t.co/J7K69c3swK pic.twitter.com/2UWmR0zKtB

— Kenneth Chan (@iamkennethchan) November 25, 2021

TransLink Reindeer Bus (TransLink)

Prior to the pandemic, the fleet of Reindeer Buses was typically fewer than a handful of buses, but starting in Christmas 2020 this was expanded to nine to spread the holiday cheer to more people.

The public can donate to Toys for Tots by dropping off unwrapped toys until December 14, 2022, at the TransLink Customer Service Centre inside Waterfront Station, SkyTrain Customer Assistance Counter at Commercial-Broadway Station (Millennium Line side), or leave them with SeaBus staff at the Lonsdale Quay SeaBus Terminal.

In addition to the Reindeer Buses, the West Coast Express Santa Train will be making its first return this year since the onset of the pandemic. On the weekend of December 3 and 4, 2022 families can take the train for free in exchange for a new, unwrapped toy or cash donation made during the mornings.

TransLink is encouraging passengers to use the hashtag #ReindeerBus when they upload a picture of the special buses to social media.

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