PETERSBURG, Va. -- Riders of a Petersburg bus got a festive surprise on Friday morning.
Instead of his sleigh, Santa spent some time behind the wheel of a Petersburg Area Transit bus.
To the delight of those getting on the bus, he greeted passengers with a hearty holiday greeting.
"Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas!"
Just like delivering presents, Santa knew exactly the route he was taking and where he needed to stop. For passengers on a cold blustery day, seeing Santa behind the wheel was a welcome surprise.
"Oh, it was very exciting, real exciting to see Santa Claus ride through instead of on his sleigh, caught him on the bus in this nice weather!" one passenger said.
The idea of Santa manning the bus came from Theodore Jonas.
"I pitched the idea to one of my supervisors and they took it up the chain and it was approved," Jonas said.
For Jonas, the suit and the beard weren't just for the children.
"These days, we take the holiday spirit with the children and really, we need to go back to the adults and the children to spread the joy," Jonas said.
Santa also made his journey extra sweet by handing each passenger a candy cane.
