Holiday lights transit bus tour returns this year in Charles City

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

The ride usually includes candy canes, Christmas Carols and a visit from Santa Claus.

Regular riders of the city bus are invited for an evening tour of local Christmas light displays next Tuesday, Dec. 14. Four buses will pick up passengers and then meet in the Hy-Vee parking lot around 5:30 p.m.

Tammy Elthon, director of Charles City Public Transit, said that she expects the tour to take somewhere between 45 minutes and an hour.

“We couldn’t do it last year, which was disappointing to a lot of our riders,” Elthon said. “We have approval to do it this year.”

Elthon said that the tour is not a kids event, that it’s more for residents who aren’t mobile and aren’t able to get out very often.

“We take this so for granted,” she said. “Some of our riders tell us that they never get out after dark.”

Elthon said that this year, the bus tour will spend a lot of time downtown, driving around the display in Central Park. There will be 10-12 people on each bus, and candy canes, Christmas Carols and a visit from Santa are usually part of the ride.

“Santa usually comes aboard on 8th Street,” Elthon said. “That’s a lot of fun for everyone.”