In December 2017, the city of Santa Clarita hosted its popular annual Holiday Light Tour. Launched in 2015, the tour gives passengers a festive and convenient way to tour some of Santa Clarita’s most impressive holiday-decorated neighborhoods. Passengers paid a low monetary fee or donate canned goods. The 2017 Holiday Light Tour took an estimated 890 passengers on the festive journey.
From Thursday, December 21 to Saturday, December 23, the Holiday Light buses departed from the McBean Regional Transit Center and made their way across town. Guests were accommodated by five Dial-a-Ride (DAR) buses and two trolleys, including a brand new trolley, fueled by Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) — the eco-friendly fuel used to power most of the city’s regular fleet.
To drive the festive guest experience, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” was projected for those waiting for a trolley or DAR bus. Those who boarded the trolleys were also enchanted by decorations including stockings, snowflakes and ribbon to mirror the spectacles outside. A few pleasant surprises accompanied these delights, such as a group of cheerful residents passing out candy canes to passengers.
From fares alone, more than 3,000 pounds of food donations were collected for the local non-profit organization, the Santa Clarita Valley Food Pantry. City staff who supervised were very happy with the event and its charitable results, signaling another successful year of Santa Clarita Transit’s Holiday Light Tour. Santa Clarita Transit looks forward to hosting the Holiday Light Tour again next year.
