Santa Claus is coming to Toon

Public transport users will be rewarded with gifts from Santa every Friday in December

An army of Santas will be out in force in the run up to Christmas to find out who’s been naughty or nice on December’s Festive Fridays.

The Go Smarter Santas sent out by Smarter Choices, Tyne and Wear’s sustainable transport team, will be rewarding public transport users from across the North East for sustainable behaviour.

Stephen Psallidas, Smarter Choices project manager said: “We really wanted to organise something festive that would reward those making the smarter choice to use sustainable transport, and to show our appreciation for them doing their bit to lower the region’s carbon emissions.”

On the three Festive Fridays before Christmas, commuters with a valid Metro, bus or train ticket or pass for that day will have the chance to win prizes including a trip to Paris, along with free public transport tickets from Go North East, Arriva and Metro.

The Santas will be targeting commuters each Friday at various Metro and bus stations across the region including Central and Haymarket Stations in Newcastle, Park Lane Interchange in Sunderland, and North Shields Bus and Metro Interchange.

Stephen added: “Festive Fridays will not only reward current public transport users, but hopefully encourage others to make the switch to sustainable travel.

“We have a great public transport network operating across Tyne and Wear. Bus, Metro and trains run frequently and are a reliable, convenient and good valueoption for commuters. It’s to everyone’s advantage to lower traffic volumes across the region, and by making the smarter choice and switching to sustainable, you could well be rewarded for your efforts.”

For more information visit www.gosmarter.co.uk.