Bringing Christmas cheer to Auckland commutes

As the clock ticks down to Christmas, we’re helping to spread seasonal cheer throughout New Zealand’s biggest city, supporting Auckland Transport (AT) Christmas Joy Rides campaign.

As part of their activity, a fleet of seven gift-wrapped buses have taken to the streets, bringing colour, fun, and a bit of magic to commutes across the city.

Six out of the seven eye catching rides are proudly operated by Kinetic, and one of our very own bus drivers based out of our New Lynn depot was chosen as the face of the supporting social media.

AT held its own ‘search for a superstar’ across all operators to find a bus driver with star quality to help bring the campaign’s Christmas magic to life. Jona won over the judges with his unique take on carpool karaoke.

His TikTok account, @thatbusguynz, has taken off, racking up more than 145,000 likes in just three weeks. The wave of positive comments under his posts shows just how much joy Jona is bringing to people near and far. Alongside his social media stardom, Jona, with support from the New Lynn team, is getting involved in campaign activities across the wider Auckland community. 

A few recent highlights include featuring on a national radio show, broadcast live from one of the wrapped buses; making his television debut with an interview on TV1’s Seven Sharp, and joining New Zealand’s biggest Santa Parade, which saw an estimated crowd of 150,000 people pack the city centre for a glimpse of Santa (and Jona).

There’s still plenty to come from Jona and the Joy Rides campaign, including the once in a lifetime opportunity to light the Christmas tree at Coca-Cola Christmas in the Park on Saturday 13 December – a free, family-friendly community event at the Auckland Domain.

As the festive season approaches its peak, our team is committed to delivering more than just journeys. With Jona leading the way and representing Kinetic drivers nationwide, we’ll keep striving to bring moments of joy and connection to commutes across Auckland – and throughout Aotearoa - making every ride a little brighter.

 

When campaigns collide: Jona with content creator Robert Richards, who visited our New Lynn depot Christmas celebration to capture content for our Thanks Driver campaign as it wraps up for the year.