Sweets and pieces of chocolate hanging from the handrails awaited passengers on one of Bratislava trams on November 26.
“Help yourself! It’s my birthday,” tram driver Pavel Ďurec told passengers.
Ďurec has worked for the Bratislava Transport Company (DPB) for more than 30 years and spent the last four years making rides more enjoyable – or sweeter – for the public on his birthdays. This year he came to work early to hang all the sweets inside the tram.
“When I saw people getting off my tram all lit up with smiles, the sight makes me smile, too. So, we all made each others’ day that way,” Ďurec said, as quoted by the TASR newswire.
Some passengers chose to deliver birthday wishes to him in the cab directly, while some others wrote messages next to his. Many also heaped praise on the driver for his idea. Ďurec is the only driver employed by DPB who celebrates birthdays in this fashion, and it is sanctioned by the company.
DPB spokeswoman Adriana Volfová said that this is not the only activity used by Ďurec to spread joy among passengers.
“As soon as the first snow falls, he makes a snowman, puts him on the front buffer of the tram and rides with him throughout the whole day. Bratislava passengers have been aware of this tradition for 25 years now,” she said.
