Brampton transit riders may find city buses a little less ‘merry’ this time of year.

The city is no longer displaying "Merry Christmas" or “Happy Holidays” messages on Brampton buses following an extensive service review done by the local transit authority last fall.

“Based on this review, staff made the decision to display only route information and messages that directly relate to the service being provided by the bus, effective with Brampton Transit’s recent fall service changes,” said city spokesperson Brian Stittle, noting the lone exception to this practice will be Remembrance Day.

The message of “Lest We Forget” will be displayed “as veterans are entitled to ride for free on this day,” he said.

Brampton will follow other GTHA municipalities that have opted to drop the holiday wishes from the digital destination signs, including Toronto, York Region and Grand River Transit.

Stittle noted that “this was not a directive from Mayor Linda Jeffrey or council.”

City councillors angered some Christians and traditionalists in January after voting to scrap the Lord’s Prayer from council proceedings, in favour of observing a moment of silence at the invocation of every meeting.

At the time, local politicians argued reciting the prayer violated Charter rights and voted (9-2) to keep municipal business secular.

Stittle said religion had nothing to do with Brampton’s decision to take the holiday greetings off buses.

“The review was focused on the customer experience,” said Stittle, noting keeping the message simple allows passengers to easily identify the service/route information provided by the bus.