The capital’s public transport – an unexpected story: love was born 30 years ago at the wheel of a trolleybus

We tend to compare generations, periods, changes in people’s habits, and perceptions of leisure. But we know that one thing that has always brought people together is a common activity or approach to life. This is how Veslava and Richard, who have been looking in one direction for more than half their lives, react to their happiness today. Lovers who switched rings in the 1930s first saw each other behind the wheel of a trolleybus.

Veslava, who modestly shared the family’s story, recalls seeing Richard working as a trolleybus driver at the time when she was working as a driver in the Žirmūnai trolleybus network. At the dawn of independence, young people who had not mastered a vehicle that was not easy for everyone to understand, often of its complexity and sophistication, did not expect to dedicate most of their lives to this activity, but a common pastime and understood understanding . everything as it should.

He got acquainted with the potato digger

Even then, Richard and Veslava, who had more than a hundred colleagues who transported passengers with electric cables, got to know each other better not in the entrances of the public transport parks, but in an aid that unites family and friends until the day of today. The coworker, who invited the young people to help with the potato harvest, did not suspect that the colleagues who had the opportunity to speak more during this activity would come closer to life.

Today, Veslava, who does not give details of her relationship history, is very happy with the family created together with Richard and the relationship based on mutual understanding and respect.

“I remember when our daughter was born, the whole park saw her grow up. Since we worked in shifts, we switched from hand to hand on a special small conveyor. Together we shared a vehicle, so at the end of the shift we always met three by three: we handed over all the relays. (smiles) I really appreciate the man’s understanding and courage to keep the two babies for a few months when I went to work. I think this care is reflected in the extremely close relationship between husband and daughter even today, ”says Veslava Simaškienė with a smile in her eyes.

A relationship of understanding and trust allowed Richard and Weslav to drive a two-way trolley almost every day for 20 years. To this day, husband and wife, who remember the trolley number, who “belonged” together, expand and complement their thoughts on the life of the park, understand each other’s work and reflect on the current challenges of public transport.

Shifts at work, but not in life

Today, in Antakalnis, a public transport park, working husbands do not see each other often. The couple who made the decision to get out of the trolley cabin due to loss of health are already working differently, but like the entire public transport system, interdependent jobs. Today Veslava occupies a position of responsibility as an accountant: her phone is never silent.

A woman who routinely assigns work and vehicle accounts to drivers responds to her work as an activity that requires a lot of flexibility, memory and human understanding.

For Richard, meanwhile, the busiest time of day is when his wife is already asleep. In the evening, Richard and his colleagues are responsible for the technical condition of all trolleys returning to the park, their cleanliness, order, and preparation for tomorrow’s work. The man who works as a driver disagrees with the publicly stated idea that people rest in parks at night. Climate-sensitive electric drive machinery requires constant attention and maintenance so that traffic does not stop on city streets and passengers reach their destination safely and comfortably.

As Valentine’s Day approaches, the invited husband and wife smile at each other, even through protective masks. Today Veslava and Ričardas Simaškos, who do not consider their life story unique, are not the only ones who have created a family at UAB Vilniaus Viešasis transportas. But they believe the two trolley mustache cables that intertwined their lives a few decades ago are the ones that allow them to share the joy in half today.