Employee Spotlight: Streetcar driver helps riders relax, enjoy

Ricky Lovett
Occupation: Streetcar driver / conductor
Family: Married more than 25 years to wife Connie. They have four children.
First Job: Washing cars at Lipsey Motors on Montgomery Street.

Job skills needed now: “Patience. River Street is one way going east. The streetcar goes both ways. People are not yet used to the streetcar being on River Street.”

Job perks: “I feel like I am traveling without leaving Savannah. I meet people from all over the country – regulars and tourists. People come and bring their kids and ride regularly.

“People from all over the world ride and want pictures with the streetcar conductor. Vacations are for relaxation, and I like to help people do that.”

Drawbacks: “There are times when I am alone, but it is sometimes a release for me.”

Advice: “Any day above ground is a good day. Treat people how you want to be treated and not how they might treat you. They could be having a bad day, and you just might make it better for them.”

About the streetcar: “The streetcar is the first of its kind. It was built in Melbourne, Australia, in the 1930s and fully renovated to be a hybrid that runs off bio-diesel and onboard electrical capacitors. It holds 54 passengers. There are only two of this type in the U.S., and this is the only one that’s operational. I call it my little piece of heaven.”