Driver finds her passion in steering Atlanta streetcars

Eraka Kilgore was visiting Atlanta in 2014 when she spotted a streetcar running along Auburn Avenue. That made her want to move here.

“I saw it and my eyes lit up,” said the smiling 46-year-old mother of adult twins.

By the next year Kilgore was behind the master controls of the enormous vehicle that can seat 90 passengers.

“I just like driving large vehicles,” said Kilgore, who worked in her native Milwaukee as a school bus and city transit driver.

Her shift can start as early as 4:30 a.m. or as late as 4:30 p.m. She drives a 30-minute, 2.7-mile loop that takes her into the heart of downtown with stops at Georgia State University, along Auburn Avenue and at Centennial Olympic Park.

The biggest potential hazards? Drivers and pedestrians who are walking and listening to something with their headphones or a driver not paying attention to turns, running red lights or trying to go around a streetcar. “You have to be well aware of your surroundings,” she said.

The way the streetcar’s interior is designed there’s not a lot of opportunity for the driver to interact with passengers, unlike most city buses. Still, she has met many visitors from overseas.

It will be especially exciting this weekend as an estimated 150,000 out-of-town visitors come for Super Bowl LIII.

She’s a big Green Bay Packers fan, so “my team isn’t in it, but I’m still good with it,” she said.

Eraka Kilgore