Gritšenko first sat behind the wheel of a trolleybus in 1979. He had just returned from military service and saw a notice that trolleybus drivers were needed, and he learned the profession in six months. "I worked as a trolleybus driver for a year and thought that secondary education wasn't enough, so I went to study further."

Over the years, Sergei worked in other fields, including as a bus driver, but the COVID-19 pandemic brought him back to driving trolleybuses.

According to him, driving a trolleybus used to be slightly more difficult than driving a bus. "In the past, you needed physical strength to operate a trolleybus. There were three heavy pedals and a heavy steering wheel. The trolley poles were also very heavy. Modern trolleybuses, however, are operated almost like a passenger car," he said.

The new trolleybuses still have trolley poles, but thanks to powerful batteries, they don't need to be used constantly. "We drive to the city center with the poles raised, then lower them, because there are many turns in the center and near Balti jaam, and it's much easier to drive that way," he explained. "Modern trolleybuses can travel quite a long distance on batteries alone. We can even complete the entire route without using the poles."

In addition, drivers no longer need to leave the cabin to raise fallen trolley poles. "If you do everything correctly, you won't have to leave the cabin at all," Gritšenko said.

He noted that training used to take six months, later three months, but today one can become a trolleybus driver in a single day.

Speaking about the challenges of the job, Gritšenko said the biggest problem remains homeless people who board the trolleybus simply to sleep and rest. "I go up to them and tell them off, even though by the rules we're not supposed to leave the cabin," he said.

"There are passengers who start arguing because we don't arrive on time during rush hour. But everyone drives in the bus lane — whoever feels like it. Sometimes you pull up to a stop and someone points at their watch. That's the nature of our work — you have to be able to communicate with all kinds of people and stay calm. In the days of the old trolleybuses, some people didn't intend to go anywhere at all. They boarded just to be rude to the driver."

Still, Gritšenko likes driving a trolleybus. "It is a bit more complicated than bus driving — but overall I enjoy working with people. All the professions I've had in my life have been connected with people. I like interacting with passengers, seeing people. It's not like sitting at a lathe; there's always something new and interesting happening."

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