by Tammy Taylor
Staff Writer
From the baseball field to the downtown trolley line, Eddie Carter’s life flows like the tide.
After Carter graduated from high school, he immediately went on to play minor league baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals. He played until he was 21 years old.
“I got released my fifth year,” said Carter. “The minor league team was overloaded and they had to make cuts to make room for the new draft picks.”
He tried out for other teams, but nothing worked out for the aspiring athlete.
“I was 21 when I got out of baseball. At the time, it was the only thing I knew,” said Carter, who went on to get a job with the United States Postal Service.
His job with the USPS was driving trucks and delivering bulk mail to different post offices. His tenure ended due to layoffs, and that’s when Carter applied for a bus driver job with the City.
“I miss the post office a little bit, but with any job, it’s what you make it,” he said. “I really love driving buses to be honest with you.”
Carter has been with the Jacksonville Transit Authority for six years. He drove a bus exclusively until about five months ago when he began operating the afternoon Sunflower route on the downtown trolley line.
His days look like this: from 5:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. Carter drives his JTA route. He operates the trolley from 3:30 p.m. until 7:15 p.m. During his work day, he enjoys the trolley the most.
“People are a lot nicer (on the trolley), the routes are shorter, there are less hassles and confusion, and I don’t have to worry about collecting bus fares,” he explained.
Carter has lived in Jacksonville since he was eight. His family moved to Arlington from Manhattan after a stay with Carter’s uncle, who had recently moved to town.
Carter now lives around the corner from his family with his wife and two daughters.