After the First World War, the horse-drawn tram operated in Vilnius until 1925, and although horse-drawn transport successfully competed with omnibuses and stagecoaches (pushing them to the outskirts of the city), from the beginning of the century they were replaced by another, much more convenient and faster means of transport - buses. in 1905 The first bus route was opened in Vilnius Gediminas Square - Verkiai.
Most buses in those days were small and could carry 14-16 people at a time. When driving from the Town Hall Square to Verkii, the ticket cost 30-35 kopecks, which was even five times more expensive than a regular horse-drawn tram ticket. Although the buses were comfortable and faster than the alternatives of the time, regular bus traffic in the city still had to wait - it did not start until 1926.
The first passenger buses ran on three lines, roughly the same routes as the earlier horse tram: Railway the station - Town Hall Square - Menagerie,Station - Antakalnis ir The station is Kalvariju street. Three more lines were opened three years later: Ukmergė street - Goods station, Kathedros aikštė - Polotsk Street ir Great Pohulianka. Small buses with 14-15 seats ran on these routes.
Riding them was expensive: 20 gras for one stop. For comparison, 1 kg of sugar cost 4 gras, so only the wealthy could afford public transport trips. In order to save money, a large part of the city's population ignored long distances and traveled to and from work on foot. in 1928 63 buses ran on the above-mentioned lines, and a little later, in 1932-1937, only 25-34 buses. in 1932 there were 8 bus lines, and in the same year more than 5 million passengers were transported. passengers. However, in general, buses gradually lost their popularity as a means of transport, and their number continued to decrease in Vilnius.
The first passenger cars started driving in Vilnius in 1905. However, their popularity was not as fast as we are used to seeing in the movies - during the First World War, there were still only a dozen cars and 1154 horse-drawn carriages in Vilnius.
It is interesting that in this period - 1908 November 8 – the first car accident in the history of Vilnius took place: On the Cathedral Square the car ran over the carriage, severely injuring the horse and breaking the carriage itself.
1930 168 taxis and 210 buses were registered in the entire Vilnius region. The rails of the horse-drawn tram were dismantled and used to install fences along the coasts of Neris and Vilnelė.
