1921 to 1940

The big crossover
New Year’s Day, 1922, marks the government-decreed changeover from left- to right-hand side driving on the streets of Canada. In anticipation of the day, BCER has added a new door to each streetcar, cut steps into the right-hand side and then covered over the cars in readiness. The conversion comes off without a hitch. During the first weeks of the new regime, the streetcars run without a single accident.

One-operator cars
A single operator replaces the motorman and conductor on streetcars introduced in New Westminster and parts of Vancouver.

Time for a change
As early as 1912, BCER considered using motor buses and trolley coaches to serve some of the sparsely populated areas of the city. But these early vehicles had unreliable motors, solid tires, and poor, if any, suspension. It was not practical to run them on unpaved and gravel roads. By 1923, the situation has changed. The new Grandview area is developing on Vancouver’s east side quite a distance from public transit.

Buses on Grandview
Instead of installing a costly streetcar extension along Broadway, BCER decides to try buses. The company asks White Motor Company, one of the largest and most reliable bus and truck manufacturers, to supply a 4.2-metre (14-foot) wheelbase frame, or chassis, with a 30 horsepower engine. On this frame the company places a 21-passenger bus body built by G.W. Ribchester, a Vancouver firm.

Sporting the B.C. Electric colours
On March, 16, 1923, BCER takes delivery of the new bus. It is painted the company’s standard colours of dark green with the name B.C. Electric in gold, making it an impressive sight for veteran streetcar men at the Prior Street car barn. The next morning, the new bus is taken on a trial run on a new route that leads east on Broadway from a streetcar transfer point at Broadway and Commercial to Grandview Highway. It travels out the highway to 13th Avenue where it turns east again to Renfrew, then south on Renfrew to 21st. There it jogs over to Slocan to clear the creek, then carries on eastward along 22nd Avenue to Rupert.

Second bus ordered
Regular bus service begins on March 19. It is such a success that BCER soon orders a second bus to offer 15-minute service in peak periods. The route is later lengthened and the buses rebuilt to carry 29 passengers.

Extending Service
Intercity buses begin running along Kingsway to New Westminster, out to the Fraser Valley and south to White Rock and beyond.

On the move to UBC
When the University of British Columbia moves to a new location in Point Grey in 1925, the company buys six Leyland buses to run along 10th Avenue to the new campus from a bus garage at 10th and Trimble Street.

New owners
During the 1920s, ownership of the British Columbia Electric Railway Company passes increasingly out of the hands of British investors and into the hands of Canadian shareholders. In May 1928, a new group of owners purchases BCER. They form a new holding company, the B.C. Power Corporation, but the B.C. Electric Railway name is retained.

To the beach
The summer-only Spanish Banks bus line begins service. Buses meet bathers at the 4th Avenue and Alma streetcar terminus and carry them out to the beach. During the Depression, The Vancouver Sun newspaper charters additional buses to bring children to the beach for free. Within a few years, Spanish Banks service is year-round.

Adding more buses
During the Thirties, a few more bus routes are added, mainly to supplement the streetcar lines. August 3, 1936, sees the first true replacement of a streetcar line. The new Cambie-King Edward route travels up Cambie Street from Broadway to King Edward, then west to Granville, ending the King Edward streetcars.

More streetcar conversions
Faced with a growing population and streetcar routes hampered by the city’s steep terrain, New Westminster converts completely to motor buses, leaving the interurban lines as the only rail transit still entering the Royal City. By the eve of the Second World War, the Vancouver bus fleet numbers 25 vehicles.

Debut of Car 400
As the Depression draws to a close, BCER, like many street railway companies, faces a new crisis. The system is more than 40 years old, and so are many of the streetcars. Commuters appreciate the comfort and convenience of their own cars. During the 1930s, executives from many North American street railway companies developed a new vehicle to rival the automobile. Known as the Presidents’ Conference Committee car, the PCC was lighter, smoother, faster, and roomier than the old-fashioned streetcar. Several manufacturers began to produce the new PCCs. Many companies, BCER included, placed orders. The first PCC car ordered by BCER, Car 400, makes its Vancouver debut on January 27, 1939.