1941 to 1960

The war years
With the onset of the Second World War, the Canadian Car and Foundry, the only company manufacturing the President’s Conference Committee (PCC) cars in Canada, switches to war production. Delivery of PCCs for public transit stalls. Only 36 PCCs arrive in Vancouver during the course of the war. Meanwhile, with gas and rubber tires under strict rationing, and new war-time industries running around the clock, ridership on the streetcars doubles, then doubles again. As male crew and mechanics go off to war, the company solves the "manpower" shortage by hiring women for the first time, both as conductorettes and in the car barns. BCER is one of the first companies to pay women the same as men for the same work.

The first trolleys
In December 1945, as part of a trial run, B.C. Electric gave the Vancouver public free rides for 10 days on a loaned Seattle trolley bus, a 1940 Fageol Twin Coach trolley.

Change on the North Shore
Conversion to buses in the Lower Mainland comes first to North Vancouver. Here, the original Lonsdale streetcar line is the first to change over, in September 1946. In Vancouver, meanwhile, the fleet of PCCs, steel cars, and turn-of-the-century wooden trolleys continue to attract streetcar lovers from across the continent and beyond.

Change is inevitable
Conversion to trolley buses begins. One by one, the routes change over. Welcome the Brills…On Monday, Aug. 16, 1948, B.C. Electric launches the first electric trolley bus service in Vancouver with 30 Brill T-44 trolleys. Each can carry 44 passengers. The first trolley route, Fraser-Cambie, operates from Fraser Street and Marine Drive via Fraser, Kingsway, Main, Pender, Seymour, Robson and Cambie Street to 29th Avenue. Earlier, on Aug. 13, politicians and trade and industry officials boarded the trolleys for an inaugural run following a ribbon-cutting ceremony and tour of the newly opened Oakridge Transit Centre. This 5.7—hectare (14-acre) site, at 41st Avenue and Oak Street, cost $1.34 million to build.  

Faster and smoother
B.C. Electric chooses "streamlined trolley coaches with the maximum in riding comfort" over gas buses because electricity provides a cheaper source of power than gasoline. Trolleys are also faster, smoother and quieter than old gas buses. The trolleys use the feeder systems already in place for streetcars without the restrictions of tracks.

Delivery of more Brill T-44s
B.C. Electric increases its first trolley order by 12 and then by another 40, resulting in the delivery of 82 Brill T-44s in 1948. The company introduces a second trolley service on Oct. 16, 1948, between Victory Square and English Bay on the Robson and Davie routes, replacing a temporary motor bus service.

Larger Brills arrive
B.C. Electric acquires three T-48 Brill trolleys at a cost of $24,500 each in May. These larger 48-passenger vehicles with double-wide front doors are soon the standard B.C. Electric model. In July, the Granville route, with branches to Marpole and Kerrisdale, is introduced, followed by the Broadway East (to Commercial Drive), Powell, and Fourth Avenue routes.

More service conversion
On Oct. 27, 1950, the Kingsway and Victoria lines are converted from streetcars to trolleys while the Powell Street route is extended to Stanley Park. In the early 1950s, many lines are converted to trolley use or expanded existing trolley service. They include Dunbar; 41st Avenue; Cambie (to 50th Avenue); Oak; Arbutus; West Broadway to Alma; and East Broadway to the new loop at Renfrew. The latter two Broadway lines are linked together to form a new Broadway crosstown route.

The largest system in Canada
On Jan. 28, 1954, the last order of trolley buses arrives from the manufacturer, Canadian Car. B.C. Electric now has 327 Brills — the largest trolley bus system in Canada.

Opening of Granville Bridge
On Feb. 4, 1954, the Granville Street Bridge, a multimillion-dollar, eight-lane structure opens. The next day, trolley buses begin service across the bridge.

End of an era
The only remaining streetcar route, #14-Hastings East, runs its last day of revenue service on April 22. Trolley bus service starts on the #14-Hastings route in June 1955, after completion of track removal and construction of new overhead wires. B.C. Electric’s free weekly public newsletter, The Buzzer, marks the occasion with a special Rails to Rubber issue. It reviews the city’s transit history and the demise of the streetcar, ending with a symbol of the future: a photograph of a trolley crossing the new Granville Street Bridge, part of "the most modern metropolitan transit system in the nation."

Express trolleys
B.C. Electric introduces a new express trolley service on May 13. The express route on Hastings Street between Kootenay Loop and Main Street requires the installation of a second set of wires over the centre lanes in the street. This is the launch of one of only two express trolley operations in North America. The other one still runs in Philadelphia.

Last of the interurbans
The company brings in the first diesel-powered Brills as Richmond converts to an all-bus service with the closure of the last interurban line.

Transit ridership falls
In the 1960s, ridership falls across the country as many families buy cars and move to the suburbs. Many of the 16 transit systems across Canada abandon trolleys, replacing them with diesel buses.