In 1896, the Consolidated Railway Company was formed, taking over ten other companies engaged in electric
light rail systems, or
tramways, and electric lighting in
Vancouver,
Victoria, and
New Westminster. The following year, in 1897, the
BC Electric Railway was incorporated to take over the property and business of the Consolidated Railway Company. In the 1930s and 1940s, the electric streetcars and
interurban trams were converted to
trolleybuses and gas-powered buses, as part of the BCER's "From Rails to Rubber" program. In 1961, the province took over the BCER through the
BC Hydro Act, forming the
British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority as a crown corporation. The new structure was meant to provide local governments with more decision-making power and funding of their local systems. After
Greyhound Canada ended all services in
western Canada, BC Transit began the operation of
BC Bus North, its first dedicated
intercity buses in Northern British Columbia, in 2018. In 2019, to address rising concerns of driver safety, the installation of driver safety doors on all buses began. The first bus with this modification was in Victoria. In 2020, during the
COVID-19 pandemic, BC Transit went to a province-wide free-fare operation and required boarding through the rear door of buses with multiple doors. This lasted just over two months, with fares and front-door boarding resuming on in June of the same year. ==Transit systems==