Metro Vancouver’s trolley buses celebrate its 75th anniversary
Metro Vancouver’s trolley buses celebrate its 75th anniversary
Metro Vancouver is celebrating 75 years of the trolley bus!
The first trolley bus, a Canadian Car Brill T-44, and route arrived on Aug. 16, 1948. It travelled along Fraser from Marine Drive to Kingsway, then down Main to Pender in Chinatown, left on Pender to Seymour, then to Robson and Cambie and over the Cambie Bridge to 29th Avenue. This route was simply known as the Fraser-Cambie route as there were no route numbers until the early 1950s.
This marked the start of the “rails-to-rubber” conversion to decommission and replace the streetcar network with buses. The last streetcar route departed Vancouver’s streets in 1955.
Vancouver’s 75-year journey with electric buses: sustainable transit solutions
As the world grapples with the urgent need to address climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, public transit agencies around the globe are exploring decarbonization strategies.
Among these, the adoption of electric buses is gaining momentum, offering a promising solution to replace diesel engines and contribute to a cleaner and greener future.
While many cities are just beginning to embrace electric transit, Vancouver, known for its breathtaking landscapes and vibrant city life, has achieved an incredible milestone – 75 years of clean electric transit buses.
75 facts about trolley bus at its 75th anniversary
On August 16, 2023, we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the launch of the trolleybus system back in 1948 — three quarters of a century ago!
To commemorate this milestone, we’ve taken a trip down memory lane for 75 facts you might not know about the trolleybus system in our region.
Let’s go!
1. BC Electric first tested a 1940 Fageol Twin Coach electric trolley from Seattle for 10 days in December 1945 as a free demonstration and to gauge public opinion.
2. Trolley buses first arrived as part of the ambitious “rails-to-rubber” conversion to decommission the streetcar network.
3. Trolley buses pre-date diesel buses in Vancouver because diesel buses were initially considered not “ready for prime time.”
Past, present and future: the trolley bus at 75
Listen to this special episode of What’s the T: the TransLink Podcast with Jawn Jang!
Metro Vancouver is celebrating 75 years of the trolley bus! The first bus and route arrived on Aug. 16, 1948. Jawn marks this milestone anniversary by speaking with the people who illustrate the past, present, and future of Vancouver’s iconic trolley bus.
