British Columbia Electric Railway

The British Columbia Electric Railway (BCER) was a historic railway which operated in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Originally the parent company for, and later a division of, BC Electric Company (BCE), the BCER assumed control of existing streetcar and interurban lines in southwestern British Columbia in 1897, and operated the electric railway systems in the region until the last interurban service was discontinued in 1958. During and after the streetcar era, BC Electric also acted as the province's primary electric utility operator and offered gas heating. Power was generated via hydroelectricity, which remains the primary source of electricity in the province.

During the streetcar era, the company also ran bus and trolleybus systems in Greater Vancouver and bus service in Greater Victoria. In 1944, the company announced their "Rails-to-Rubber" program which saw the existing streetcar systems dismantled and lines converted fully to bus routes.

In 1961, the province took control of BC Electric and these systems came under the control of Crown corporation BC Hydro. BC Hydro continued to operate the existing bus routes for a number of years, until the routes became part of BC Transit, with routes in Greater Vancouver eventually coming under the control of TransLink. Trolley buses continue to run in the City of Vancouver with one line extending into Burnaby.

Predecessors

National Electric Tramway and Lighting Company

thumb|Fort Street streetcar, No. 14, National Electric Tramway and Lighting Co. 1892.

On April 6, 1889, the National Electric Tramway and Lighting Company (NETL) was formed by an Legislative Act with construction on the initial line beginning on October 1 of that year. On February 22, 1890, the NETL launched streetcar service in Victoria, beginning the first streetcar service in BC. Two lines were constructed at launch. The Outer Wharf line ran from the intersection of Douglas, Government, and Hillside streets, south on Douglas St. before going west toward the outer wharf area. The Fort Street line ran from the Rock Bay Bridge at the north end of Store St, and ran south before turning east to reach the site of the future Royal Jubilee Hospital. Construction on the company's car barn and power plant began on September 2, and was located west of Store St at the Rock Bay Bridge. Victoria's streetcar system was the first in Canada to operate west of Windsor and St. Catharines, with the system's cars being manufactured in St. Catharines by Patterson & Corbin. At launch, the NETL had an agreement with the city of Victoria to run streetcars at a speed limit of 10 mph.

Prior to the official launch, a test run commenced on February 20 with Mayor John Grant and company president D.W. Higgins in attendance. The initial run went from the company's car barn to James Bay. At the time, the line had 4-miles of track completed and four streetcars had been delivered. The ceremonial launch of service on February 22 was attended by two hundred invited guests, including BC's Premier John Robson, Lieutenant Governor Hugh Nelson, Mayor Grant, president Higgins, Victoria city council members and Members of the Legislative Assembly. The event included champagne toasts and singing of "God Save the Queen". Passengers loaded onto cars 1 through 4 for a ceremonial first trip. The trip went through the entirety of the five-mile system. Regular service started on February 23 with a fare of five-cents. The service proved to be quite popular, with the company announcing on April 8, 1890, plans to expand their power house and machinery.

The company was authorized by the provincial government on April 26, 1890, to further operate in Saanich, Highlands, Esquimalt, Sooke, and Metchosin. On September 13, the Esquimalt extension was completed. The first ceremonial trip to Esquimalt on the line took place on October 9, running from the car barn and back in twenty-five minutes. Regular service began on the line on October 12. Service ran hourly and cost twenty-five cents for a return ticket. After realizing that the Rock Bay Bridge the streetcars ran on to reach Esquimalt could not handle the weight of the vehicles, the bridge was closed to streetcars for reinforcement on October 24. While being reinforced, passengers on the line would disembark upon reaching the bridge and walk across to a streetcar on the other side that would continue along the remainder of the line. The Rock Bay Bridge was re-opened to streetcras on November 14. Cars on the three lines were painted to indicate their lines, with Esquimalt line cars being painted green, Outer Wharf cars blue and white, and Fort Street cars painted red. By the end of 1890, the NETL added five more streetcars to its service, for a total of nine across its three lines.

The NETL continued to expand in 1891, opening new power plants in January and purchasing six more streetcars over the course of the year. The company was hopeful that the power plants would enable them to run twenty streetcars on a ten-minute headway. In March, service on the Esquimalt line increased to every half-hour, and construction began on a new 1.3 mile line in neighbouring Oak Bay, running east toward Oak Bay beach. The line officially opened on July 1 as a shuttle service. On September 26, the Driving Park extension opened in Oak Bay, running from Jubilee Hospital toward the park (now known as Willows Park). The Pandora Avenue extension opened in Victoria on December 23, running east from Douglas Street toward Fernwood Road. The line had a track length of 1.13 miles. 1891 was a financially successful year for the NETL, with profits over $18,000. The company also received a loan of $100,000 from Olive Dunsmuir, widow of Robert Dunsmuir.

1892 saw several new lines constructed. A northern extension of Douglas Street from Hilside to Tolmie Avenue launched as a shuttle service on March 12, but was improved on May 14 when the extension became part of the Outer Wharf line. A new line to Beacon Hill Park launched on June 30, as part of the Pandora-Beacon Hill line. This would be the last line to be constructed in Victoria for eleven years. In June to July service on the Esquimalt line was reduced to shuttle service as rotting wood on the Point Ellice Bridge had caused the structure to sink by several feet. One additional streetcar was purchased in 1892. On August 7, a fire broke out in the company's repair room and destroyed the room along with the NETL's power house. Streetcars in the next door carbarn were undamaged, and work began to construct a new powerhouse began immediately. Before streetcar service resumed in September, the NETL allowed the Jockey Club to borrow two cars for three days for use as horse-drawn vehicles to bring customers to horse track races. After the company borrowed two Edison generators from the Westminster and Vancouver Tramway, service resumed on September 24. Full streetcar service was finally restored months later on December 6.thumb|National Electric Tramway and Lighting Co. no. 5 streetcar at the end of Store Street, 1890.On April 6, 1894, the company had its name changed by a provincial legislative act to the Victoria Electric Railway and Lighting Company Limited. On June 4, 1895, the company went into receivership.

Vancouver Electric Street Railway and Lighting Company

thumb|The Vancouver Electric Railway and Light Company car barn and power house c. 1892

In 1888, the Vancouver Street Railway company formed and was authorized by Vancouver City Council to construct and operate streetcars. The company began construction on the preliminary lines, which were planned to be horse-drawn. Pressure from city council and the public convinced the company to go with electric rail instead. The decision was announced on August 9, 1889, only six days before the system was set to launch, resulting in a ten-month service delay. When the decision was made, existing streetcars were equipped with motors so they could run on electricity. The system's initial line was ready to handle streetcars on August 15, 1889, but it wasn't until June of the next year that streetcars would begin to operate. Prior to making the decision, a large horse stable was constructed on the south of False Creek. The horses had been purchased and arrived, and the stables stayed in place for nearly fifty years. The electricity to power the system was generated at a steam power plant beside the company's car barn.

On May 21, 1890, the Vancouver Street Railway company merged with the Vancouver Electric Light company to form the Vancouver Electric Street Railway and Lighting Company (VESRL). Also in May, the company received six streetcars purchased from the John Stephenson Car Company. A trial run of streetcar number 14 ran on June 26, 1890, four months after trams launched in Victoria. The car made several trips along Westminster Avenue in the afternoon, before being tested on the rest of the system's tracks in the evening. The first six miles of the line were opened to the public on June 27, 1890. Two lines were in operation at the start of service. The Powell Street line ran west on Powell Street to Granville and Pender streets. The Westminster Avenue line ran north on Main to Powell Street, passing the horse stable, crossing False Creek on a newly built bridge, passing the car barn on Union Street. The line then met the same westward route of the Powell Street line but continued for an additional mile south.The service began in Vancouver's then-commercial district, linking the perimeters of the east and west residential districts. Residents along the route were among the first in the city to receive running water, sewage, and electricity. On July 3, 1890, the VESRL revealed new arc lights, illuminating Vancouver's streets at night for the first time.

At rush hour, six cars operated across the whole system. These cars had the capability to run at speeds up to , but due to an agreement with the city only operated at . The Vancouver Electric Street Railway and Lighting company also gave the city of Vancouver the option to buy the streetcar system after 30 years. On October 11, 1890, crews began constructing a half-mile extension of the railway to reach Mount Pleasant. By February 1891, Vancouver's six streetcars had carried nearly 340,000 total passengers.

On October 22, 1891, the company launched the Fairview line. The VESRL purchased 68 lots of land in the area from the Canadian Pacific Railway in exchange for streetcar service in the area. The line was single-tracked and ran 4.4 km at opening, crossing False Creek to Granville Street, and connecting with the recently opened Mount Pleasant extension. People saw the line as a disappointment due to how few residents lived in the Fairview area at the time. The construction of the Fairview line would exceed 5x its original estimate, as the line needed to cross multiple streams, seven wood bridges were constructed at a cost of $150,000.

In 1892, a smallpox epidemic hit Vancouver and the entire transit system shutdown for nearly two months due to a lack of ridership. At the end of 1892, the Vancouver Electric Street Railway and Lighting Company was losing almost $1,300 a month on both transit and lighting operations. At this time, the Vancouver city council declined two separate offers to buy the company. By February 1893, the company went into liquidation and was taken over by a board of trustees who hoped to make the system profitable by cutting service. They reduced service frequency in Mount Pleasant and completely closed the Fairview line as well as service east of Westminster Avenue. From 1893 to April 1894 transit service was entirely suspended. By 1895 the trustees were able to successfully borrow funds which allowed them to expand Vancouver's streetcar system, adding new lines and double-tracking existing ones. The system continued to expand until the company went into liquidation a few years later.

Westminster and Vancouver Tramway Company

thumb|Two streetcars at the Central Park [[Siding (rail)|siding of Westminster and Vancouver Tramway Co. c. 1891-1894]]

On March 13, 1890, the city of New Westminster passed a bylaw giving the Westminster Street Railway Company permission to build and run streetcar lines in the city. On April 26, 1890, the BC legislature passed two railway charters to fund two companies, the Westminster Street Railway Company, who were to work on creating streetcars in New Westminster, and the Westminster and Vancouver Tramway Company, which would be tasked with creating an interurban railway between the two cities. The Westminster Street Railway Company was authorized to construct systems up to five miles outside the limits of the city which were unorganized territory at the time, and was capitalized with $250,000. The New Westminster city council authorized the streetcars to run at a speed limit of 6 mph. The Westminster and Vancouver Tramway Company capitalized at $500,000.

On April 20, 1891, Vancouver mayor David Oppenheimer and other wealthy business partners amalgamated the two existing companies into the Westminster and Vancouver Tramway Company. After amalgamating the two companies, it was decided that the city's first streetcar line should also serve as the entrance to the city via the interurban, while also serving the city's residential area and the popular Queen's Park. The system's first depot was constructed at the southwest corner of Columbia and 6th streets, where the line would run east on Columbia before going west toward Vancouver after climbing a steep grade. On October 8, 1891, the company launched New Westminster's streetcar system.

Construction on the system's first interurban line, the Central Park line, began on August 1, 1890. The system was the first electric interurban line in North America, running from Vancouver–New Westminster via Central Park in Burnaby. Central Park, and thus, the Central Park Line, were named to honour Oppenheimer's wife, who was from New York City. To connect the cities, trestles had to be constructed through swamps and forests, with the longest trestle being 26 meters high and 36.5 meters long. The company convinced land owners along the route to donate land to the company, and the BC government made a land granting match of 196 acres north of the interurban route. Two of the company's directors collectively owned thousands of acres of land along the route. In Vancouver, the Vancouver Electric Railway and Light Company agreed to build the portion of the line from Cedar Cottage to Carrol Street, which they could operate streetcars on. At the launch of the line, there were two round-trip journeys per day at a cost of 50-cents for one-way tickets, or 75-cents for return. The 22.9 km line effectively doubled the total track mileage for public transit in Canada, and was also the longest interurban line in the country at the time. R. Henry Sperling became the first General Superintendent. Horne-Payne controlled the company from London, while the company's managing director, Frank S. Barnard, worked out of Victoria. Due to the financial struggles of the organization's predecessors, the BCER's directors expanded lines cautiously in the early years, prioritizing lines that would be profitable. From 1897 to 1913, over one million pounds sterling was invested into the BCER, the majority coming from British citizens. and are estimated to have transported over 1.5 million passengers over 927,000 km.

thumb|Governor-General [[Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey|Earl Grey (centre) and Mayor Douglas (on Countess Grey's left) at the opening of the new Granville Street Bridge, Vancouver, 6 September 1909.]]

Vancouver's first pay-as-you-enter streetcar entered service on August 29, 1909. In October, a new double-tracked streetcar line on Fourth Avenue between Granville and Alma streets opened. On November 6, 1909, the Hastings Street streetcar line was extended to Boundary Road.

Boom years (1910 – 1912)

The year 1910 saw huge demands on BCER's transit system. The company could not keep up with demand, and committed to acquiring 122 cars in the next year, 50 of which would be slated for Vancouver alone. Due to the sheer volume of cars needed, they were not all able to be constructed in BCER's New Westminster depot, and cars had to be ordered from other manufacturers. On August 22, 1910, Vancouver's single-day ridership record was broken when 122,455 passengers rode across the city's transit system. Transit ridership also spiked in Victoria in 1910, where the 200 streetcars and interurbans carried nearly 40 million riders in 1910 (up by 10 million over 1909) and hauled 41,142 tons of freight.

thumb|First [[Pacific National Exhibition|Vancouver Exhibition opening at Hastings Park with Powell Street streetcars arriving, 1910. Note the passengers holding onto the rear of the tram.]]

On July 1, 1910, the BCER started freight service from New Westminster to Cloverdale and Jardine. On January 11, 1911, four interurban cars were trapped in the snow on the Central Park interurban line and had to be abandoned. From August 16 to 21, 1910, thousands of people crowded streetcars to see prime minister Wilfrid Laurier open Vancouver's first exhibition at Hastings Park. Similar ridership demands were seen on May 24, 1911, when the BCER moved 12,000 people to Queens Park in New Westminster to attend Empire Day celebrations.

Tracks were installed near the University Endowment Lands in 1910, with service beginning on the new line on February 25, 1911. The line was closed in 1912 due to a franchise disagreement between BCER and the municipality of Point Grey. The line re-opened in September 1912 after the dispute was resolved. Around this time, Point Grey gained new transit extensions, including the extension of the Shaughnessy Heights line in October 1911, the Oak St line in September 1913, and the Sasamat line in November 1913. These streetcar lines in and around Point Grey helped bring settlers to the area. On September 17, 1912, the BCER introduced a five-cent rate for settlers on the Point Grey streetcar line.

In 1910, the debate over access to Stanley Park was reignited as more Vancouverites wanted access to the park, to the dismay of tourists and West End upper class residents. Working class residents argued that Vancouver's park board discriminated against transit modes, as they allowed wealthy residents to enter the park on horse-drawn carriages and cars, but denied the wider public access via public transit. The City Beautiful movement brought further attention to the debate, as they prioritized un-trammelled and natural park access. In August 1910, a private operator submitted a proposal to run streetcars around the circumference of the park. In January 1912, a plebiscite marginally approved a 1910 proposal for a city-owned streetcar service to operate in Stanley Park, but it was ultimately defeated due to the opposition of wealthy West End residents.

In 1911, the BCER constructed a new head office in downtown Vancouver. At this time, they also launched a night service. Nicknamed the "owl", cars ran from midnight to 3:20am at a cost of double the regular rates. May 1911 saw the BCER's highest ever ridership numbers in Vancouver at nearly 3.5 million riders. The year 1911 also saw the launch of the BCER's new interurban line, the Burnaby Lake line on June 12.

In 1912, Canada's governor-general, the Duke of Connaught visited Vancouver alongside his wife, the Duchess of Connaught and their daughter, Princess Patricia. This marked the couple's second visit to the city, with their first being in 1890. The BCER decorated its head office with strings of lights for the occasion, and transformed interurban car 1304 for the royal guests. The car had its seats and partitions removed and replaced with plush lounge chairs and sofas in cream and green, with white curtains and carpeting, transforming the car into a sitting room. The exterior of the car was freshly painted with two royal coat of arms on either side, and the name Connaught emblazoned alongside the BCER name in golden letters. During their visit, the Duke and Dutchess officially opened the Cambie Bridge, replacing the previous bridge constructed in 1894. Car 1304 returned to regular service after the royal visit, with the seats and partitions being put back.

By 1912, the majority of British Columbia's residents lived within one of the BCER's service areas. During rush hour, 140 streetcars operated in Vancouver. At this time, the BC Minister of Railways released a regulation prohibiting streetcars from exceeding 12 mph on city business streets, and 18 mph on other streets. Various orders of new cars were made by the BCER this year to keep up with demand, including an order for 28 passenger interurbans and 2 express baggage cars from the St. Louis Car Company, and an order of 40 streetcars from Preston Car Company. Other changes introduced in 1912 include more distinct destination signs on Vancouver's streetcars, including symbols and colours, and on-board signal buzzers for passenger use.

Decline and competition (1913 - 1918)

thumb|B.C. Electric Railway Company stepless streetcar, 1913. Designed for women wearing [[hobble skirts, the train was met with enthusiasm at first followed by apathy.]]1913 saw the end of the BCER's early boom period. As ridership fell over the previous year, fares were increased and streetcar service frequency was reduced. This year saw some bad investments by the BCER. First, a new streetcar line opened in South Vancouver along 41st Avenue between Main and Granville streets, but no cars ever ran on the route. Then, the company imported a luxury stepless streetcar from New York City, which was met with initial fanfare followed by apathy. The car was designed with lower platforms so women wearing the then-fashionable hobble skirt, which limited their stride to 30 cm, could board easily. The car cleared the rails just by 18 cm and had just one door located in the center of the vehicle, opposed to the front entrance and rear exit of the regular streetcars. The car officially began service on March 18, 1913, but operated only for a few months due to a lack of ridership as passengers disliked the single middle door. The hobble car would also careen off the tracks due to its low-centre construction. The stepless car was also less powerful compared to the other cars, was more expensive to purchase, and its parts were not compatible with BCER's other trams.

As costs and capital investments soared,the BCER's profits at the end of June 1913 were only up by $3,000 over five years earlier. Capital investments totaled $43 million in 1913, compared to $12 million in 1908. The BCER announced in the fall that they were considering selling the company's Vancouver streetcar system to the city, which ultimately did not occur. The year 1914 saw the number of passengers on Vancouver's streetcars continue to fall, and in November jitneys began to appear in Vancouver. These private automobiles would cruise streetcar lines and pick up waiting passengers, speeding them to their destinations faster than the streetcars could travel. Jitneys would charge just 5 cents per ride, and half a dozen or more people were often crammed into a single auto, with passengers often holding onto aftermarket handlebars and standing on the auto's mud guards. Jitneys would often run just a few minutes ahead of the streetcars schedule and even display the same destination signage as the cars. By mid-January 1915, more than 100 jitneys ran in Vancouver, exploding to over 250 by just the end of the same month. The BCER was losing an average of $2,000 a month due to the marked drop in ridership from jitneys. From 1914 to 1915, ridership dropped by over 17 million passengers and the company's revenue fell by $1.3 million.

thumb|Looking E. on Hastings at Carral St from the BCER Building, prior to 1919. Note the large amount of jitneys on the right, displaying signs for the Fairview Belt line streetcar route.

In an effort to tempt riders, the BCER offered reduced fares on streetcars, and on interurbans running from Vancouver to New Westminster. Other changes made in response to jitneys included increasing the running times of streetcars, creating public timetables for the first time, establishing new shuttle lines to downtown Vancouver, and adding additional streetcars during rush hour. The BC Electric Railway also introduced The Buzzer on June 2, 1916, a free pamphlet available on streetcars and interurbans, which TransLink continues to distribute today. The leaflet initially went unnamed before being named by the winners of a contest. Released ostensibly as a means of maintaining good public relations, the flyers also argued against jitneys and tried to make the public aware of the long-term issues the share taxis may cause. The BCER also extended the Hastings Street line again, this time reaching Burnaby, from Boundary Road to Ellesmere Avenue. Interurban cars were similar to the streetcars run by the company, but were larger and more powerful, giving them the ability to haul freight in addition to passengers. Interurbans ran throughout the region from 1891 to 1958. They allowed people to settle further out from the cities, where land was cheaper. New communities often were established near interurban stations. The public viewed interurbans as a fast and safe method of transportation. Later models of cars had the capacity to seat 64 passengers and could travel at 80 km/h.

Interurbans shaped development throughout the region. Buildings close to the line were shaped to allow for interurban traffic, and industrial buildings were constructed close to the tracks, some with their own spur lines.

Vancouver–Marpole

BCER began the Vancouver-Steveston interurban and freight service in 1905 after leasing the line from Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and electrifying it. The Vancouver-Marpole line's right-of-way (whose northern section runs beside Arbutus Street) remained under the ownership of the CPR, which continued running freight trains on the corridor until June 2001. With the end of freight operations on the line in sight, Vancouver City Council adopted the Arbutus Corridor Official Development Plan in 2000, designating the corridor as a transportation/greenway public thoroughfare to prevent other types of development from taking place along the right-of-way.

Marpole–New Westminster

Interurban service between Marpole and New Westminster along the North Arm of the Fraser River was started on November 15, 1909. Interurbans on this line and the Central Park line would meet at 12th Street Junction.

In 1930, due to the Great Depression, several larger stations along the Fraser Valley line were closed and its agents were transferred to other stations. The closed stations became flag stops. By March 27, 1931, passenger counts had dropped from a peak of 1,200 per week to less than 400 a week. Due to the drop in ridership, the midday train service was cut and service reverted to two trains daily. The midday train later resumed service on February 18, 1939, but milk trains number 500 and 501 were discontinued. During World War II, worker shortages and the loss of milk trains caused more stations to close and become flag stops. Station attendants only worked in the Cloverdale, Langley, Abbotsford, and Chilliwack stations.

The final day of service for the Fraser Valley line was September 30, 1950. Trains were decorated and adorned with electricity mascot Reddy Kilowatt, and the last train to Chilliwack departed with dignitaries, the BCER president, and old conductors on board.

thumb|left|Vorce Station is a modest utilitarian passenger tram shelter, originally constructed at the foot of Nursery Street in Burnaby BC as part of the British Columbia Electric Railway Company's Burnaby Lake Interurban Line. In 1977, it was relocated to the grounds of the [[Burnaby Village Museum.]]

Burnaby Lake Line

Construction on the Burnaby Lake interurban line began in October, 1909, and the line officially opened on February 27, 1911.

Interurban lines ceased operations later, with the Chilliwack line ending in 1950, followed by the Vancouver-Marpole line in 1952 and the Burnaby Lake line in 1953. The stretch of the Central Park line in Burnaby and New Westminster was closed on October 23, 1953, followed by the rest of the line through Vancouver on July 16, 1954. The last streetcar line in Vancouver, the 14 Hastings East, ran on April 22, 1955. The Marpole-New Westminster interurban line was closed in November 1956, followed by the Marpole-Steveston line on February 28, 1958, marking the complete closure of the interurban system.

In addition, BC Hydro in 1988 also sold the track assets of a section between Cloverdale from Pratt Junction through Langley City and beyond to CP Rail, but retained ownership of the right-of-way. At the time, BC Hydro also granted CPR a statutory right-of-way to use this section of the corridor in perpetuity, but put agreements in place to retain partial running rights for passenger service, which were renewed in 2009.

While there has been a number proposals regarding the restart of a commuter passenger rail service along the line, a review was conducted by the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure in 2010. The review noted issues around high cost per ride and low projected ridership relative to bus alternatives.

Subsequently, TransLink conducted a study as part of the 2010–2012 Surrey Rapid Transit Study to explore merits of utilizing the Interurban corridor for fast, frequent, and reliable rapid transit service. The interurban corridor was not selected, nor recommended for further consideration because the corridor does not directly connect relevant regional destinations of Surrey Central and Langley City, resulted in less attractive travel times between key destinations, and would require significant capital investments to meet safety requirements and reliability objectives compared to alternatives.]] In 1909, the brakes failed on North Vancouver streetcar number 62, causing the vehicle to run off track at the end of Londsdale and crash into the Burrard Inlet. The motorman and two passengers jumped to safety before the car flew into the water at the edge of a warf. The vehicle's conductor urged the remaining passengers, including the wife of North Vancouver's mayor, to stay on board. Nobody was injured aside from the motorman who broke his leg.

In September 1945, interurban car number 1304 caught fire due to a short circuit while in service toward Cloverdale station. The crews evacuated the car and sped it toward Cloverdale station where the fire was put out. The train was rebuilt and returned to regular service.

The Lakeview Disaster

thumb|BCER car "Sumas" at the Lakeview Station on the Central Park line, 1903. This same car would be involved in the deadly Lakeview disaster 6 years later in 1909.

In the early morning of November 10, 1909, BCER interurban car "Sumas" collided with a runaway flatcar carrying lumber at Lakeview Train Station. Fourteen people were killed immediately and one died later of their injuries. The cars remaining nine passengers were gravely injured. The Lakeview Disaster remains the worst public transit disaster in Vancouver.

thumb|People hanging on to back of BCER streetcar, 1896. Laws introduced in 1911 aimed at preventing this kind of dangerous riding.

Criminal charges were brought against the crew of the BCER train but were ultimately dropped. BCER voluntarily gave $135,000 to the families of the deceased and injured. This incident motivated BC residents, led by the Vancouver Trades and Labor Council, to seek greater oversight of interuban lines. In 1910, the BC provincial legislature passed the Tramsways Inspection Act, the first regulation regarding transit service safety in BC. The act allowed BC's governor general to appoint an inspector who could reject any passenger or freight cars they deemed unsafe for service. The inspector was also to monitor overcrowding on streetcars. In 1911, the BC Attorney General ordered several regulatory changes to end overcrowding. These changes included outlawing standing on Fraser Valley line interurbans, resulting in necessary use of multi-car trains to provide more room for seated passengers. Interurbans were also required to have a separate compartment for mail and parcels. Passengers would also be barred from riding on the bumpers and outside steps of streetcars or interurbans. Streetcars were fitted with wooden exterior ledges and sloped beveled tin bumpers to prevent passengers from standing in the unsafe areas. New rules were also aimed at BCER staff. Streetcar operators were now required to take a sight and hearing test. Furthermore, cars had to display a "car full" sign before becoming overcrowded, and a gate would be used to make the platform inaccessible when there was no room for additional passengers. A car was determined as being "full" when all seats were taken and one person was standing four every four square feet of standing room.

Regulations

1910 saw the beginnings of regulations for the BCER. Following the Lakeview disaster of 1909, the Vancouver Trades and Labor Council successfully campaigned for a tramway inspector to be appointed by the BC government to enforce safety laws. When the BCER later removed special ticket privileges, essentially raising streetcar ticket prices, groups such as the South Vancouver Board of Trade, the Conservative Ward Clubs, and some members of the Vancouver Board of Trade began campaigning for the creation of a public utilities commission (PUC). The idea was officially endorsed when the Royal Commission on Municipal Government proposed the creation of a public service commission to compel utilities to provide sufficient service at sensible rates. Debate arose within the provincial cabinet, with Attorney-General W.J. Bowser supporting regulation, and Premier Richard McBride being sympathetic to the desires of the BCER. McBride promised the company that he would not introduce legislation to create a PUC during the 1914 legislative session, and later advising the company that legislation was not likely until 1916. McBride also assured the company that legislation would not be introduced without the company being able to comment on the draft version. The BCER's Board of Directors viewed a PUC as something that was inevitable, and even desirable as an alternative to municipal competition or other legislation. The BCER's negative view on regulation changed with the advent of the jitney in 1914. Previously seeing regulation as something that could harm the business, they now saw it as something that could protect them from what they saw as unfair competition. The company believed a PUC would be more understanding and reasonable to deal with than a political council such as the Legislature or cities. The BCER re-organized their methods of bookkeeping in an effort to reduce their reserve funds to obscure their sizable profits from light and power. By the spring of 1915, after preparing their own favourable draft legislation based on pre-existing utility laws elsewhere, the BC-based management of the BCER were open to a PUC. The BCER did not want to ask for the creation of a PUC however, as they and BC Telephone Company agreed that asking for the creation of a PUC would make them unable to protest against unfavourable legislation or political assignments to the commission. However, once the BCER management realized the Conservative government was preoccupied and unlikely to introduce new legislation due to prohibition, the Great Eastern Railway, and its own fnancial problems, the BCER began publicly advocating for the creation of a PUC in April 1916.

In June 1917, streetcar workers went on strike. The BCER claimed they could not pay higher wages due to the competition with jitneys. The city of Vancouver suggested that the province appoint a commission to investigate the issue, to which the BCER and province agreed in hopes of preventing an electrical workers strike. The province accepted that Dr. Adam Shortt, chairman of the federal Civil Service Commission, as the commissioner. Shortt made several recommendations, including advising the province to establish a PUC, as he believed it would be beneficial to both the public at large and the BCER. Premier Harlan Carey Brewster endorsed the idea and was willing to establish a PUC. BC Tel and the BCER attempted to persuade the government to appoint an outsider to prepare the PUC legislation, such as Shortt or James Mavor. The BCER was reassured by Premier John Oliver and Attorney-General J.W. de B. Farris that, following the decision to establish a PUC, the BCER would be able to view and suggest alterations to the draft bill. The government accepted a proposal from the BCER to postpone any changes in streetcar fares or lighting rates until the PUC could investigate the issue, effectively extending their six-cent fare from July 1918 to April 8, 1919. The government also agreed to hear objections from the BCER, leading Conservative leader of the opposition, W.J. Bowser, to call the bill once presented to Legislature "very much mangled". Historian Patricia E. Roy stated that the company had essentially "created their own regulations". The company held a special meeting with its British shareholders to celebrate the creation of the PUC, and advertised its creation in sixty English newspapers. Most BC MLAs were satisfied with the Act, and even Conservative opposition accepted it in a general basis. The main principle being that rates charged to the public for service, as well as the BCER's rate of return, be fare, equitable, and respectable.

The BCER wanted to have a neutral commissioner chosen to lead the PUC. When John Oliver told the BCER of the plan to choose Vancouver's mayor R. H. Gale, as the commissioner, who had a history of fighting with the BCER, the company objected. Other organizations joined the BCER in protest against Gale's intended appointment, eventually pressuring Oliver to replace him with Major John Ley Retallack. Retallack became the first commissioner of BC's first PUC on April 21, 1919.

Remaining vehicles

thumb|Restored BCER Interurban car at The Fraser Valley Heritage Railway Society in [[Surrey, British Columbia|Surrey, BC. This restored car does not use a trolley-pole, instead it is powered by a generator towed on a small flatcar.]]

After the decommission of the BCER streetcar and interurban system, most of the cars were either scrapped or burned underneath the Burrard Bridge, but some cars were sold for various other uses such as becoming bunkhouses, storage sheds and in some cases decor. A handful of cars were also donated to various museums mostly in the U.S. Since then however, many preservation societies have bought back the cars and begun restoring them. The following is a list of the known BCER cars in existence and their current locations.

Streetcars

# 53 Built in 1904, operated in Vancouver, on permanent static display inside The Old Spaghetti Factory restaurant in Gastown, Vancouver, BC.
# 153 Built in 1908, operated in North Vancouver, currently on display at the Museum of North Vancouver (MoNoVa), North Vancouver, BC.
# 400 Built in 1922, operated in Victoria, now located at the Nelson Electric Tramway Society in Nelson, BC.

Interurban cars

# 1207 Built in 1905, operated on the Marpole–Steveston Line, was located at the Downtown Historic Railway in Vancouver, BC. As of January 2016, it has been relocated to the Fraser Valley Heritage Railway Society, Surrey, BC.
# 1220 Built in 1913, operated on the Marpole–Steveston Line, currently being restored at the Steveston Tram Museum, Richmond, BC.
# 1223 Built in 1913, operated on the Burnaby Lake Line, on static display at the Burnaby Village Museum, Burnaby, BC.
# 1225 Built in 1913, operated on the Marpole–Steveston and Burnaby Lake Lines, currently in operation at the Fraser Valley Heritage Railway Society, Surrey, BC.
Wilfred Talbot Smith - Thelemite who got a job as an accounting clerk for the BCER in April 1912 in the Light and Billing Department.
Charles Stansfeld Jones - Writer, occultist and magician who worked alongside Wilfred Talbot Smith.
John Meredith Rockingham - Military officer who, after WWII, moved to Victoria to work as a personnel supervisor for the BCER in 1946. In 1949, he moved to Vancouver and worked as the Staff Assistant to the General Manager of Transportation at the BCER.
Byron Ingemar "Boss" Johnson - BC Premier who served as director of the British Columbia Power Corporation Limited, the holding company for BCER.