page_title: Victoria Regional Transit System
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Victoria Regional Transit System / History
caption_attribution_description: English: A BC Transit (Victoria Regional Transit System) Dennis Trident at Fifth at Beacon stop in downtown Sidney, BC. December 27, 2019.
context_page_description: Victoria Regional Transit System provides public transportation in the Greater Victoria region of British Columbia, Canada. Its operations are governed by the Victoria Regional Transit Commission in association with BC Transit. There were more than 25 million riders in 2010.
context_section_description: Transit service began in 1890 by the National Electric Tramway and Light Company with four street cars. On May 26, 1896 a packed streetcar crashed through the Point Ellice Bridge and 55 people were killed.  The Consolidated Electric Railway Company was forced into receivership by the disaster and emerged reorganized as the British Columbia Electric Railway on April 15, 1897.
  The use of buses started in 1923 for outlying routes. Although trolley buses  were tried in 1945, the transit system was completely converted to motor buses in 1948. In 1961 BC Electric became part of BC Hydro, a Crown corporation, before the transit system was moved to the crown agency that would become BC Transit. In 2000 Victoria became the first city in North America to use double decker buses in regular public transit service as well as the first city to use hybrid double-decker buses. Victoria followed other BC Transit networks in on February 25, 2020 with the introduction of Compressed Natural Gas vehicles to their fleet.
  Until 2019, all BC Transit vehicles in Victoria are equipped with Trekker Breeze+ annunciators to call out streets for the blind. BC Transit's NextRide automated stop and route announcements took the place of the street announcements, along with electronic screens on all buses showing the next stop.
caption: A Dennis Trident at Fifth at Beacon stop in downtown Sidney. This bus is part of the first order of double-decker buses for public transit in Canada.
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