BC Transit is a provincial crown corporation responsible for coordinating the delivery of public transportation within British Columbia, Canada, outside Greater Vancouver. BC Transit is headquartered in Victoria, British Columbia. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . BC Transit is the successor to the British Columbia Electric Railway, which started in 1897 and in 1961 became BC Hydro, as the BC Hydro and Power Authority. In 1979, the province separated the transit authority into a separate agency called the Urban Transit Authority which was later restructured into BC Transit in 1983. BC Transit carries out overall planning and delivery for all of the different municipal transit systems in British Columbia. In 1999, responsibility for the management of transportation in Greater Vancouver, including public transit, was taken over by the newly formed TransLink. In the future, TransLink's jurisdiction is planned to expand into adjacent regions east and north of Greater Vancouver. (see TransLink 2007 reorganization) History 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. In 1979, the province's Livable Region Plan led to the transfer of transit responsibilities to three agencies: the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) was to be responsible for transit policy and planning; the Urban Transit Authority (UTA), to represent provincial government interests in public transit; and the Metro Transit Operating Company (MTOC), a separate crown corporation that took over operations from BC Hydro. The new structure was meant to provide local governments with more decision-making power and funding of their local systems. In 1983, BC Transit was created when the province merged the UTA and MTOC, removing the role of GVRD. Regional transit commissions were created in Vancouver and Victoria, tasked with approving local tariffs, planning, and some funding. In 1999, the responsibility for the transit system in Greater Vancouver