stops was increased. Commissioner Gibbs and ERR Superintendent Thomas Ferrier opted for a gradual shift away from streetcars; both to make sure ridership was positively impacted by the change, and also to see how riders reacted to the trolley buses. The trolley buses proved highly successful when they began service, with the peak passenger load increasing by 100% instead of 50% as planners had anticipated. This unanticipated demand forced the ERR to order three additional trolley buses, and make the route shorter than planned to reduce the number of people using use it. Final decade of streetcar service During the Second World War, Edmonton became a key air hub for the Allied cause. Blatchford Field was chosen by the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan to host an observer school and an elementary flight training school, and Edmonton served as a key stopping point for Lend-Lease aircraft traveling from the United States to the Soviet Union; thousands of Edmontonians became employed in the aircraft repair sector. An influx of Americans called Edmonton home starting in 1942, when Edmonton became the southern hub of the Alaska Highway and the Canol pipeline. Local workers and American soldiers alike primarily relied on the Edmonton Radial Railway to get around the city, and the ERR's ridership spiked by 40% between 1940 and 1942. The transition away from streetcars was slowed by the war, as Edmonton struggled to procure buses in the face of wartime supply restrictions. Edmonton was forced to build new tracks to provide high-in-demand streetcar service to Aircraft Repair Ltd, which employed approximately 3,000 residents. When streetcar No. 28 caught fire in 1943, the ERR opted for a lengthy three-year refit instead of scrapping it, due to the severe shortage of rolling stock. Also in 1943, the ERR reintroduced conductors, many of whom were women, to sell tickets and issue transfers on streetcars that served busy routes; conductors were originally phased out in the 1930s when the ERR switched to single-ended streetcars. Despite the difficulties encountered by Edmonton during the war, it still managed to replace some streetcar lines with bus service. Streetcar operations along 95 Street, Scona Hill, and the Low Level bridge were replaced by buses in 1939; this was followed by Bonnie Doon in 1940, Whyte Avenue (between 104 and 94 Street) in 1944, and Highlands, along with the Rossdale stub line, in 1945. The ERR tried to find ways