British Columbia

==Transportation==
Transportation played a huge role in British Columbia's history. The Rocky Mountains and the ranges west of them constituted a significant obstacle to overland travel until the completion of the transcontinental railway in 1885. The Peace River Canyon through the Rocky Mountains was the route the earliest explorers and fur traders used. Fur trade routes were only marginally used for access to British Columbia through the mountains. Travel from the rest of Canada before 1885 meant the difficulty of overland travel via the United States, around [[Cape Horn]] or overseas from Asia. Nearly all travel and freight to and from the region occurred via the Pacific Ocean, primarily through the ports of Victoria and New Westminster.

Until the 1930s, rail was the only means of overland travel to and from the rest of Canada; travellers using motor vehicles needed to journey through the United States. With the construction of the Inter-Provincial Highway in 1932 (now known as the [[Crowsnest Highway|Crowsnest Pass Highway]]), and later the [[Trans-Canada Highway]], road transportation evolved into the preferred mode of overland travel to and from the rest of the country.

{{as of|2021}}, the number of [[Plug-in electric vehicles in British Columbia|electric vehicles sold in British Columbia]] (as a percentage of total vehicle sales) was the highest of any Canadian province or U.S. state.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/highlights/bc-tops-quebec-and-california-as-ev-capital-of-north-america-5224158|title=B.C. tops Quebec and California as EV capital of North America|work=Vancouver is Awesome|date=April 1, 2022|access-date=April 20, 2022|first=Stefan|last=Labbé}}</ref>

===Roads and highways===
{{Main|List of British Columbia provincial highways}}
[[File:Alex Fraser Bridge from below.jpg|thumb|The [[Alex Fraser Bridge]] on [[British Columbia Highway 91|Highway 91]] between Richmond and Delta]]
Because of its size and rugged, varying topography, British Columbia requires thousands of kilometres of provincial highways to connect its communities. British Columbia's roads systems were notoriously poorly maintained and dangerous until a concentrated program of improvement was initiated in the 1950s and 1960s. There are now [[controlled-access highway|freeways]] in Greater Victoria, the Lower Mainland, and Central Interior of the province. Much of the rest of the province, where traffic volumes are generally low, is accessible by well-maintained generally high-mobility two-lane [[arterial road|arterial highways]] with additional passing lanes in mountainous areas and usually only a few stop-controlled intersections outside the main urban areas.

[[File:Highway 1, Burnaby.jpg|thumb|British Columbia Highway 1 near Brentwood, Burnaby]]
A couple of busy intercity corridors outside Greater Vancouver feature more heavily signalized limited-mobility arterial highways that are mostly four-lane and often divided by portable median [[traffic barrier]]s. [[British Columbia Highway 1|Highway 1]] on [[Vancouver Island]] and Highway 97 through the [[Okanagan Valley]] are medium- to high-volume roadways with variable posted speeds that range from {{convert|50|km/h|mph|abbr=on}} to maximums just slightly lower than the principal [[grade-separated]] highways. Numerous [[traffic light]]s operate in place of [[interchange (road)|interchanges]] on both arterials as long-term cost-cutting measures. Signalization along both these highways is heaviest through urban areas and along inter-urban sections where traffic volumes are similar to and sometimes higher than the freeways, but where funding is not available for upgrades to interchanges or construction of high-mobility alternative routes or bypasses. The building and maintenance of provincial highways is the responsibility of the [[Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (British Columbia)|British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure]].<ref name="BC highways">{{cite web |year=2013 |title=BC highways |url=http://www.gov.bc.ca/tran/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020112834/http://www.gov.bc.ca/tran/ |archive-date=October 20, 2013 |access-date=October 24, 2013 |publisher=[[British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure]]}}</ref>

There are only five major routes to the rest of Canada. From south to north they are: [[British Columbia provincial highway 3|BC Highway 3]] through the [[Crowsnest Pass]], the [[Vermilion Pass]] (Highway 93 in both [[British Columbia Highway 93|British Columbia]] and [[Alberta Highway 93|Alberta]]), the [[Kicking Horse Pass]], the latter being used by the Trans-Canada Highway entering Alberta through [[Banff National Park]], the [[Yellowhead Highway]] (16) through [[Jasper National Park]], and [[British Columbia Highway 2|Highway 2]] through [[Dawson Creek]]. There are also several highway crossings to the adjoining American states of Washington, Idaho, and Montana. The longest highway is Highway 97, running {{convert|2081|km}} from the British Columbia-Washington border at [[Osoyoos, British Columbia|Osoyoos]] north to [[Watson Lake, Yukon]] and which includes the British Columbia portion of the [[Alaska Highway]].

===Public transit===
[[File:Mark III SkyTrain near Nanaimo station.jpg|thumb|[[SkyTrain (Vancouver)|SkyTrain]] is the rail rapid transit system that serves Metro Vancouver.]]
[[File:Flyer trolleybuses on the Granville Mall in 2019.jpg|thumb|[[Trolley buses in Vancouver]]]]
Prior to 1979, surface [[public transport|public transit]] in the Vancouver and Victoria metropolitan areas was administered by BC Hydro, the provincially owned electricity utility. Subsequently, the province established [[BC Transit]] to oversee and operate all municipal transportation systems. In 1998, the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority, now [[TransLink (British Columbia)|TransLink]], a separate authority for routes within the Greater Vancouver Regional District, was established. Some smaller island communities, such as [[Gabriola Island]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://gabriolacommunitybus.com/about/history/ |title=History: GERTIE: Gabriola's Environmentally Responsible Trans Island Express |website=GERTIE |access-date=November 13, 2018 |archive-date=July 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190727015217/https://gabriolacommunitybus.com/about/history/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> and, formerly, [[Pender Island]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://penderbus.org/about |title=About the Bus |website=Pender Island Community Bus |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113210800/http://penderbus.org/about |archive-date=November 13, 2018 |access-date=November 13, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://penderbus.org/routes/alerts#alert-23 |title=Community Bus Pilot Project Ending |website=Pender Island Community Bus |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190110235046/http://penderbus.org/routes/alerts#alert-23 |archive-date=January 10, 2019 |access-date=January 10, 2019}}</ref> operate routes independent of BC Transit or TransLink. BC Transit has recently expanded to provide intercity routes,<ref>{{Cite news |last=McElroy |first=Justin |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-northern-bus-transit-may-2018-1.4683199 |title=B.C. government launches new bus service for northern half of the province |date=May 29, 2018 |access-date=November 13, 2018 |publisher=CBC |agency=CBC |archive-date=November 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181102040048/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-northern-bus-transit-may-2018-1.4683199 |url-status=live }}</ref> particularly in the Northern region of British Columbia. Other intercity routes were introduced connecting southern communities in preparation of the cancellation of [[Greyhound Canada]]'s pullout from Western Canada,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://bctransit.com/kamloops/schedules-and-maps/health-connections |title=Health Connections |website=BC Transit Kamloops |publisher=BC Transit |access-date=November 13, 2018 |archive-date=November 13, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113210647/https://bctransit.com/kamloops/schedules-and-maps/health-connections |url-status=live }}</ref> though options for intercity bus travel are still extremely limited.

Public transit in British Columbia consists mainly of diesel buses, although Vancouver is also serviced by a fleet of [[trolley bus]]es. Several experimental buses are being tested such as [[hybrid electric vehicle|hybrid]] buses that have both gasoline and electric engines. Additionally, there are CNG-fuelled buses being tested and used in Nanaimo and Kamloops systems.<ref>{{cite web |title=Our Fleet |url=http://bctransit.com/*/about/fleet |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818214911/https://bctransit.com/*/about/fleet |archive-date=August 18, 2017 |access-date=April 21, 2017 |publisher=[[BC Transit]]}}</ref> British Columbia also tested a fleet of Hydrogen-fuelled buses for the Vancouver-Whistler Winter Olympics in 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chfca.ca/say-h2i/cars-and-buses/bc-transit-fuel-cell-bus-fleet |title=Case Study – BC Transit Fuel Cell Bus Fleet |publisher=Chfca.ca |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170330182706/http://www.chfca.ca/say-h2i/cars-and-buses/bc-transit-fuel-cell-bus-fleet |archive-date=March 30, 2017 |access-date=April 21, 2017}}</ref> TransLink operates [[SkyTrain (Vancouver)|SkyTrain]], an automated [[rapid transit|metro]] system serving the cities of Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Surrey, Richmond, Coquitlam, and Port Moody. In 2009, the Canada Line SkyTrain was completed, linking Vancouver International Airport and the city of Richmond to downtown Vancouver bringing the total to three operating metro lines.

A new extension to Coquitlam and [[Port Moody]] (the [[Evergreen Extension]] of the [[Millennium Line]]) was completed in December 2016. Construction of an extension of the Millennium Line westwards through Vancouver to Arbutus Street began in February 2021,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chan |first=Kenneth |date=February 2, 2021 |title=Demolition begins ahead of Broadway Subway's major construction work |url=https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/broadway-subway-demolition-work-february-2021 |access-date=August 18, 2022 |website=Daily Hive}}</ref> with future plans to extend the line farther west from [[Arbutus station]] to the [[University of British Columbia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/skytrain-extension-ubc-1.5021463|title=Metro Vancouver mayors vote yes on SkyTrain extension to UBC | date=February 15, 2019 |work=CBC News |access-date=February 16, 2019}}</ref> Fare gates have been added to all existing stations, though in the past, SkyTrain used a proof of payment honour system. In the capital city of Victoria, BC Transit and the provincial government's infrastructure ministry are working together to create a bus rapid transit from the Westshore communities to downtown Victoria.<ref>{{cite web |title=Victoria Region Transit Priority Corridors |url=http://bctransit.com/victoria/transit-future/victoria-transit-priority-corridors |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160509141533/http://bctransit.com/victoria/transit-future/victoria-transit-priority-corridors |archive-date=May 9, 2016 |access-date=May 17, 2017 |publisher=[[BC Transit]]}}</ref> In [[Kamloops]], there is a bus rapid transit GPS trial underway to see how bus rapid transit affects smaller cities, rather than larger ones, like Victoria and Vancouver.<ref>{{cite news|title=Firm selected to study fixed-link rapid transit for North Shore – Kamloops.me|url=https://kamloops.me/2019/10/03/firm-selected-to-study-fixed-link-rapid-transit-for-north-shore/,%20https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2019TRAN0173-001910/|access-date=February 14, 2021|website=kamloops.me|language=en-US}}{{Dead link|date=March 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

===Rail===
{{see also|Canadian Pacific Railway in British Columbia}}

[[File:Eastbound over SCB.jpg|thumb|upright|CPR train traversing the [[Stoney Creek Bridge]]]]
Rail development expanded greatly in the decades after the [[Canadian Pacific Railway]] was completed, in 1885, and was the chief mode of long-distance surface transportation until the expansion and improvement of the provincial highways system began in the 1950s. Two major routes through the [[Yellowhead Pass]] competed with the Canadian Pacific Railway – the [[Grand Trunk Pacific]], terminating at Prince Rupert, and the [[Canadian Northern Railway]], terminating at Vancouver.

The [[British Columbia Electric Railway]] provided rail services in Victoria and Vancouver between the nineteenth century and mid twentieth century.

The [[Pacific Great Eastern]] line supplemented this service, providing a north–south route between interior resource communities and the coast. The Pacific Great Eastern (later known as British Columbia Railway and now owned by Canadian National Railway) connects Fort St James, Fort Nelson, and [[Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia|Tumbler Ridge]] with [[North Vancouver (city)|North Vancouver]]. The E&N Railway, rebranded as the [[Island Rail Corridor]], formerly served the commercial and passenger train markets of Vancouver Island. Service along the route is now minimal. Vancouver Island was also host to the [[Englewood Railway|last logging railway in North America]] until its closure in 2017.

Current passenger services in British Columbia are limited. [[Via Rail Canada]] operates 10 long-distance trains per week on two lines.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.viarail.ca/sites/all/files/media/pdfs/schedules/VIARail_Timetable.pdf |title=Via Rail Timetable |website=Via Rail Canada |access-date=January 10, 2019 |archive-date=December 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181218103920/https://www.viarail.ca/sites/all/files/media/pdfs/schedules/VIARail_Timetable.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Local services are limited to two regions, with [[TransLink (British Columbia)|TransLink]] providing rapid transit and commuter services in the [[Lower Mainland]] and by the [[Seton Lake Indian Band]] South of [[Lillooet]] with the [[Kaoham Shuttle]]. [[Amtrak]] runs international passenger service between Vancouver, [[Seattle]], and intermediate points.<ref>{{cite web |title=Our Train Schedules |url=https://www.amtrakcascades.com/our-train-schedules |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190111055035/https://www.amtrakcascades.com/our-train-schedules |archive-date=January 11, 2019 |access-date=January 10, 2019 |website=[[Amtrak Cascades]] |publisher=[[Washington State Department of Transportation]]}}</ref>

Several [[heritage railway]]s operate within the province, including the [[White Pass & Yukon Route]] that runs between [[Alaska]] and the [[Yukon]] via British Columbia.

===Water===
[[File:Spirit of Vancouver Island.jpg|thumb|''Spirit of Vancouver Island'' S-class ferry]]
[[BC Ferries]] was established as a provincial crown corporation in 1960 to provide passenger and vehicle ferry service between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland as a cheaper and more reliable alternative to the service operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway and other private operators. It now operates 25 routes among the [[List of islands of British Columbia|islands of British Columbia]], as well as between the islands and the mainland. Ferry service to Washington is offered by the [[Washington State Ferries]] (between [[Sidney, British Columbia|Sidney]] and [[Anacortes, Washington|Anacortes]]) and [[MV Coho|Black Ball Transport]] (between Victoria and [[Port Angeles, Washington]]). Ferry service over inland lakes and rivers is provided by the [[British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure|Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure]]. Various other coastal ferries are operated privately.

Commercial ocean transport is of vital importance. Major ports are at Vancouver, [[Roberts Bank]] (near [[Tsawwassen, British Columbia|Tsawwassen]]), Prince Rupert, and Victoria.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cosbc.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=909&Itemid=98 |title=International Shipping in British Columbia |publisher=Chamber of Shipping of BC |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729172613/http://www.cosbc.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=909&Itemid=98 |archive-date=July 29, 2013 |access-date=September 21, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cosbc.ca/images/docs/BCPortsHandbook2014.pdf |title=''BC Ports handbook'' |publisher=Chamber of Shipping of BC |access-date=November 21, 2019 |archive-date=February 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224184116/http://www.cosbc.ca/images/docs/BCPortsHandbook2014.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Vancouver, Victoria, and Prince Rupert are also major ports of call for [[cruise ship]]s. In 2007, a large maritime [[Containerization|container port]] was opened in Prince Rupert with an inland sorting port in Prince George.

===Air===
{{Main|List of airports in British Columbia}}
There are over 200 airports throughout British Columbia, the major ones being the [[Vancouver International Airport]], the [[Victoria International Airport]], the [[Kelowna International Airport]], and the [[Abbotsford International Airport]], the first three of which each served over 1,000,000 passengers in 2005. {{As of|2017}}, Vancouver International Airport is the [[List of the busiest airports in Canada|2nd busiest airport]] in the country and the second biggest International Gateway on the west coast (after Los Angeles) with an estimated 26.4&nbsp;million travellers passing through in 2019.<ref>{{cite news |last=Chan |first=Kenneth |date=February 3, 2022 |title=Record 26.4 million passengers at Vancouver International Airport in 2019 {{!}} Urbanized |language=en |website=[[Daily Hive]] |url=https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-international-airport-2019-passenger-statistics |url-status=live |access-date=November 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127072233/https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-international-airport-2019-passenger-statistics |archive-date=November 27, 2020}}</ref>