As required by Law, on November 8, 1950, the residents of Christchurch went to the polls when the Christchurch Tramway Board held a Ratepayers Loan Poll for the "authorisation of the CTB modernisation programme".

The voters were asked to vote for one of the following proposals:

       1.  Renewal of tramway/trolleybus fleet
       2.  Phase out tramway/entirely in favour of trolleybus/omnibus fleet
       3.  Phase out tramway/trolleybus entirely in favour of omnibus fleet
       4.  Do not renew

The result was for a combined tramway/trolleybus/omnibus system (proposal 1). There was a total of 5113 for this proposal, with 2559 against.

The Board at its Annual Meeting for March 31, 1951, reaffirmed the poll. It was proposed to keep trams running on the Papanui, Cashmere, Sumner and Riccarton lines only. Papanui would be extended to Harewood; Riccarton Racecourse to Hornby; and Church Corner to Yaldhurst. The trams would be one-man Brills or similar.

Although no known plans exist for the proposed routes, it is believed trolleybuses were to be placed on the following routes: New Brighton, Fendalton extension to Burnside, Lincoln Road extension to Hoon Hay, Opawa extension to Heathcote, Wainoni extension to New Brighton Raceway, and Cranford Street extension to Casebrook/Redwood. The existing two routes, North Beach and Richmond was to be extended. The North Beach service to Beach Road, and the Richmond to Burwood (Hospital).

All remaining tram routes were to be converted to omnibus.

Going against the general practice of introduction, the General Manager, Mr John Fardell recommended to the Board to implement the modernisation in three stages; (1) introduce the omnibuses first, (2) followed by trolleybuses, (3) followed by trams. He told the Board that the one-man Brills in service and the trolleybuses still had a number of years life in them. He proposed that the last vehicles (trams) would enter service about 1961-1962. It was the beginning of the anti-tram/trolleybus usage in New Zealand that would prevail from the mid-1960s.

By March 1953 the omnibus fleet rose from 47 (1950) to 124. At the May (1953) meeting of the Board, Mr Fardell informed the Board that they had over-ordered (??) by 30 omnibuses and recommended the closure of Cashmere and Riccarton lines. Sumner line had by this time closed. Against the Ratepayers wishes and poll, he at the same meeting recommended to buy more omnibuses and convert all remaining tram routes to omnibus, leaving "only the trolleybuses as they seem to be popular else where in New Zealand and we could still introduce them".

Either by design or accident again Mr Fardell informed the Board in March 1956 that they had 152 omnibuses, but again over-ordered (??) by eight. To make use of these Mr Fardell, to the Board recommended the closure of the trolleybus routes. Ironically, as with the 1953-1954 tramway closures, no ratepayer or potential Councillor, challenged the Board for their unauthorised closures. The closures were duely quietly done, first on 30 May 1956 to Richmond (three buses required), and then North Beach (four buses required) on 8 November 1956. Christchurch was the first New Zealand city to abandon its trolleybus system at a time when the rest of the country was building their system. It would be interesting to know what Mr Fardell was thinking when he was busy closing "his" tramway/trolleybus seeing brand new trolleybuses being built for Dunedin leaving New Zealand Motor Bodies factory (1950-1956) opposite the depot and shipped south.