Colonial Coach Lines and Kingston's Transit History

With the demise of the Kingston electric street railway, Kingston City Coach, a subsidiary of Colonial Coach Lines, was given a ten-year franchise to operate city bus service from March 5, 1930. On March 10 alone, 1,400 interested passengers boarded for the fare of 10 cents.  Interestingly, one of the first priorities was to operate buses to Cataraqui Bay, site of the terminal grain elevator construction. This allowed workers to live in Kingston, thus there was no need to erect shacks and cook houses at the site. The cost of rehabilitating the street railway was estimated to be $325,000 making bus service a much more sensible option. That may not sound like a huge dollar amount, but comparing 1936 dollars to 2024 dollars mean this reconstruction would have a cost of at least $6,000,000. Starting a bus service was easier, quicker and in a global Depression, much more affordable.

That agreement was superseded by City By-Law No. 25 was passed on November 13, 1936, confirming Kingston City Coach Co. and Colonial Coach Lines, Ltd. as the city's designated transit providers for the ensuing ten years. The initial 1936 route schedule was published in the Whig (above), and an intercity Colonial Coach Lines schedule cover from 1945 (below). The Outer Station shuttle speaks to the importance of Canadian National Railways providing most intercity transportation from Kingston until major highways were built.

The service operated by Kingston City Coach lasted until July 1, 1962. Citing rising costs of operating and increased labour [wage] demands, the company was threatening leaving its agreement with the city as early as 1951. With static ridership since 1946, facing the possibility of curtailed routes and increased costs, bus operation was assumed by the Kingston Public Transit System (KPTS) as a public utility. The KPTS moniker was chosen in May, 1962 and the system transferred to the Public Utilities Commission at the end of 1962. This previous post shows Kingston Transit buses in service beginning in that year.

Today, I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with someone who was there in the Colonial days, John Carey. In subsequent posts, I'll share photos and information, courtesy of John, showing buses in Kingston as long as 90 years ago! There are certain interwoven themes, beginning in this post with transit lines from that predated our current Kingston Transit (the name first used in 1975). Subsequent posts include:

• bus stations in Kingston
• the buses themselves that were seen on Kingston streets
• John's engaging career story

You won't need to ask for a transfer to get to these posts...just click and enjoy the trip!