Kingston Transit

Kingston Transit is the public transit service serving Kingston, Ontario, Canada. As well as to the neighbouring community of Amherstview, in Loyalist Township. Major transfer points are at the Kingston Centre,^[2] Downtown Kingston (at the corner of Bagot and Brock streets), Cataraqui Town Centre, and Gardiners Town Centre. It began on July 1, 1962.

Kingston Transit

Founded	1962; 63 years ago (1962)
Headquarters	1181 John Counter Blvd
Service area	Kingston, Ontario Loyalist, Ontario
Service type	Bus service
Routes	27
Annual ridership	6.9 million[1] (2024)
Operator	City of Kingston
Website	Official Website

Kingston Transit offers service to all three schools of higher education in the region: Queen's University, St. Lawrence College, and RMC. It also offers service to the Kingston Bus Terminal and the railway station.

History

The Kingston Public Transit System began service on July 1, 1962, when the city's Public Utilities Commission took over the operation of transit service from Kingston City Coach, a subsidiary of Colonial Coach Lines. The Kingston Transit name was adopted in 1975.

In 2017, Kingston Transit experienced a record six million rides, which was the fourth consecutive year that ridership grew by more than 10 percent.^[3]

Routes

Local

Local routes operate Monday–Saturday from approximately 6:00 am to 11:00 pm and Sunday from 8:30 am to 8:30 pm. They run every 30 minutes Monday–Saturday before 7:00 pm, and every 60 minutes at all other times unless otherwise noted.^[4]

Num	Route name	Route points	Notes
1	Montreal St. – St. Lawrence College	Montreal St. Park & Ride, Downtown, St. Lawrence College	1B  ends Downtown
2	Division Street – Train Station	Guthrie / Joyce, Bus Terminal, Downtown, St. Lawrence College, Train Station	2B  ends Downtown & Bus Terminal Merged with  18 [5]
4	Downtown – Cataraqui Centre	Cataraqui Centre, Kingston Gospel Temple Park & Ride, Kingston Centre, Downtown	30 Minutes service on Sunday
6	St Lawrence College – Cataraqui Centre	Cataraqui Centre, Gardiners Centre, Centre 70 Park & Ride, St. Lawrence College	6B  ends at Gardiners Centre
7	Grant Timmins / Dalton – Cataraqui Centre	Cataraqui Centre, Kingston Gospel Temple Park & Ride, John Counter / Old Mill, Bus Terminal, Grant Timmins / Dalton	7B  ends at Bus Terminal
10	Amherstview – Cataraqui Centre	Cataraqui Centre, Taylor-Kidd / Bayridge, Loyalist / Fairfield, WJ Henderson Rec Centre	60 minute service all-day everyday
11	Cataraqui Centre – Train Station	Train Station, Kingston Centre, Gardiners Centre, Cataraqui Centre	11B  ends at Kingston Centre
12	Downtown – CFB Kingston	Downtown, Cambrai / Princess Mary	Does not run on weekends
13	Cataraqui North	Cataraqui Centre, INVISTA Centre Park & Ride, Princess / Augusta, Cataraqui Centre	Two-directional circuit route[5]  14B  ends at INVISTA Centre
14
15	Centre 70 Park & Ride – Cataraqui Centre	Cataraqui Centre, Tivoli / Sierra, Holy Cross Secondary, 1385 Waverley Cr., Gardiners Centre, Glen Castle / Henderson, Centre 70 Park & Ride	15B  ends at Gardiners Centre
16	First Canada / Weller – St. Lawrence College	First Canada / Weller, Kingston Centre, St Lawrence College
19	Woodhaven & Westbrook	Cataraqui Centre, Cataraqui Woods / Holden	19A - Westbrook  - Only runs during peak hours & weekdays
19A		Westbrook / Roshan
22	First Canada / Weller – Innovation / Highway 15	First Canada / Weller, Rideau Heights Community Centre, Rideau Town Centre, Innovation / Highway 5	22A  travels via Weller Ave.
31	Providence Care Hospital	St. Lawrence College, Kingston Centre, Princess / Ontario, Providence Care Hospital	31B  &  32B  end at Kingston Centre
32	St Lawrence College
60	King’s Crossing North – D’Artisan / Highway 2 (CFB Kingston) – Downtown		60B  starts at Fort Henry during Caseway closures, no service from downtown.

Seasonal

Seasonal routes primarily serve Queen's University and only operate from September–April (excluding the period between last exam day in December and first day of classes in January, and Reading Week).

Num	Route name	Route points	Notes
17A	Princess St. / Albert St. – An Clachan	Princess / Albert, Union / University, Norman Rogers / Van Order	Operates night time only (until 2:00 am)
17D	Queen's West Campus – Downtown	Queen's West Campus, Union / University, Downtown
17P	Downtown – Princess St. / Albert St.	Downtown, University / Union, Princess / Albert
17W	An Clachan – Queen's West Campus	Norman Rogers / Van Order, Union / Alfred, Queens West Campus, Union / Albert
20	Queen's Shuttle	Princess / Albert, Union / University, Queen's West Campus	Every 30 Minutes Monday–Friday, Between 8:10 am and 5:25 pm

Express

Express routes operate with a frequency of 10–30 minutes and have stops placed further apart than local routes.

Num	Route name	Direction	Frequency / notes
501	Cataraqui Centre – Downtown	Clockwise	10 minutes during rush hour 15, 20, or 30 minutes at other times Often runs as  4  on Princess St.
502		Counterclockwise
601	Innovation / Highway 15 – Queen's / Kingston General Hospital	Southwest	15 minutes Monday–Friday, before 7pm 30 minutes all other times No service on Summer Weekends  601A  &  602A  travels on Main St instead of Highway 15
602		Northeast
701	King's Crossing North – Cataraqui Centre	West	15 minutes during rush hour 30 minute at other times  702B  ends Downtown
702		East
801	Montreal St. Park & Ride – Downtown	South	15 minutes during rush hour 30 minute at other times  801A & 802A  extends to Queen's / Kingston General Hospital
802		North

Fares

Category	Cash	Multi-ride Pass (6 tickets)	Monthly Pass
Child (Ages 0–14)	Free	N/A	N/A
Youth (Ages 15–24)	$3.50	$14.00	$61.75
Adult (Ages 25–64)		$17.15	$83.00
Senior (Ages 65+)		$14.00	$61.75

Kingston Transit fares and My Card rates effective January 1, 2017.^[6] Daily and Weekly passes are also available from various transit locations.

Kingston Transit employs a smart card payment system for monthly passes (My Pass) and tickets (My Tickets), which was introduced in August 2008.

Transfers are free for cash fares but must be obtained at the time fare is paid. They are valid for 90 minutes.^[7] Payments using My Tickets have transfers automatically stored inside the card.

Queen's University students, who are members of the AMS or SGPS, as well as St. Lawrence College students can ride free, as part of a U-Pass program.^[8][9]

Kingston Transit did not increased fares till 2025 to encourage more individuals to ride transit in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic.^[7]

Rack and Roll

The current "Rack and Roll" system is used for bicycle transportation. If a customer wishes to bring a bicycle onto the bus, a pull-down rack is located at the outside front of the bus. The rack can currently hold 2 bicycles. It involves 2 slots which the bicycle's wheels fit into. Then, a curved hook fits around the front tire to secure the bike from falling. Rack and Roll is available during the cycling season.^[10]