All-Time List of Canadian Transit Systems

by David A. Wyatt

St. Catharines, Ontario

The modern City of Saint Catharines was formed 01 January 1961 by the amalgamation of the City of Saint Catharines with Merritton, Port Dalhousie and Grantham Township (Dobell).

Principal System

Sanderson, Newman and Hough [St. Catharines] token (EBay) Sanderson, Newman & Hough Bus Line (19th Century?)
omnibus Nothing is known about this operation except that it issued [undated] passenger fare tokens. The typical business pattern was common carrier scheduled omnibus service between railway station(s) and local hotels, coordinated with train arrivals and departures. Most such firms also engaged in charter activities, and some also carried mail. Some tokens inscribed Sanderson & Newman Bus Line. (Atwood – Coffee p. 470).

Saint Catharines horsecar St. Catharines Street Railway Company (01 November 1879 - March 1882)
street railway/light rail Incorporated 1874 (Ont.) Service reached Merriton in 1880 and Thorold in 1881. Name changed to StCM&TStRyCo 1882.

St. Catharines Street Railway early electric streetcar St. Catharines, Merriton and Thorold Street Railway Company (March 1882 - 1893)
street railway/light rail One line was constructed in 1888 under the legal ownership of the related Niagara & St. Catharines Street Railway Company (Mills 1967).

Port Dalhousie, St. Catharines and Thorold Electric Street Railway Company (1893 - 08 July 1901)
street railway/light rail Incorporated 28 July 1893 to acquire the StCM&TStRyCo. Purchased by the NS&T 01 May 1901.

Canadian National Transportation Ltd. [St. Catharines] #183, a Twin Coach model 38S (Peter Cox) Niagara, St. Catharines and Toronto Railway Company (08 July 1901 - December 1960)
street railway/light rail Incorporated 1898. Acquired by the Canadian Northern Railway in 1908 which became on 20 December 1918 Canadian National Railways. After 1922 the railway was designated the Canadian National Electric Railways: NS&T Railway District. Local service included St. Catharines, Merriton, Thorold, and Port Dalhousie. After 1931, bus operations were conducted by the NS&T under the Canadian National Transportation Limited name. The NS&T was formally amagamated with parent Canadian National Railways December 1960 (Dobell). (photo Peter Cox).

Canadian National Transportation Limited (December 1960 - 01 September 1961)
Road transport subsidiary of Canadian National Railways. Continuation of NS&T operations pending transfer to municipal ownership.

St. Catharines Transit Comm. 22 Twin model 41S (Brian Sullivan 1977 Jan 12 [Peter Cox coll.]) The Saint Catharines Transit Commission (01 September 1961 - present)
City bylaw of 21 August 1961 established the St. Catharines Transit System (Dobell). Commission established by provincial law 30 March 1962, retroactive to 01 September 1961. From the start transit service was operated in St. Catharines and Thorold. Adopted the marketing name St. Catharines Transit mid 1974 (Canadian Coach 1974). Certain regional routes grouped as Niagara Region Transit from 12 September 2011. (Mills 1967 also cites St. Catharines Public Utilities Commission but this is probably an error). (Dawes et al. 1972, Transit Canada 1975, CUTA 1976-77, CUTA 1989, CUTA 1991/2, CUTA 1992, Chow 1998) (photos: W.E. Miller [Peter Cox coll.], Brian Sullivan [Peter Cox coll.], Peter Cox collection)

St. Catharines Transit Comm. 30 GM TDH-4512 old look (1968 Sep. Peter Cox coll.) St. Catharines Transit 7821 GM T6H5307N new look (W.E. Miller 1980 Jun 25 [Peter Cox coll.]) St. Catharines Transit 8029 Orion.01 (W.E. Miller 1980 Jun 25 [Peter Cox coll.])

St. Catharines Transit logo
 
system logo
Service area population124,000 (1991)
Vehicle fleet51 buses (2000)
Employees155 (1991)
Ridership5,236,416 (2009)
Data sources:CUTA 1991/2
CTHF/SSG 2000
SCT website 2011 (logo)
CTF [Aug. 2010] (ridership)

Secondary Systems

St. Catharines Bus Co. (? - ?)
Bus operator operating in St. Catharines in opposition to NS&T street railway service (CR&MW December 1926, p. 667).

Thorold Transit (GM RTS) (Jan Gregor/Bus World 1996) Thorold Transit (circa 1995? - present)
Separate from St. Catharines for a period in the 1990's. By 2000 operated by St. Catharines Transit using StCT buses (CTHF/SSG 2000). Operated by contractor 5-0 Transportation (CPTdb Wiki 2014). Perera 1973 lists that the Town of Thorold received transit operating subsidies from the provincial government separate from St. Catharines. (photo Bus World, Vol. 19, No. 2, Winter 1996-97, p. 17, Chow 1998, CPTdb Wiki 2014).

Vehicle fleet2 buses (1996)
Data source:CTHF/SSG 1998 (1996 data)

Modes

Animal railway01 November 1879 - 1887
Electric railwaySeptember 1887 - 07 May 1948
Motor bus01 February 1929 - present

Niagara Region System

Niagara Region Transit (12 September 2011 - present)
Regional transit service linking St. Catharines, Thorold, Niagara Falls, Welland, Port Colborne, and Fort Erie. Operation of individual routes is by St. Catharines Transit, Welland Transit, or Niagara Falls Transit. (website 2011).

Niagara Region Transit logo
system logo
Data source: website 2011

Niagara Region Transit On-Demand (18 August 2020 - present)
Pilot program launched in Pelham, Lincoln, West Lincoln, Wainfleet, and Grimsby. Service contracted to Via Mobility. Initial trial for 12 months, with an option for a further 12 months.

Niagara, St. Catharines and Toronto Interurban

Some historians date NS&T's interurban operation from the opening of the former St. Catharines & Niagara Central  line under electric power 19 July 1900.

St. Catharines, Merriton and Thorold Street Railway Company (10 October 1887 - 1893)
electric interurban Organized from predecessor, the St. Catharines Street Railway Company in 1882 and electrified that company's 1881 interurban animal railway line from St. Catharines to Thorold 10 October 1887 (trial run 05 October 1887).

Port Dalhousie, St. Catharines and Thorold Electric Street Railway Company (1893 - 08 July 1901)
electric interurban Incorporated 28 July 1893 (Ont.) to acquire the StCM&TStRyCo (see St. Catharines). Purchased by the NS&T 01 May 1901.

NS&T interurban car Niagara, St. Catharines and Toronto Railway Company (19 July 1900 - 28 March 1959>)
electric interurban Incorporated 1898. Acquired and electrified the bankrupt St. Catharines and Niagara Central (steam operated 12 October 1887 - 1900). Acquired in 1908 by the Canadian Northern Railway which became on 20 December 1918 Canadian National Railways. After 1923 the railway was a component of the Canadian National Electric Railways. Main line from St. Catharines to Niagara Falls. Additional points served included Welland, Port Colborne, Port Dalhousie, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Merriton, and Thorold. Coördinated bus services first introduced 15 January 1931 under the Canadian National Transportation Limited name. (Mills 1967). Electric freight operation countinued until 01 June 1960 (RFC). (photo newdavesrailpix)

Last Passenger Runs by NS&T Line

St. Catharines - Niagara-on-the-Lake15 January 1931
St. Catharines - Thorold - Niagara Falls16 September 1947
Thorold - Port Colborne28 March 1959>
St. Catharines - Port Dalhousie06 August 1950
Data source:RFC

References


Copyright ©1989-2020 David A. Wyatt. All Rights Reserved.
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The author is always interested in comments, corrections and further information. Please email to:

dawwpg@shaw.ca
This page last modified: Wednesday, 22-Jul-2020 21:50:47 CDT