Sarnia Street Railway Company (1875 - 25 February 1931)
Incorporated 1874 (Ont.)
Converted from horsecars to electric cars in 1901, the last commercial operation of horsecars in Canada.
Service in Sarnia and Point Edward.
(photos: author's collection, Joseph Lamarche collection, flickr/snap-happy1).
Sarnia Bus Company Limited (01 January 1932 - 1956?)
Took over from the SStRyCo.
Service in Sarnia and Point Edward.
Franchise renewed for five years from 22 June 1951 (Windsor Star Nov. 6, 1950, p. 10). (photo: flickr/snap-happy1).
Cities Bus Services Ltd. (1956? - circa 1960)
Company threatened to withdraw service in 1957 (Windsor Star Mar. 29, 1957, p. 8).
Operating in 1958 (Canadian Coach 1966).
Signed a four-month agreement for financial support with the City March 1958
(Windsor Star Mar. 4, 1958, p. 35).
Sarnia Transit Company Ltd. (circa 1960 - 1974?)
Ten-year operating agreement ratified March 1960
(Windsor Star Mar. 4, 1960, p. 7).
(Canadian Coach 1967, Dawes et al. 1972). Acquired 1960's? by
Charterways Transportation Limited from
Hamilton Street Railway Company interests (Canadian Coach 1974, Transit Canada 1975).
Sarnia Transit (mid 1974 - present)
(Canadian Coach 1974, CUTA 1976-77, CUTA 1989, CUTA 1991/2, CUTA 1992, photo: Bernard Drouillard [Peter Cox coll.]).
 system logo |
Service area population | 75,000 (1991) | Vehicle fleet | 25 buses (1998) | Employees | 49 (1991) |
| Ridership | 1,063,124 (2009) | Data sources: | CUTA 1991/2 CTHF/SSG 1998 CTF [Aug. 2010] (ridership) website 2010 (logo) |
Miles Neilson (before 1931 - 31 December 1931?)
Bus operation, initially in competition with the SSRyCo, then
as one of several independents before franchise with SBCo
(CR&MW 1931).
Dial-a-Bus (24 June 1974 - 19 November 1974)
Transit service in Sarnia Township, connecting Bright's Grove and Camlachie to Sarnia. Owner
Don Lasenby threatened to discontinue service without financial
support from the township
(Windsor Star Nov. 15, 1974, p. 5).
| Animal railway | 1875 - 1901 * | Electric railway | January 1901 - 25 February 1931 | Motor bus | 1931? - present |
| * Horse cars returned to service July 1912 after a power house fire. |
The author is always interested in comments, corrections and further information. Please email to: dawwpg@shaw.ca This page last modified: Thursday, 15-Sep-2011 16:10:52 CDT