Kingston Transit

[GTAmissions1]

Service adjustments are being done in two batches to address concerns of reliability. Some routes will be rejigged while other routes may face a frequency reduction. 

Adjustments effective Monday, Oct. 6 

• Route 2 (Rideau Heights): Shortened loop at the end of the route. All stops continue to be served by Route 2 or other routes in the area. 
• Routes 6, 11, 15: Stops relocated from Gardiners Town Centre to Bath Road at Gardiners Road to reduce delays and improve transfer reliability for riders connecting to the 701/702. 
• Route 22 (east end): Eastbound trips will operate directly along Highway 15 to Innovation Drive; westbound trips will continue the regular route through Greenwood Park. 
• Routes 31/32 (West Campus): Rerouted via King Street instead of Union Street through Queen’s West Campus. Service to West Campus is maintained by other routes, and the 31/32 remain within typical walking distance for local riders. 

Adjustments effective Tuesday, Oct. 14 

• Route 16 (weekdays): Adjusted to operate directly between SLC and Kingston Centre via Portsmouth Avenue, Johnson Street, and Sir John A. Macdonald Boulevard, serving all existing stops along this corridor. To maintain coverage in Calvin Park and Portsmouth, a new weekday shuttle will operate along the existing Route 16 alignment, providing connections into the broader system. 
• System-wide schedule changes: Service levels will be reduced at selected times of day to better match available staffing while maintaining coverage across the network.

These changes include: 

• Express services (500- and 700-series): Fewer trips midday, with service generally maintained every 20 minutes instead of every 15 minutes. Transit Operations will redeploy operators to provide supplemental trips where possible. 
• Routes 11 and 13: Operate hourly during the morning and early afternoon on weekdays. 
• Route 2: Service will be hourly in the evening (after 7 p.m. weekdays and Saturdays; after 6:30 p.m. Sundays), consistent with previous service levels. 
• Sunday service: Routes 1, 31, and 32 will operate hourly throughout the day, a reduction from previous half-hourly service. 

Final comments:

I can understand that some routes will have a longer wait such as the 500 and 700 series while reverting some routes to hourly service to manage resources carefully. Hoping to restore regular service levels next year. 

Kingston Transit has definitely boosted service over the years and trying to increase staffing while at the same time needing to temporary suspend some trips until staffing improves. 

[DanT]

On 10/13/2025 at 12:39 AM, GTAmissions1 said:

 

Final comments:

I can understand that some routes will have a longer wait such as the 500 and 700 series while reverting some routes to hourly service to manage resources carefully. Hoping to restore regular service levels next year. 

Kingston Transit has definitely boosted service over the years and trying to increase staffing while at the same time needing to temporary suspend some trips until staffing improves. 

As someone who takes the 700s daily, I have already noticed a considerable increase in schedule adherence and reliability (used to be a lot of cancelled runs throughout the day)

 

I've also noticed that routes no longer seem to use the stops near SLC and Gardiners/Bath (KT is no longer entering the Gardiners Centre) as a time/transfer point and will cruise right through if no one is waiting or requests a stop, even if running early (or maybe I just have bad luck!)

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On an unrelated note,

Found this at an antique store in downtown Kingston for 50 cents - neat to see that route 6 is still largely the same route!