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The Guelph Transit Commission is a small public transportation agency that operates transit bus services in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1929 after the closure of the Guelph Radial Railway Company streetcar lines, Guelph Transit has grown to comprise over 87 buses serving 28 transit routes.
The main terminuses are located downtown at Guelph Central Station and at the University of Guelph, with a smaller facility at Stone Road Mall and the SmartCentres mall on Woodlawn Road. Via Rail's Toronto-Sarnia route, GO Transit trains on the Kitchener line, as well as various GO Transit buses, stop at Guelph Central Station.
Sleeman operated a brewery on Waterloo Avenue and expected that his employees would travel back and forth to work on his system. He also built a skating rink and park behind his brewery.
Operation began on September 17, 1895, with 20 minute service being provided between 5 am and 11 pm, Monday to Saturday. New lines were soon built including Suffolk, added in 1896, O.A.C (Ontario Agricultural College) in 1902 and York Road in 1911.
The Company's charter was extended in 1901 to provide for a line to be constructed to Hespeler, forming a loop line with Puslinch Lake.
Ridership doubled between 1902 and 1906 resulting in more rolling stock being purchased in 1906 and again in 1911. In 1903, the city of Guelph purchased the street railway for $78,000, which included eight miles of track, eight closed and three open cars.
Freight service had been introduced in 1900 using a small four-wheel locomotive, with traffic being interchanged with the Grand Trunk Railway. This business increased to a point where in 1911 a new 27-short ton locomotive, #26, was purchased from Preston Car & Coach, along with two 2-truck 'Prairie' type streetcars, #60 and #70. In 1913, another 'Prairie' car, #80, was added with two more, #90 and #100, being acquired in 1914. The Prairie cars were in length and were double ended. All five 'Prairie' cars were transferred to the Toronto and York Radial Railway in 1925 and renumbered 151 to 155. A second freight interchange was added on Suffolk Street in 1915 and a connection was made with the new Toronto Suburban Railway line in 1917.
The first bus, a 29-seat Gotfredson, was placed in service in 1926 on Eramosa Road. This service was discontinued on October 31, 1927, due to significant losses, however, the service was reinstated the following year with a smaller bus. A second bus was used when streetcar tracks were under repair.
Operating losses began to climb beginning in 1927. The Suffolk line was removed in 1929 due to its poor condition and the cost of rebuilding, being replaced by bus service.
In 1926, Ontario Hydro tried to sell the system back to the City of Guelph, but were refused. Finally, in June 1937, City Council recommended the discontinuance of the streetcars, September 30, 1937, being the final day of operation, buses replacing them the next day. In 1939, the Ontario Legislature passed an Act transferring the system to the newly created Guelph Transportation Commission (now called Guelph Transit). Electric freight service continued to operate until May 26, 1939. Guelph Radial Railway
On June 20, 2007, Guelph Transit launched a web-based system known as Next Bus. Global positioning system (GPS) technology and advanced computer modelling allow riders to receive accurate, real-time arrival and departure information via the Internet, (including Palm Pilot, BlackBerry, and Web-capable ), or their telephones. This system has proven frustrating to some Guelph residents, as Guelph Transit no longer posted paper copies of bus arrival times at bus stops; a user standing at a bus stop without a cell phone had no way of determining when the next bus would arrive. Additionally, the system's predictions have been known to be wildly inaccurate. thecannon.ca
The new system features web-based map displays with local streets and routes, and real-time information available on the web. It will also incorporate dynamic transit display signs at key locations around the city. One such sign is already in place at Stone Road Mall. However, the service is limited in that the time displayed is linked to the scheduled arrival on the applicable timetable, not the anticipated arrival based upon the current location of the bus.
Guelph Transit added holiday service in 2007 as well as additional routes serving the south end of the city. Services on these routes (56, 57, and 58) were suspended in April 2008, and the 54 Arkell route was extended to St Georges Square in July 2008.
In 2009 and 2010 Guelph Transit and Dillon Consulting developed a new Transit Growth Strategy and Plan for transit and mobility services.
As identified in the 2010 budget, Guelph Transit is modifying frequency and service hours in order to achieve targeted savings. These savings will be realized by shifting from a 20-minute service frequency to a 30-minute frequency in June, July, and August. Holiday service has also been cancelled for 2010.
On January 1, 2012, Guelph Transit launched a complete new system of routes and schedules to accommodate a growing demand for change within the transit system. The system includes new transfer points at Guelph Central Station and the University of Guelph. During peak service times, buses run on a 20-minute schedule. During non-peak service times, including Saturday and Sunday, service will continue to run on a 30-minute schedule.
Additional renovations, with a $2.1 million budget, were completed in 2016-2017. The work also helped to preserve and restore heritage characteristics.
The following is an April 2017 summary of the operations: "Guelph Central Train Station is a busy transit hub that accommodates Guelph Transit, GO Transit, Via Rail and Greyhound Canada operations. Each weekday, more than 5,000 passengers board Guelph Transit, to travel on one of the 15 different routes that operate out of the bus bays adjacent to the train station.
In September 2016, Guelph Transit began offering early morning shuttle service for those connecting with early GO Trains. Presto card could be used as a co-fare through all of the hours of GO service in Guelph.
In September 2017, Guelph Transit realigned the bus routes and schedules around the 99 Mainline, which provides bus service every 10 minutes on weekdays, and on weekends, every 15 minutes between Guelph Central Station and Clair Road and every 30 minutes from Guelph Central Station to Woodlawn Smartcentre.
Bus routes
Maps & schedules on the 15 University College route]]Routes as of July 21 2025:
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!Route
!Other terminuses
!Notes 1 Edinburgh College University Centre Loops south 2 College Edinburgh University Centre Loops north, Becomes Route 15 at University Center 3 Westmount Guelph Centre Station 4 York Guelph Transit Garage, Guelph Central Station 5 Goodwin University Centre Express service north of Gordon/Edinburgh 6 Ironwood University Centre Becomes route 7 Kortright Downey at University Centre 7 Kortright University Centre Becomes route 6 Harvard Ironwood at University Centre 8 Janefield Guelph Central Station, Stone Road Mall Station Via Wellington St. S, Edinburgh 9 Waterloo Guelph Central Station Becomes Route 20 at Guelph Central Station 10 Paisley Guelph Central Station Becomes Route 12 at Guelph Central Station 11 Silvercreek Guelph Central Station Becomes Route 14 at Guelph Central Station 12 Delhi Guelph Central Station, Guelph General Hospital Becomes Route 10 at Guelph Central Station 13 Eastview Guelph Central Station 14 Grange Guelph Central Station Becomes Route 11 at Guelph Central Station 15 College University Centre Loops west, Becomes Route 2 at University Center 16 Southgate Clair Becomes Route 19 at Gordon/Clair 17 Woodlawn Watson University Centre Loops West 18 Watson Woodlawn University Centre Loops East 19 Hanlon Creek Clair, Stone Road Mall Becomes Route 16 at Gordon/Clair 20 Northwest Industrial Guelph Central Station Becomes Route 9 at Guelph Central Station 50U Scottsdale University Centre, Stone Road Mall University Route (only runs Sept-Apr) 52U Kortright University Centre University Route (only runs Sept-Apr) 56U Colonial University Centre University Route (only runs Sept-Apr) 58U Edinburgh University Centre University Route (only runs Sept-Apr) 59U Gordon University Centre University Route (only runs Sept-Apr) (peak hour service only) 99 Mainline Clair, University Centre, Guelph Central Station, Woodlawn Smartcentre
Special routes
Late night bus service
Guelph Transit, in partnership with the Central Students Association at the University of Guelph, operate several late night drop-off only routes from the University Centre between 1-3 a.m, when regular bus service has ended. This service is provided from September to April from Tuesday to Sunday, with the exception of winter break, reading week and statutory holidays.
Bus fleet
Guelph transit's fleet consists entirely of NovaBus LFS's, with some Battery Electric LFSe+ versions.
See also
External links
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