Getting Around Kingston, Canada
Kingston, Ontario is a compact, waterfront city where most visitor needs can be met on foot or by bus, with taxis, ride-hailing, and rental cars filling in the gaps. This guide covers the practical options for moving around the city and how to reach it from the airport.
Kingston Transit Buses
Kingston Transit is the local public bus operator and the backbone of public transport in the city. Buses serve downtown Kingston and connect it to the rest of the city, with service running seven days a week from early morning to late evening (exact hours vary by route). All express routes pass through the downtown area, making it easy to reach the core from outlying parts of the city.
- Coverage: Kingston Transit operates within Kingston's urban area and also extends west to Amherstview. The fleet is partially electric and the service is accessible.
- Connections: Route 16 links the VIA Rail station at 1800 John Counter Blvd to downtown Kingston.
- Downtown transfer points: Platforms 1–3 are on Brock St between Montreal St and Bagot St; Platforms 4–6 are on Bagot St between Brock St and Princess St; Platform 7 is on Brock St between Bagot St and Wellington St.
- Example routes: Local routes include Route 1 (Montreal St. – St. Lawrence College), Route 2 (Kingston Centre – Division St.), Route 3 (Kingston Centre – Downtown), Route 4 (Cataraqui Centre – Downtown), and Route 12 (Kingston Centre – CFB Kingston). Express routes include the 501/502 (Cataraqui Centre – Downtown), 601/602 (Innovation Park – Downtown), 701/702 (King's Crossing Centre – Cataraqui Centre), and 801/802 (Montreal St. Park & Ride – Downtown).
Fares, Passes, and Trip Planning
You can pay your fare with cash or with an electronic smart card transit pass. Passes and multiple rides can be bought in advance, and pass types include a Day Pass and a Weekly Pass — both marketed to tourists and day-trippers — as well as a Monthly Commuter Pass that offers unlimited weekday rides at a discount versus the regular monthly pass. Passes can be purchased through the City of Kingston online or at designated locations such as City Hall. Queen's University students ride free with a validation sticker on their student card.
For planning, Kingston Transit publishes route lists with full stop schedules and downloadable PDF route maps, plus an online Trip Planner where you enter your start point and destination to get a route, stop, and timing. The Transit app offers departure times, suggested routes, and walking directions, and the third-party Moovit app also provides real-time transit information. Schedule and route data are also published in GTFS format through the City's Open Data Catalogue.
Park-and-Ride and Holiday Service
- Free park-and-ride is available at six locations.
- Sunday-level service runs on Family Day, Easter Sunday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Civic Holiday, Labour Day, Thanksgiving, and Boxing Day.
- Weekday-level service runs on Easter Monday, Truth & Reconciliation Day, and Remembrance Day.
- There is no service on Good Friday, Christmas Day, or New Year's Day.
Trolleys and Ferries
Beyond the regular bus network, two seasonal or specialized services are worth knowing about:
- Kingston Trolley Tours: A summer hop-on, hop-off service covering historic neighbourhoods, running from Fort Henry in the east to Kingston Penitentiary in the west. Themed options include a Ghost and Mystery Trolley Tour and a Christmas Light Tour. Tour times are seasonal, and tickets can be bought online or in person at the Visitor Information Centre (209 Ontario St.) or Waterfront Gifts & Apparel (248 Ontario St.). A K-Pass bundles admission to Kingston attractions.
- Wolfe Island Ferry: The Wolfe Islander IV, an electric ferry, offers free service between downtown Kingston and Wolfe Island, the largest of the Thousand Islands. It carries both cars and walk-on passengers, and hours vary.
Taxis and Ride-Hailing
Taxis are readily available, with Amey's Taxi the largest operator in the Kingston area — a family-owned business with a fleet of more than 130 vehicles, reachable at 613-546-1111. Metered rates start at $4.25 for the first 135 m, then $0.30 per additional 135 m, with a $0.50 charge for each extra passenger beyond one and $0.30 per 25 seconds of waiting; children under 12 accompanied by an adult ride free. Modern Taxi also operates, offering an app-based, cashless option. Uber operates in Kingston as well, including pre-scheduled rides.
Walking and Driving
Downtown Kingston is well suited to exploring on foot, with the waterfront, historic neighbourhoods, and the main transfer points clustered together. If you drive, downtown has roughly 800 on-street parking spaces plus about 1,300 spaces in surrounding public lots, and several garages and lots have no time limit. The Honk Mobile app handles hourly on-street parking and payment at named surface lots (Barrack, Frontenac, Angrove, Springer Memorial, McKee Memorial, Armstrong Memorial, King/Queen, Ontario/Brock, and Upper & Lower Robert Bruce), but it is not accepted at the Hanson and Chown garages.
For those who want a car, rentals are available from Avis (1412 Princess St Unit 9, 613-531-3311), Enterprise (1284 Bath Rd, 613-545-4044; 2244 Princess St, 613-547-0755), Rent-A-Car Canada (1390 Princess St, 613-767-2237), and Dixons Car and Truck Rental (2392 Princess St, 613-542-2222). If you are driving an electric vehicle, the City of Kingston provides charging stations, with locations listed on PlugShare.
Getting Into the City from the Airport
Kingston is served by its own airport, and the city is also connected by rail: the VIA Rail station at 1800 John Counter Blvd is linked to downtown by Kingston Transit Route 16, making the train a practical arrival option. Once you are in the city, the bus network, taxis, and ride-hailing all provide onward connections to downtown and beyond.