Voyageur Colonial Bus Lines, commonly called Voyageur Colonial or just Voyageur, was a Canadian intercity bus company that serves Eastern

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

and Western

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, primarily the cities of

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

and

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

, Toronto. It was acquired by

Greyhound Canada Greyhound Canada Transportation ULC (Greyhound Canada) was an intercity coach service that began as a local British Columbia bus line in the early 1920s, expanded across most of Canada, and became a subsidiary of the American Greyhound Lines in ...

in 1998.

History

PD-4107 coach of Colonial Lines in Ontario in 1968

Voyageur Colonial Limited was incorporated on January 7, 1928, as Colonial Coach Lines Ltd., which ran buses between

Renfrew Renfrew (; ; ) is a town west of Glasgow in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is the historic county town of Renfrewshire. Called the "Cradle of the Royal Stewarts" for its early link with Scotland's former royal house, Renfrew gaine ...

, Morrisburg and

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

. In 1930 Colonial was purchased by the Provincial Transport Company (la Compagnie de Transport-Provincial), which had been incorporated in November 1928 and acquired 31 bus lines in the Montreal area in June 1929. Colonial expanded during the 1930s and 1940s, acquiring many other operators, including the Toronto–Montreal Road Coach Line, the J. Gill Bus Line, Collacutt Coach Lines, Kawartha Lakes Coach Lines and Pony Bus Lines Ltd. In Quebec, Provincial was affiliated with the Montreal Tramways Company until 1948. Operations included intercity bus service throughout the province and transit operations (through subsidiaries) in

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( , ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François River, Saint-François and Magog River, Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territ ...

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

, Kingston and elsewhere. In 1969, after 40 years of operation, all of Provincial Transport Enterprises' subsidiaries were unified under the Voyageur name. At the same time, Colonial Coach Lines was renamed Voyageur Colonial Ltd. Voyageur 4503

At various times Voyageur operated a number of subsidiaries, including Voyageur Abitibi (based in Val d'Or), Voyageur Inc., Voyageur Provincial (both headquartered in Montréal) and Voyageur Quebec. By 1981 the company was owned by Canada Steamship Lines Inc., 50% owned by Paul Martin's family. The Quebec routes were sold to other operators over the following decade, and in 1994 Greyhound purchased key Ottawa and Toronto routes from Voyageur. In 1998 CSL sold Voyageur to

, which in turn is owned by the UK-based

FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.Gare d'autocars de Montréal Gare d'autocars de Montréal () is a Bus terminus, bus terminal located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the departure and arrival point for most Coach (bus), inter-city buses. Nearly 300 buses serve the terminal per day. The station is connec ...

Kingston Bus Terminal Kingston Bus Terminal is the inter-city bus station in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. It is at 1175 John Counter Boulevard, adjoining the Kingston Transit head office and bus garage. This location is in the northern portion of Kingston near Highway ...

* Ottawa Central Station

References

External links

Greyhound Canada

Greyhound Canada - historical timeline

{{FirstGroup Transport companies established in 1928 FirstGroup companies Bus transport in Ontario Bus transport in Quebec Companies based in Montreal Defunct intercity bus companies of Canada 1928 establishments in Ontario Canadian companies established in 1928