The Kitchener Public Utilities Commission (KPUC, or PUC) was the municipal public utilities commission for the city of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, as well as the surrounding area. Its former office in downtown Kitchener, constructed in 1931 in Beaux-Arts style, has been designated under the Ontario Heritage Act as both historically and architecturally significant, and is one of the Kitchener's few surviving historic public buildings. Transit services Transit service began with horse cars in 1887 as a private company whose owner was from New York City with day-to-day operations via Thomas M. Burt. The line was electrified for streetcars a few years later. The city did not renew the charter and the KPUC took over in 1927. The KPUC operated streetcars until 1946, as bus and trolley bus operations took over. The electric streetcars were scheduled to be retired on January 1, 1947. An ice storm on December 27, 1946 caused so much damage to the overhead that it was not repaired. Cross-town gasoline buses started in the 1930s. Trolley coach operation began on January 1, 1947, and ended by March 26, 1973. Transit operations were passed on to the City of Kitchener in 1973 and was operated with all-new bus routes as Kitchener Transit. Utilities operations, for gas, water and sewer services within the City of Kitchener are now run by Kitchener Utilities, a subsidiary of the municipality. In 2015, during the construction of the new Ion Light Rail system, remnants of the local streetcar system were unearthed. Roster Buses 10 Yellow Coach model 733 bus 2 CCF-Brill model C-36 gas bus 2 Brills - ex-Wellesley Bus Lines 1 Ford - ex-Wellesley Bus Lines* 1 Aerocoach - ex-Wellesley Bus Lines Roster as of December 31, 1972. City of Kitchener took over January 1, 1973. Trolley buses replaced March 26, 1973. Kitchener Transit launched with all new routes on July 3, 1973. 101 - 117 (odd numbers only). Nine, 1946 Canadian Car & Foundry T-44 electric trolley buses. #103, first production T-44, 119 burned in fire and scrapped Dec. 28, 1970. 121 - 129 (odd numbers only). Five, 1947 Canadian Car & Foundry T-44 electric trolley buses. 131 One, 1948 Canadian Car & Foundry T-44 electric trolley buses. 133 - 141 (odd numbers only). Five, 1951 CanCar ex-Ottawa Transportation Commission T-48 electric trolley buses. Purchased in 1959. 572 - 577 Six, 1957 General Motors TGH-3102 gasoline buses. 571 retired pre-1973. 591