Pearson Airport is connected to the rail network and served by a large number of bus routes serving the surrounding residential areas. Of course, there is also a huge rental car building that houses dozens of rental car companies.
Rent a car
Have you decided to travel around Canada by car? Rent a car right at the airport and travel on your own without worrying about schedules and not-so-busy intercity traffic.
There is a wide choice of car rental companies in Toronto, which you can compare at a click according to your preferences, for example, via the web booking.com.
Prices here are reasonable and a week's rental costs about 345 cad.
UP Express Train
The "UP Express" train is the fastest transportation to downtown Toronto. The train runs with 2 stops taking you to the main Union Station in the downtown core. The station at the airport is located on the 2nd floor of Terminal 1.
If you arrive at Terminal 3, you must first take the free automatic Terminal Link train, which will take you directly to the UP Express station in 2 minutes.
Just follow the clear "Train to City" signs.
Train tickets
You can buy train tickets from the ticket machines in the arrival halls of both terminals (after you leave the transit zone) or directly on the station platform. When travelling from the city centre, you can also buy tickets from the ticket machine before entering the platform. You can pay by card or cash. You can also buy your ticket online at upexpress.com or via the mobile app.
A standard ticket costs 12,35 cad and is valid for one ride on the UP Express only, not on other Toronto transit. Trains run every quarter hour from 5:30 a.m. to approximately midnight. The trip downtown takes 25 minutes. Children under 12 ride for free and seniors over 65 ride for 6,20 cad.
TIP: If you also go back to the airport with UP Express, it's worth buying a PRESTO Card at the machine for 6 cad (the amount for the card that can't be used for fares), which you can charge directly to any amount. The PRESTO Card can be used on all transportation in and around Toronto. A single train ride on the PRESTO Card costs 9,25 cad, so the card will pay for itself on the return trip.
- Ride time to Union Station: 25 minutes
- Frequency: every 15 minutes
- Fares: 12,35 cad / 9,25 cad with PRESTO Card
- Last train from the airport: 23:27 every day
- First train from Union Station: 4:55am weekdays, 6:00am weekends and holidays
- Official website: upexpress.com
Bus to downtown
A cheaper but significantly longer alternative is bus routes. All services always stop at both terminals, and only at the ground level near the arrivals floors. The stop signs are very clear and tickets for all bus companies can be purchased in advance from the machines in the arrival halls of both Terminal 1 and 3 (in the public area).
The total journey time to the city centre, including the transfer to the metro, will be 60-90 minutes depending on the route chosen.
If you are travelling directly to Toronto, use the TTC's red and white buses on lines 52 or 900.
A transfer ticket to downtown will cost 3,35 cad. You can also use the PRESTO Card on buses, but in this case it's not worth the cost, as the discount over a paper PRESTO Ticket is only 5 cents. The purchase value of the PRESTO Card is 6 cad.
Timetables and information about public transport can be found on the TTC website: www.ttc.ca
- The 900 Airport Express line runs to the terminus of the Green Line 2 Kipling subway station, from where you can take the subway to downtown. However, if you are heading directly to Downtown, you will still need to transfer to the Yellow Line 1 subway at Spadina Station.
- PRESTO Ticket price: 3,35 cad (valid for 120 minutes for any number of transfers - you must always "beep" your ticket to the reader/turntable on the tube when you transfer)
- PRESTO Day-pass ticket price: 13,50 cad (valid for the entire calendar day on all TTC vehicles)
- Frequency: 9-10 minutes during the day, 20 minutes in the morning and at night
- Bus travel time to Kipling / total travel time to downtown: 17 minutes / 50 minutes
- Last bus from the airport - 1:59, however the last subway from Kipling to downtown runs at 1:31, so the last bus from the airport so you can catch the subway runs at 1:05
- First bus to the airport - 5:32 on weekdays, 7:40 on Sundays (first metro from Spadina station doesn't leave until 5:58, 8:12 on Sundays)
- The 52 / 952 runs along Long Lawrence Street to the north end of Toronto, where it connects to the Yellow Line 1 subway line towards downtown at Lawrence West station. However, the trip is lengthy and takes almost an hour just from the airport to Lawrence West station + another 25 minutes by subway to downtown. The 952 line is an express, but it still takes about 40 minutes to get to Lawrence West station.
When travelling towards the airport, you can only use the 52A or 952 option, the others don't go to the airport.- Ticket price: the same as for line 900
- Frequency: 7-10 minutes during peak hours, 15-20 minutes off-peak
- Last bus from the airport - 1:55
- First bus to airport from Lawrence West station - 5:05 a.m. weekdays and Saturdays, 4:36 a.m. Sundays
Taxi
Official taxis and shared services such as Uber and Bolt are available outside both terminals at all hours of the day and night.
Fares to downtown Toronto (Union Station) are around 61 cad.
Night Transportation
During the night, use only the 300 bus service to get to the north end of downtown Toronto (Spadina Ave). It runs from about 2:15am to 5:00am at intervals of about 20 minutes. Then on Sundays it runs until 7:45am, with a 9-10 minute interval between 5:00 and 7:40am.
The fares are the same as the daytime lines and the journey to the centre takes about 40 minutes.
Local buses
Bus services to nearby destinations are only available to residents or guests at local hotels, but all of them provide their own free hotel/airport shuttle service.
A detailed list of all routes and companies can be found on the airport website: torontopearson.com
Map of public transport lines
View a map of all bus and train routes serving Toronto Pearson YYZ Airport.
Long distance buses (Niagara Falls, etc.)
Long-distance buses to many Canadian and American destinations also stop directly at the terminal. Connections are usually more expensive than from downtown Toronto.
- Niagara Falls - niagaraairbus.com: connections on request, prices from 99 cad
- Kingston - flixbus.com, megabus.com: 2-4 times daily, price from 50 cad