Public Transportation

Public Transit | Inter-Regional Bus Services | Train Services

The Greater Toronto Area has one of North America’s most efficient and highly integrated public transportation systems.

Public Transit

Greater Toronto Area municipalities and regions operate 12 integrated public transit systems. In addition, there is a regional commuter transit system operating trains and buses. Union Station is the hub for Greater Toronto urban, intra-regional and inter-urban rail services. Rail services link the GTA municipalities to nearby U.S. and Canadian cities.

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the busiest public transit system in Canada and the U.S after New York City. The TTC logs more than 1.4 million commuter trips daily with an annual ridership of more than 422 million.

The Toronto Transit Commission handles 89% of public transit trips in the Greater Toronto Area, utilizing four subway lines (68 km), a light rapid transit line, 11 light rail lines (streetcars) and 138 bus routes.

The system is well maintained and is clean and safe. A single fare provides transportation from any one point to any other, with free transfers between vehicles and lines. Daily, weekly, monthly and group passes are available at reduced prices.

The TTC operates a wheel-trans service for people with disabilities and many subway stations, as well as the newer buses, are wheelchair accessible.

Other public transit systems across the GTA:

• Ajax-Pickering Transit Authority
• Brampton Transit
• Burlington Transit
• Clarington Transit
• Mississauga Transit
• Milton Transit
• Oakville Transit
• Oshawa Transit Commission
• Whitby Transit
• York Region Transit

GO Transit, the intra-regional commuter transit, links 64 regional passenger terminals with 2,183 route-kilometers of rail and bus lines on 13 transit corridors. It offers regional train and bus services, with an emphasis on serving regional daily commuters to and from downtown Toronto. Every major community in the GTA has scheduled GO service. Passengers can get a discounted ride on many local transit systems to or from a GO Train station. The trains are spacious and comfortable, and buses are comparable to those used in commercial intercity coach services.

GO Transit fares are charged by the distance traveled (the fare zone) and the type of passenger. An “honor system” is used for fare payment. You do not need to deposit or show a ticket or pass each time you ride. However, you must keep your proof of fare payment handy for random ticket checks. Tickets and passes are valid between two fare zones. You may use the same ticket whether you take a train, a bus, or a combination of the two.

Inter-Regional Bus Services

• Can-Ar Coach Service provides bus service from Scarborough Town Centre Bus Terminal and Oshawa Bus Terminal to points north-east of the GTA, including Lindsay, Haliburton and Fenelon Falls.
  
  
• Coach Canada provides bus service from Guelph Bus Terminal, Burlington Bus Terminal, Scarborough Town Centre Bus Terminal and the GO Transit rail stations in Hamilton and Whitby to destinations in Southern Ontario and Eastern Ontario. It also has scheduled service to Montreal, Buffalo and New York City.
  
  
• Greyhound Canada provides scheduled bus service from the downtown Toronto Bus Terminal, Yorkdale Bus Terminal, and Scarborough Town Centre Bus Terminal to destinations across Canada and the United States.
  
  
• Ontario Northland Bus Service provides bus service from Yorkdale Bus Terminal to points in Central and Northern Ontario.

Train Services

• Amtrak provides train service from Union Station in Toronto to points in the U.S.A.
  
  
• Ontario Northland Rail provides train service from Union Station in Toronto to points in Northern Ontario.
  
  
• Via Rail provides national passenger train service to destinations across Canada. Service in the Toronto-Montreal-Quebec City corridor is fast and frequent. The “Corridor” trains depart four times daily for Montreal and four times daily for Windsor-Detroit. The Amtrak ‘Maple Leaf’ departs three times daily for New York City’s Penn Station.
  Via Rail trains serve and depart from Union Station in downtown Toronto, and the GO Transit stations at Aldershot, Brampton, Georgetown, Guildwood, Oakville, and Oshawa.

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