Transport and the shape of the city in Toronto

PRESTO and paying

PRESTO is the regional fare card, usable on the TTC, GO Transit and the surrounding municipal systems, and it works in a phone wallet as well as a plastic card. The TTC also accepts an ordinary contactless bank card tapped directly at the gate. A TTC fare buys unlimited transfers in any direction within a two-hour window, which makes short errands with a stop in the middle effectively free.

• PRESTO card, phone wallet or contactless bank card all work on the TTC.
• Two-hour transfer window: unlimited rides and transfers, in any direction.
• One Fare means transferring between the TTC and GO or a 905 agency does not double-charge you.
• A TTC monthly pass pays for itself at roughly daily commuting frequency.

Subway, streetcar and bus

Line 1 runs a U through downtown and Line 2 crosses it east to west; between them they carry most of the city, and almost every neighbourhood decision comes back to how far you are from one of them. Streetcars serve the downtown east-west corridors and are slower than they look on the map because they share the road. Buses cover the rest of the city on a dense grid that runs well into the night.

GO Transit and the airport

GO trains and buses connect the wider region to Union Station, which makes Mississauga, Etobicoke and further out realistic commutes. The UP Express runs from Union to Pearson airport in around twenty-five minutes and is the fastest way to the airport by a wide margin. Billy Bishop, on the islands at the foot of downtown, serves shorter regional flights and is walkable from the core.

• GO fares are distance-based and use the same PRESTO card.
• UP Express: Union to Pearson in about 25 minutes.
• Billy Bishop is a ten-minute walk plus a tunnel from downtown.

Driving, winter and insurance

Car insurance in Ontario is expensive, and a driver with no Canadian record is rated as inexperienced regardless of decades of driving elsewhere — bring a history letter from your previous insurer, because some companies will credit it. Highway 407 is a tolled express route billed by plate and it is not cheap. Winter tyres attract a mandatory insurance discount and are worth having on their own merits; the city clears main roads well and side streets slowly.