Transportation In Toronto
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Transportation Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...
in the Canadian city of
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
forms the hub of the road, rail and air networks in the
Greater Toronto Area The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the Toronto, City of Toronto and the regional municipality, regional municipalities of Regional Municipality of Durham, Durham, Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton, Regional ...
and much of southern
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 ...
. There are many forms of
transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...
in the city, including railways, highways, and public transit. Toronto also has an extensive network of bicycle lanes and multi-use trails and paths.


Railways

Toronto is a major rail transportation hub in Canada and central
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
, with most commercial rail freight operations carried out by two Class I railways,
Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...
and
Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...
. Both companies operate major yards and intermodal facilities in various parts of Toronto to serve manufacturing and logistics customers. Although at one time both railways saw most of their operations based out of the waterfront area, over time they have shifted to facilities in suburban Toronto or adjacent municipalities. Most waterfront trackage has been scaled back and abandoned in favour of real-estate development, with the remaining main lines in this area being almost the exclusive domain of passenger carriers. Significant portions of the railway network in the City of Toronto have been sold by the commercial railways to
GO Transit GO Transit is a regional public transit system serving the Greater Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada. With its hub at Union Station in Toronto, GO Transit's green-and-white trains and buses serve a population of more than seven mil ...
, the provincial
commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...
operator. Toronto is served by inter-city
Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via (stylized as VIA Rail), is a Canadian Crown corporation that operates intercity passenger rail service in Canada. As of December 2023, Via Rail operates 406 trains per week across eight ...
to other Canadian cities and
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
's daily
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
trains through
Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...
, a grand neoclassical structure in the heart of the city's downtown, which is shared with GO Transit's commuter trains. The
Union Pearson Express The Union Pearson Express (UP Express or UPX) is an airport rail link connecting Union Station (Toronto), Union Station in Downtown Toronto to Toronto Pearson International Airport. The UP Express began operation on 6 June 2015, in time for the ...
, an
airport rail link An airport rail link is a service providing passenger rail transport between an airport and a nearby city. Direct links operate straight from the airport terminal to the city, while other links require an intermediate use of a people mover or ...
from
Toronto Pearson International Airport Toronto Pearson International Airport is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the surrounding region known as the Golden Horseshoe. Pearson is the ...
to
Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...
and the central business district, started operation on June 6, 2015. It was completed in time for the
2015 Pan American Games The 2015 Pan American Games (), officially the XVII Pan American Games () and commonly known as the Toronto 2015 Pan-Am Games (Toronto 2015), were a major international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Pan American Games, ...
.


Bus terminals

GO Transit GO Transit is a regional public transit system serving the Greater Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada. With its hub at Union Station in Toronto, GO Transit's green-and-white trains and buses serve a population of more than seven mil ...
operates all of its commuter bus services into and out of downtown Toronto from the
Union Station Bus Terminal The Union Station Bus Terminal is the central intercity bus terminal in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in Downtown Toronto on the second floor of the south tower of CIBC Square, on the northeast corner of Bay Street and Lake Shore Bo ...
, a terminal owned and operated by GO Transit and adjacent to
Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...
. This bus terminal was opened in 2020, replacing an earlier Union Station GO Bus Terminal. GO Transit also operates the Yorkdale Bus Terminal at
Yorkdale Shopping Centre Yorkdale Shopping Centre is a shopping mall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at the southwest corner of the Ontario Highway 401, Highway 401 and Allen Road interchange. It spans of selling space and has sales of per square foot ( per square metre ...
and several terminals at subway stations, including Finch Bus Terminal,
Scarborough Centre Bus Terminal Scarborough Centre Bus Terminal is a regional and intercity bus terminal in Scarborough City Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located near its Scarborough Centre station, namesake rapid transit station on Line 3 Scarborough of the Toronto subwa ...
and York Mills Bus Terminal. Most intercity coach services operate out of the new Union Station Bus Terminal after relocating from the decommissioned
Toronto Coach Terminal The Toronto Coach Terminal is a decommissioned bus station for intercity bus services in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was the central intercity bus station in Toronto until mid-2021, when it was replaced by the Union Station Bus Termi ...
at
Bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...
and Dundas in 2021. Intercity coach companies operating services out of the Union Station Bus Terminal include Ontario Northland, Megabus, TOK Coachlines, Rider Express,
Flixbus FlixBus (; styled FLiXBUS) is a German brand that offers low-cost Intercity bus service, intercity coach services in Europe, North America, South America and Asia. It is owned by , which also operates FlixTrain, FlixCar, , and Greyhound Lines. F ...
, and
Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. is an American operator of Intercity bus service, intercity bus services. Greyhound operates the largest intercity bus network in the United States, and also operates charter and Amtrak Thruway services, as well as interci ...
.


Highways

There are a number of
freeways A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...
that serve both the city proper and the
Greater Toronto Area The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the Toronto, City of Toronto and the regional municipality, regional municipalities of Regional Municipality of Durham, Durham, Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton, Regional ...
. Bisecting the city from west to east across its inner suburbs,
Highway 401 King's Highway 401, commonly referred to as Highway 401 and also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway or colloquially referred to as the four-oh-one, is a controlled-access 400-series highway in the Canadian prov ...
(or simply, "the 401") acts as a bypass of the downtown core, and is both the busiest and widest highway in Canada. At its interchange with Highway 400, where it spans 18 lanes, it sees over 400,000 vehicles on an average day, making it one of the world's busiest highways. At the western edge of the city, the 401 meets Highway 427, an important north–south artery between
Toronto Pearson International Airport Toronto Pearson International Airport is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the surrounding region known as the Golden Horseshoe. Pearson is the ...
and the Gardiner Expressway. It mainly serves the airport and the western suburbs outside the city of Toronto. In the same area, the short length of Highway 409 connects the airport directly to the traffic flow of the 401. Moving east, the 401 then intersects Highway 400, which leads north to
Barrie Barrie is a city in Central Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay. Although it is physically in the county, Barrie is politically independent. The city is part ...
, the recreational areas of Ontario's "Cottage Country" and beyond, to the northern reaches of the province. East of the 400, the 401 meets
Allen Road Allen Road, formally known as William R. Allen Road, is a short municipal expressway and arterial road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It starts as a controlled-access expressway at Eglinton Avenue West, heading north to just south of Transit Road ...
, and then the
Don Valley Parkway The Don Valley Parkway (DVP) is a municipal expressway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which connects the Gardiner Expressway in downtown Toronto with Highway 401. North of Highway 401, it continues as Highway 404. The parkway ru ...
Highway 404, before continuing eastwards out of Toronto into the suburbs of Pickering,
Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...
,
Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the Yorkshire Coast at the mouth of the River Esk, North Yorkshire, River Esk and has a maritime, mineral and tourist economy. From the Middle Ages, Whitby ...
, and
Oshawa Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the Greater Toronto Area and of the Golden Horseshoe. It ...
. The Allen Road is an expressway from Eglinton Avenue to Sheppard Avenue north of the 401. The Don Valley Parkway is a north–south expressway that links downtown Toronto to the 401. Beyond the 401, this route is known as Highway 404, and connects the more distant outer suburbs of
Markham Markham may refer to: Biology * Markham's storm-petrel (''Oceanodroma markhami''), a seabird species found in Chile and Colombia * Markham's grass mouse (''Abrothrix olivaceus markhami''), a rodent subspecies found on Wellington Island and the ne ...
, Richmond Hill,
Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...
, and Newmarket to the 401. The
Gardiner Expressway The Frederick G. Gardiner Expressway, commonly known as the Gardiner Expressway or simply the Gardiner, is a partially at grade and elevated municipal expressway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Running close to the shore of Lake Ontario, it exten ...
(or colloquially, "the Gardiner") roughly follows the northern shore of Lake Ontario, and connects the western suburbs to the downtown core. West of Highway 427, the Gardiner becomes
Queen Elizabeth Way The Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) is a 400-series highways, 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario linking Toronto with the Niagara Peninsula and Buffalo, New York. The highway begins at the Canada–United States border on the Pea ...
(often called the QEW, or simply "The Q.E."), which heads towards
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
,
Niagara Falls Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York (s ...
, and
Fort Erie Fort Erie is a town in the Niagara Region of Ontario, Canada. The town is located at the south eastern corner of the region, on the Niagara River, directly across the Canada–United States border from Buffalo, New York, and is the site of ...
(and the
Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...
in the vicinity of Buffalo). Highway 407 ETR is not located within Toronto proper, but is a major highway in the
Greater Toronto Area The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the Toronto, City of Toronto and the regional municipality, regional municipalities of Regional Municipality of Durham, Durham, Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton, Regional ...
that acts as a secondary bypass around the northern end of the city, stretching from Burlington in the west to Pickering in the east. It is an electronic toll road with no physical toll booths, instead depending on automatic recognition of vehicle plates or
electronic toll collection Electronic toll collection (ETC) is a wireless system to automatically collect the usage fee or Road pricing, toll charged to vehicles using toll roads, HOV lanes, toll bridges, and toll tunnels. It is a faster alternative which is replacing Tol ...
.


Roads

Toronto has 9500 roads or 5200 kilometres across the city. Toronto is largely built on a grid-based road system with a few notable exceptions. These include streets such as
Davenport Road Davenport Road is an east–west arterial road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is believed to be the oldest road in Toronto, starting as a native trail called "old portage" along the shoreline scarp of Glacial Lake Iroquois. It currently run ...
and
Vaughan Road Vaughan Road is a road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a contour collector road that is parallel to a Subterranean river, buried Urban stream, creek to the north called Castle Frank Brook. Vaughan Road begins on Bathurst Street (Toronto), Bathu ...
, which follow an old native trail, while others, such as Kingston Road, were originally constructed to link Toronto with other settlements in Ontario. The street network downtown mostly consists of a dense network of four-lane arterial and collector roads typical of an older North American city. Outside the downtown core, most arterial roads have two or three lanes of traffic in each direction. Toronto's road system was mainly designed for vehicular traffic, and is quite easy to navigate. There are some anomalies; for example, Lawrence Avenue and St. Clair Avenue are both split into two sections by the Don Valley, and, in the case of St. Clair Avenue, the drive between the two sections is almost 15 minutes. Roads sometimes change names, and the 1998 Amalgamation has caused some doubling in road names, although this is usually confined to smaller, more residential, roads. The main north–south arteries, from west to east, are
Kipling Avenue Kipling Avenue is a street in the cities of Toronto and Vaughan, Ontario, Vaughan in Ontario, Canada. It is a concession road, 6 concessions (12 km) west from Yonge Street, and is a major north–south arterial road. It consists of thre ...
,
Islington Avenue Islington Avenue is a north–south route travelling through the City of Toronto and York Region. It runs from Lake Shore Boulevard West at 7th Street in the former Town of New Toronto to Highway 27 at the former town of Kleinburg, in the Cit ...
,
Royal York Road Royal York Road, historically known as Church Street or New Church Street, is a north-south arterial road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a concession road, 5 concessions (10 km) west of Yonge Street, and runs through many residential ne ...
, Jane Street,
Keele Street Keele Street is a north–south road in Toronto and York Region in Ontario, Canada. It stretches , running from Bloor Street in Toronto to the Holland Marsh. It begins at Bloor Street, as a continuation of Parkside Drive, which was originally pa ...
/
Weston Road Weston Road is both a contour street and a north–south street in western Toronto and western York Region in Ontario, Canada. The road is named for the neighbourhood and former Town of Weston, which is located near Weston Road and Lawrence Ave ...
,
Dufferin Street Dufferin Street is a major north–south street in Toronto, Vaughan and King, Ontario, Canada. It is a concession road, two concessions (4 km) west of Yonge Street. The street starts at Exhibition Place, continues north to Toronto's nor ...
, Bathurst Street,
Avenue Road Avenue Road may refer to: * Avenue Road, Bangalore, busy shopping and commercial street in Bangalore * Avenue Road, London, street in the Swiss Cottage and St John's Wood districts of London * Avenue Road tram stop, tram stop in the London Borough ...
/ University Avenue,
Yonge Street Yonge Street ( ') is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Great Lakes#Geography, Upper Great Lakes. Ontario's first colonial administrator, ...
,
Bayview Avenue Bayview Avenue is a major north–south route in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario. North of Toronto, in Regional Municipality of York, York Region, Bayview is designated as List of numbered roads in York Region, York Regional Road 34. It is 46 ...
,
Leslie Street Leslie Street is a north-south route in Toronto and York Region, Ontario, Canada. It is distinctive because of its four unconnected segments. History The road has a long history and dates back to 1850s Toronto Nursery that was run by Georg ...
,
Don Mills Road Don Mills Road is a north-south route in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, passing through the former cities of East York and North York. It begins at O'Connor Drive near ramps to the Don Valley Parkway, and ends at John Street in Markham, where its ...
,
Victoria Park Avenue Victoria Park Avenue is a major north-south route in eastern Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the western border of Scarborough, separating it from Old Toronto, East York, and North York. The common nickname for it is VP or Vic Park. History ...
,
Warden Avenue A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically iden ...
, Kennedy Road,
McCowan Road McCowan Road is a major north-south thoroughfare in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada. It runs through the city of Toronto and into the Regional Municipality of York where it ends at the Town of Georgina. The road was named for the McCowan ...
,
Markham Road Markham may refer to: Biology * Markham's storm-petrel (''Oceanodroma markhami''), a seabird species found in Chile and Colombia * Markham's grass mouse (''Abrothrix olivaceus markhami''), a rodent subspecies found on Wellington Island and the ne ...
, and Morningside Avenue. The main east–west arteries, from north to south, are
Steeles Avenue Steeles Avenue is an east–west street that stretches across the western and central Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada. Running from Appleby Line in Milton in the west to the Scarborough-Pickering Townline in the east, where it continue ...
,
Finch Avenue Finch Avenue is an arterial road, arterial thoroughfare that travels east–west in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The road continues west into the Regional Municipality of Peel as List of numbered roads in Peel Region, Regional Road 2 and east in ...
,
Sheppard Avenue Sheppard Avenue is an east–west principal arterial road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The street has two distinct branches near its eastern end, with the original route being a collector road leading to Pickering, Ontario, Pickering via a turno ...
, Wilson Avenue / York Mills Road / Ellesmere Road (the latter two connected by Parkwoods Village Drive),
Lawrence Avenue Lawrence Avenue is a major east–west thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is divided into east and west portions (Lawrence Avenue East and Lawrence Avenue West) by Yonge Street, the dividing line of east–west streets in Toronto. Rout ...
,
Eglinton Avenue Eglinton Avenue is a major east–west Arterial road, arterial thoroughfare in Toronto and Mississauga in the Canadian province of Ontario. The street begins at Ontario Highway 407, Highway 407 (but does not interchange with the tollway) at the w ...
, St. Clair Avenue,
Bloor Street Bloor Street is an east–west arterial road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Bloor Street runs from the Prince Edward Viaduct, which spans the Don River (Ontario), Don River Valley, westward into Mississauga where it ends at Central Parkway. East ...
/
Danforth Avenue Danforth Avenue (informally also known as the Danforth) and Danforth Road are two historically-related arterial streets in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Danforth ''Avenue'' is an east-west street that begins in Old Toronto at the Prince Edward Vi ...
,
Dundas Street Dundas Street () is a major historic arterial road in Ontario, Canada. The road connects the city of Toronto with its western Greater Toronto Area, suburbs and several cities in southwestern Ontario. Three provincial highways—Ontario Highway 2 ...
,
Queen Street West Queen Street is a major east–west thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It extends from Roncesvalles Avenue and King Street in the west to Victoria Park Avenue in the east. Queen Street was the cartographic baseline for the original eas ...
and East, and
Lake Shore Boulevard Lake Shore Boulevard (often incorrectly compounded as Lakeshore Boulevard) is a major arterial road running along more than half of the Lake Ontario waterfront in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Prior to 1998, two segments of Lake Shore ...
/ Kingston Road. Roads in Toronto are often potted with potholes due to freezing and thawing in the winter-spring seasons. On average, there are 100 major potholes reported with a high of 1000. Potholes are repaired by city crews. Full paving is done by contractors when the need arises.


Toll roads

From 1820 to 1896, tolls were collected on roads leaving the old city boundaries: * Yonge and King * Yonge and College/Carlton * Yonge Street and Bloor Street * Yonge Street at Gallows Hill * Queen Street West and Ossington Avenue No Toronto roads have been tolled since 1896; the closest is Highway 407 in
Durham Region The Regional Municipality of Durham (), informally referred to as Durham Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada. Located east of Toronto and the Regional Municipality of York, it forms the east end of the Greater Toronto A ...
,
York Region The Regional Municipality of York, also called York Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, between Lake Simcoe and Toronto. The region was established after the passing of then Bill 102, An Act to Establish The Regional ...
and Peel Region; the expressway runs northeast, north and northwest of the city, respectively.


Public transportation

Within the city, the
Toronto Transit Commission The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the primary public transport agency in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operating the majority of the city's transit bus, bus and rail services. It is the oldest and largest of the urban transit service providers ...
(TTC) operates an extensive system of subways,
bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...
es, and
streetcar A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include s ...
s, covering of routes. A single flat fare applies for any trip within the city regardless of distance or transfers required with the exception of contracted routes that travel outside of the city and downtown express routes. The TTC is the third busiest transit agency by ridership in North America (after the
Mexico City Metro The Mexico City Metro () is a rapid transit system that serves Greater Mexico City, the metropolitan area of Mexico City, including some municipalities in the State of Mexico. Operated by the Sistema de Transporte Colectivo (STC), it is the Lis ...
and
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
's
New York City Transit Authority The New York City Transit Authority (also known as NYCTA, the TA, or simply Transit, and branded as MTA New York City Transit) is a New York state public-benefit corporations, public-benefit corporation in the U.S. state of New York (state), New ...
).


Buses and streetcars

The rest of the city is primarily served by a network of about 150
bus routes A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used in ...
, many of them forming a grid along main streets. Most bus routes connect to one or more subway stations, save a few routes that serve bus depots or GO stations. A more distinctive feature of the TTC is the streetcar system, one of the few remaining in North America with a substantial amount of in-street operation. The city of Toronto has the largest streetcar system in the Americas.


Metro rail

The backbone of the TTC is a subway system with two lines,
Line 1 Yonge–University Line 1 Yonge–University is a rapid transit line of the Toronto subway. It serves Toronto and the neighbouring city of Vaughan in Ontario, Canada. It is operated by the Toronto Transit Commission, has 38 stations and is in length, making it t ...
and
Line 2 Bloor–Danforth Line 2 Bloor–Danforth is a rapid transit line in the Toronto subway system, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). It has 31 Metro station, stations and is in length. It opened on February 26, 1966, and extensions at both ends we ...
, running along principal streets and connecting Toronto's outlying areas with its downtown core.


Commuter rail

Inter-regional
commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...
and
bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...
service is provided by
GO Transit GO Transit is a regional public transit system serving the Greater Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada. With its hub at Union Station in Toronto, GO Transit's green-and-white trains and buses serve a population of more than seven mil ...
. GO trains and buses connect the city to the rest of the Greater Toronto Area.
Ontario Northland Motor Coach Services Ontario Northland Motor Coach Services is an intercity bus service operated by the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, a Crown agency of the government of Ontario, Canada. Ontario Northland Motor Coach Services operates passenger and par ...
operates buses to destinations in northern Ontario.


Airports


Toronto Pearson International Airport

Toronto's primary airport is
Toronto Pearson International Airport Toronto Pearson International Airport is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the surrounding region known as the Golden Horseshoe. Pearson is the ...
(YYZ), straddling Toronto's western boundary with
Mississauga Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...
. Pearson's air traffic is over 41million passengers in 2015, and it is the world's largest originator of air traffic into the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. It is the busiest airport in Canada and is the largest hub for Air Canada. It is the world's 15th busiest airport by flights as of 2014.


Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (Island Airport)

The city also has a small commercial airport, the
Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport is a regional airport located on the Toronto Islands in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is often referred to as Toronto Island Airport and was previously known as ''Port George VI Island Airport'' and ''Toronto C ...
(YTZ), commonly known as the "island airport" on Toronto Island, southwest of downtown. The airport is used for civil aviation, medevac flights, and regional airlines using STOL-type turboprop aircraft. Since 1984, regional carriers have included City Express, Jazz Air and since 2006,
Porter Airlines Porter Airlines (stylized in Letter case#All lowercase, all lowercase as porter) is a Canadian airline headquartered at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport in Toronto. It is the third largest airline in Canada, behind Air Canada and WestJet. Owned ...
. Airport access is via a short ferry ride or tunnel. 508,574 passengers used the airport in 2008, making it the busiest one-airline served airport in the world. In 2009 it surpassed
Thunder Bay International Airport Thunder Bay Airport is in the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. With 108,130 aircraft movements in 2012, it was the fourth busiest airport in Ontario and the List of the busiest airports in Canada, 16th busiest airport in Canada. During th ...
to become the 3rd busiest air facility in Ontario (after Toronto-Pearson and Ottawa International) serving 770,000 passengers, and growing to handle 2.3million passengers in 2014.


Nearby airports

The Hamilton International Airport is an alternate, relief airport to Pearson. Situated in
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
, southwest of Toronto, it is also a terminus for
low-cost carrier A low-cost carrier (LCC) or low-cost airline, also called a budget, or discount carrier or airline, is an airline that is operated with an emphasis on minimizing operating costs. It sacrifices certain traditional airline luxuries for cheaper fa ...
,
charter airline Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline). Regulation Charter – also called air taxi or ad hoc – flight ...
, and
cargo In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in cas ...
traffic. Travellers from Toronto to the United States alternatively travel from
Buffalo Niagara International Airport Buffalo Niagara International Airport is in Cheektowaga (town), New York, Cheektowaga, New York (state), New York, United States. The airport serves Buffalo, New York and Niagara Falls, New York in the United States, and the southern Golden H ...
, located outside of Buffalo,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
, United States. The lower airfares offered for U.S. destinations make travelling from Buffalo a cost-effective alternative, despite the time needed to make the trip by motor vehicle from Toronto. There are a number of other general aviation airports in and around the city, including
Markham Airport Markham Airport or Toronto/Markham Airport is a private aerodrome operating north of Markham, Ontario, Canada near Toronto. The airport was founded in 1965 by two former Polish air force pilots and is operated by Markham Airport Inc. The airp ...
, Oshawa Airport, Brampton Airport, and Burlington Air Park (also known as Burlington Executive Aerodrome), although none see scheduled commercial passenger service. The city is also host to a number of heliports, primarily used for medevac flights to local hospitals. St. Michael's Hospital,
the Hospital for Sick Children ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
, and
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (SHSC), commonly known as Sunnybrook Hospital or simply Sunnybrook, is an academic health science centre located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The hospital is the largest trauma centre in Canada. It is accredite ...
all have heliports listed in the
Canada Flight Supplement The Canada Flight Supplement (CFS) () is a joint civil/military publication and is a supplement of the Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP Canada). It is the nation's official airport directory. It contains information on all registered Ca ...
. Within city limits there are also two helipads for private use. The Toronto/Wilson's Heliport owned by Wilson's Heli-Transport is located in Etobicoke.
Polson Pier Polson Pier, previously known as The Docks Waterfront Entertainment Complex (or simply The Docks), is a multi-purpose entertainment complex in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the largely industrial Port Lands area of the city along the ...
also has a private unregistered helipad that sees occasional charter traffic. There have been plans to turn the helipad into a certified heliport, but as of 2025 this has not come to fruition. Adjacent to the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport is a floatplane base of the same name (identifier CPZ9), owned by the Toronto Port Authority and operated by Stolport FBO. Aircraft using the water aerodrome land in the Toronto Harbour and use the floatplane ramp on the eastern portion of the main airport. The water aerodrome is open seasonally, from April 15 to November 15 of each year.


Cycling

Cycling in Toronto has improved over the years as the residents and municipal government have become more interested in it as a form of transportation. Toronto has a major program in place to dramatically expand the network through on-road separate bike lanes, with the goal of having any cyclist in the city proper within a five-minute ride of a designated bike route. The network includes a planned 500 km of on-street bike lanes, and another 250 km of off-road paved trails. To date, only a small portion of the network has been built. Gaining approval to put in the on-street bike lanes has proven to be a serious problem, and less than 90 km of the planned 500 km have been set up so far. The small coverage also reduces the overall usefulness of the network, as many of the lanes do not connect with each other (see
Metcalfe's Law Metcalfe's law states that the financial value or influence of a telecommunications network is proportional to the square of the number of connected users of the system (2). The law is named after Robert Metcalfe and was first proposed in 1980 ...
). In 2011, the
Public Bike System Company Lyft Urban Solutions, formerly PBSC Urban Solutions and originally Public Bike System Company, is an international bicycle-sharing system equipment vendor with their headquarters based in Longueuil, Quebec. The company develops bicycle-sharing s ...
launched a
bicycle sharing system A bicycle-sharing system, bike share program, public bicycle scheme, or public bike share (PBS) scheme, is a shared transport service where bicycles are available for shared use by individuals at low cost. The programmes themselves include bo ...
known as BIXI. The system was renamed
Bike Share Toronto Bike Share Toronto is a bicycle-sharing system in Toronto, Ontario, operated by the Toronto Parking Authority (TPA). The system consists of over 9,000 bicycles and over 850 stations, and covers over in 21 of the 25 wards of the city, with plans ...
after it was taken over by the Toronto Parking Authority. Two major off-road paved trails along the Don and
Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Trent, Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms ...
river valleys provide a backbone for transport on the east and west side of the downtown area. However, both trails are non-continuous and quite narrow in areas, making them unsuitable as major transport routes. The two trails are ostensibly connected together via a lakeside route, but due to a massive build-out of this area during the 1990s, the "trail" through much of the downtown area exists in name only. Nevertheless, Toronto has an extensive
bicycle culture Bicycle culture are unwritten rules, social norms, values ​​and infrastructure that support cyclists and shape how cycling takes place. It can refer to a mainstream culture that supports the use of bicycles or to a subculture. Although "bike ...
. The municipal government encourages bicycle use through it
Toronto Bike Plan
An extensiv

is available from the City of Toronto free of charge as well as from their website. All TTC buses have bicycle racks attached to their fronts since 2013. Bicycles are allowed on the subway outside of the morning and evening rush hours. Since the late 2000s, the Toronto-Niagara Bike Train Initiative has helped connect Toronto cyclists with Niagara Region bike trails via
Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via (stylized as VIA Rail), is a Canadian Crown corporation that operates intercity passenger rail service in Canada. As of December 2023, Via Rail operates 406 trains per week across eight ...
.


Walking

A 2013 study by
Walk Score Walk Score, a subsidiary of Redfin, provides walkability analysis and apartment search tools. Its flagship product is a large-scale, public access walkability index that assigns a numerical walkability score to any address in the United States, U ...
ranked Toronto the 2nd most walkable city in Canada. In addition to surface-level paths and sidewalks, a network of underground pedestrian tunnels are used to connect the various buildings in Downtown Toronto. Known as
PATH A path is a route for physical travel – see Trail. Path or PATH may also refer to: Physical paths of different types * Bicycle path * Bridle path, used by people on horseback * Course (navigation), the intended path of a vehicle * Desir ...
, it was intended to alleviate pedestrian traffic of downtown's sidewalks. Underground pedestrian tunnels were used in Toronto since 1900, although the construction of the larger PATH network did not commence until the 1960s. Spanning more than , with of retail space, the PATH network is recognized as the world's largest underground shopping complex by the
Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...
.


Ferries

The principal ferry service to the Toronto Islands is provided by the city's Parks, Forestry and Recreation division. Ferries run year-round from the Toronto Ferry Docks at the foot of Bay Street to Hanlan's Point, Centre Island, and Ward's Island. A high-speed passenger/vehicle
ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...
service across Lake Ontario to
Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...
was launched on June 17, 2004, using the vessel '' Spirit of Ontario I'' under the marketing term "The Breeze". After experiencing a financing-caused service interruption, it returned to service June 30, 2005, under the ownership of the City of Rochester and operated by
Bay Ferries Great Lakes Bay Ferries Great Lakes was a marketing name used by Bay Ferries Management Limited, a subsidiary of Northumberland Ferries Limited (NFL). History In February 2005 Rochester Ferry Company LLC, a subsidiary of the City of Rochester, New York p ...
Limited, using the marketing term "The Cat". After an unprofitable summer of operation mostly due to delays, and despite adequate ridership, the newly elected Mayor of Rochester announced on January 10, 2006, that the service would be discontinued and the city would sell the ship, which was purchased by UK-based Euroferries Ltd, for service across the English Channel. It was finally sold in April 2007 to the German company
Förde Reederei Seetouristik FRS GmbH & Co KG (formerly ''Förde Reederei Seetouristik'', also operating internationally as ''Fast Reliable Seaways''), commonly known as FRS, is a German transportation company specializing in passenger ferry and freight transportation. It o ...
(FRS) for a ferry service between Spain and Morocco across the
Strait of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Europe from Africa. The two continents are separated by 7.7 nautical miles (14.2 kilometers, 8.9 miles) at its narrowest point. Fe ...
, and the ''Spirit of Ontario I'' was renamed ''HSC Tanger Jet II'' and later as HSC Dolphin Jet, crossing the
Kattegat The Kattegat (; ; ) is a sea area bounded by the peninsula of Jutland in the west, the Danish straits islands of Denmark and the Baltic Sea to the south and the Swedish provinces of Bohuslän, Västergötland, Halland and Scania in Swede ...
between
Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...
and
Kalundborg Kalundborg () is a Danish city with a population of 16,659 (1 January 2025), The Toronto Ferry Company's private ferry operation was taken over by the
Toronto Transit Commission The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the primary public transport agency in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operating the majority of the city's transit bus, bus and rail services. It is the oldest and largest of the urban transit service providers ...
in 1927. The Royal Canadian Yacht Club has operated its two private ferries, the ''MV Hiawatha, Hiawatha'' and ''MV Kwasind, Kwasind'', for over a century. The city also operates a ferry service to take passengers to and from the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, Billy Bishop Island Airport with its terminal at the foot of Bathurst Street.


Future prospects and concerns

The regional population of Toronto is expected to reach 7million people within the next 10 years, up from the current 5.5million, making it one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
. Over the last couple of decades, traffic volumes has been increasing steadily in the Greater Toronto Area. However, road and transit investments have not kept pace with the growth in demand. Urban sprawl is a major factor: some commuters travel significant distances within the city and the surrounding GTA for employment. Downtown-to-suburb and suburb-suburb commutes have been increasing as well, which existing public transit services are not organized to efficiently accommodate. This contributes to congestion, adding to travel times and causing smog. Congestion in the GTA is estimated to cost the economy between 6 and 11billion dollars each year. One study found that the average commute time in GTA exceeds that of 19 larger or comparably sized cities. Other studies comparing international cities show that Toronto residents on average spend the most time commuting to work in North America and sixth-most overall in the world. In March 2004, the Government of Ontario, Ontario government announced the creation of the "Greater Toronto Transit Authority" (GTTA - not to be confused with Greater Toronto Airports Authority, GTAA, acronym for the Greater Toronto Airport Authority), renamed Metrolinx in December 2007, with the goal of facilitating improved integration between the city and suburban transport systems. One key element to this integration would be a single fare system, called Presto card, Presto, to improve the convenience of transfers between different transit agencies. On March 23, 2006, the Government of Ontario announced funding for the extension northward of the TTC's Yonge–University–Spadina line, Spadina Subway Line to the York University campus and beyond into the proposed Vaughan Metropolitan Centre in neighbouring Vaughan,
York Region The Regional Municipality of York, also called York Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, between Lake Simcoe and Toronto. The region was established after the passing of then Bill 102, An Act to Establish The Regional ...
. When completed, it will be the first extension of the TTC subway system beyond the current post-1998 municipal border of Toronto. However, Toronto's existing transportation network, particularly public transit, have not kept up with the growth of the city. In the past decade, issues concerning transit funding and expansion have become political football. For example, in 2007, Metrolinx is provided $8.4billion of funding to construct four light rail lines throughout the city, including light rail lines along Line 5 Eglinton, Eglinton Avenue, Finch West LRT, Finch Avenue West, and Sheppard East LRT, Sheppard Avenue East, as well as a line replacing Line 3 Scarborough, all of which are expected to be completed and in operation by 2020. However, by 2017, political interference from provincial and municipal levels of government, funding cuts and delays meant that no lines will be complete by 2020, with no official opening date set for the initial phase of the Line 5 Eglinton. Funding for the daily operations of the TTC have become chronically low with the removal of provincial funding by the premier Mike Harris in the late 90s, leaving the City of Toronto as the sole source of operational subsidies.


See also

*
Toronto Transit Commission The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the primary public transport agency in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operating the majority of the city's transit bus, bus and rail services. It is the oldest and largest of the urban transit service providers ...
*
GO Transit GO Transit is a regional public transit system serving the Greater Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada. With its hub at Union Station in Toronto, GO Transit's green-and-white trains and buses serve a population of more than seven mil ...
*Metrolinx


References

{{Toronto Transport in Toronto,