Routes from Pearson Airport

Hotels, by chain

Every major hotel chain in Ontario has its own page — Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, Fairmont and IHG — with the drive from the Pearson curb to each property and the door the chauffeur uses.

Why routes, not zones

Most airport-transfer companies publish a zone map: downtown is one price, Mississauga another, Hamilton a third. We do not, because a zone map is a rounding of your address in the company's favour, and because the thing a traveller actually wants to know is not "which zone am I in" but "how long will it take at 5 pm on a Friday, which road will you use, and what happens if the flight is late." Each route page above answers those questions for one journey — the highways, the timing by hour and by season, the alternatives compared honestly, the meeting point at each end, and the vehicle that fits — and ends in the reservation engine, which quotes the exact address.

Every route is driven from Toronto Pearson by our own chauffeurs, the pickup follows the airline's live arrival time, and sixty minutes of waiting are included from the moment an international flight lands (thirty for a domestic one). Departure pickups are planned backwards from the check-in cut-off — three hours before an international flight, two before domestic or US pre-clearance — and confirmed in writing. The Ontario 511 boards on our live traffic page are what the chauffeur watches; the terminal finder tells you which terminal your airline uses; and the flat-rate page explains what a fixed fare includes.

Routes we have not written yet

Every address in Ontario is quoted by the engine, written page or not. Brampton, Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill, Oakville, Burlington, Milton, Guelph, St Catharines, Kingston and Ottawa are all on the Ontario cities list with approximate distances and times. Cross-border journeys to Buffalo, Detroit, New York and beyond are on the cross-border page. If your route is not here, the engine still is.

How the timing on each page was made

Every time on a route page is a planning figure from Terminal 1 for the hour and the season stated, checked against the same chauffeurs' daily runs and against the Ontario 511 events that explain the exceptions. A map app knows a road is slow; it does not know that the 401 westbound collectors are slow every weekday at 7:40 because of a merge, or that the 400 southbound is fine on a Friday and hopeless on a Sunday. The route pages carry that rule; the live traffic board carries the exception of the day.

The pattern every route page follows

A direct answer to the question people type — how far, how long — first. Then every way of making the journey compared honestly, including the ones we do not sell: the UP Express, GO, VIA, the hotel shuttle, the curbside taxi, rideshare, driving and parking. Then the road by the hour and the season, the meeting point at each end, the vehicle that fits, what the fixed fare includes, the return leg planned from the check-in cut-off, and the questions the GTAA, Google and our own phone line hear most. Each page ends in the reservation engine, and each links to the pages around it.

Routes by distance from Terminal 1

Departures and arrivals on every route

Every route runs in both directions. Arrivals: the chauffeur at the terminal door — or inside the arrivals hall with a name board if you add meet and greet, the pickup following the aircraft, sixty minutes of waiting from touchdown on international arrivals (thirty on domestic). Departures: the pickup planned backwards from the airline's cut-off — three hours international, two domestic or US pre-clearance — plus the drive for the hour and a margin, confirmed in writing. The pickup page and the departures page describe each half; add both legs to one reservation and they are confirmed together.