Which terminal you land in changes your first move
Toronto Pearson has two passenger terminals, Terminal 1 and Terminal 3, and only Terminal 1 has the UP Express platform. From Terminal 3 you take the free Terminal Link train to Terminal 1 and then follow the Train to City signage through the building to the platform. The Terminal Link runs around the clock between Terminal 1, Terminal 3 and Viscount Station, with trains roughly every four minutes through most of the day and every eight minutes between about 12:30 a.m. and 3:30 a.m., and a ride of two to eight minutes depending on the stops.
Buses treat the two terminals differently as well. TTC routes to the airport stop first at Terminal 1 on the Ground Level and then at Terminal 3 on the Arrivals Level, so a Terminal 3 arrival is the last stop inbound and the first stop outbound. Taxis, limos and ride share vehicles pick up at both terminals but from different doors, covered further down.
UP Express: the 28-minute train to Union Station
UP Express is a dedicated airport train that runs between Pearson and Union Station in downtown Toronto in 28 minutes, calling at Weston, Mount Dennis and Bloor on the way. On the standard schedule published by the operator, the first train leaves Pearson at 05:27 and the last at 00:54, with departures every 15 minutes in between. Journey times to the intermediate stops are 12 minutes to Weston, 15 to Mount Dennis and 19 to Bloor, which matters if your accommodation is in the west end rather than the core.
Union Station at 140 Bay Street is Toronto's main rail hub, sharing the site with GO Transit regional trains, VIA Rail and the TTC's Union subway station on Line 1, so most downtown addresses are one short connection away. Bloor UP station at 1456 Bloor Street West connects to the TTC's Dundas West station on Line 2.
How you pay changes the price. The adult PRESTO fare is CAD 9.25 one way between Pearson and Union, with seniors aged 65 and over at CAD 5.80, and a standard walk-up ticket costs more than the PRESTO rate. Children 12 and under travel free. Tapping a credit or debit card counts as PRESTO contactless and gets the adult PRESTO rate, but youth, student and senior discounts are only available on a physical PRESTO card set to that fare type.
TTC bus and subway: the cheap route in
TTC buses reach Pearson from three subway lines for a single city fare, which is the lowest-cost way into Toronto from the airport. The 900 Airport Express runs between Kipling Station on Line 2 Bloor-Danforth and both terminals in roughly 20 to 25 minutes, operating from about 5:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. Monday to Saturday and from about 8:15 a.m. to 2:15 a.m. on Sunday. The 52A Lawrence West connects the airport to Lawrence and Lawrence West stations on Line 1 from about 5:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. seven days a week, taking around 50 minutes off-peak and up to 75 minutes at peak.
Both airport stops sit inside the Toronto fare zone, so one fare covers the bus and the connecting subway ride, and Mississauga Transit fares are not accepted at the airport stops. Children 12 and under ride free. Tapped payments carry an automatic two-hour transfer while cash fares do not, so paying cash on the bus means paying again at the subway gate unless you take a paper transfer for a single continuous trip.
The trade-off is time and comfort rather than reliability. Kipling to downtown adds around 25 minutes on Line 2 plus a change at St George or Bloor-Yonge, which is manageable with a backpack and unpleasant with two large suitcases in rush hour.
Taxi, limo and ride share pickup doors
Licensed taxis and limos at Toronto Pearson charge flat rates to Toronto destinations rather than running a meter, and the airport authority states there is no surge pricing on licensed vehicles. Limos are premium black cars and charge roughly 10 per cent more than a taxi for the same trip. The airport publishes a fare estimate tool where you enter an address, landmark or postal code; if it cannot produce an estimate, an agent at the taxi or limo area on the Arrivals level can quote the rate before you get in.
Pickup points differ by terminal. At Terminal 1, taxis wait at Door D and limos at Door C on the Arrivals level. At Terminal 3, both use Door E on the Arrivals level. Licensed vehicles never pick up inside the terminals or in the parking garages, and they carry a GTAA number plate on the bumper and a decal on the window.
Ride share vehicles use assigned zones rather than a single stand. At Terminal 1 the pickup is on the Ground Level: Lyft and Hopp at Zone 3 near Doors P and Q, and Uber at Zones 4 and 5 between Doors Q and S, with the app naming your bay. At Terminal 3 the zones sit on the Arrivals level between Doors B and D. Uber Black and Lyft Lux use Door A at both terminals. Check the app for your zone rather than walking to the taxi rank, because the two are not in the same place.
Compare by what matters to you
The three options separate cleanly on cost, door-to-door predictability and how much walking they involve.
| Option | Best for | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| UP Express | Reaching Union Station or the west end fast with luggage | Highest rail fare; ends at fixed stations |
| TTC bus and subway | Lowest cost, travelling light, flexible timing | Slowest; at least one change; crowded at peak |
| Taxi, limo or ride share | Door-to-door, groups, awkward addresses | Most expensive; traffic on the 401 and Gardiner |
Billy Bishop is a separate downtown airport
Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport is not part of Pearson and none of the transfers above apply to it. It sits on Toronto Island about 3 kilometres from the downtown core, and the mainland is reached either through a pedestrian tunnel that takes under six minutes or on a 90-second electric ferry. A complimentary shuttle bus links the airport to Union Station every 15 minutes, and TTC service connects the terminal to the rest of the city. If your ticket says YTZ rather than YYZ, you are flying into this airport instead, and the practical planning question is which downtown door you want rather than how to cross the city.
Before you leave the arrivals hall
Decide your payment method before you reach a fare gate, because it changes what you pay and what discounts exist. If you are heading for Union Station or a hotel near it, buy or tap for UP Express at a Terminal 1 machine. If you are counting cost and travelling light, walk to the Ground Level at Terminal 1 or the Arrivals level at Terminal 3 for the 900. If you want door-to-door, get the flat-rate estimate first and then go to Door D at Terminal 1 or Door E at Terminal 3.
Fares, first and last departures and pickup zones all change without much notice, and the ride share zones at Terminal 1 were reorganised recently. Confirm the current values on the operator page for your travel date rather than relying on the figures above, all of which were read on 7 September 2026.
What this guide does not cover
Coverage here is limited to arriving at Toronto Pearson and travelling to downtown Toronto, and the guide does not cover onward regional travel to Hamilton, Kitchener or Niagara, airport parking, or connections between Pearson and Billy Bishop, and it does not attempt to price ride share journeys, which vary by demand and are not set by the airport.