Last year, Toronto launched a slick new way to get from Pearson International Airport to the city’s downtown. The Union Pearson Express (UP Express) train had a bit of a rocky reception as locals rejected its initial high fare, which has since been lowered significantly. As frequent visitors to The Big Smoke, we were eager to check out the UP Express to see what all the fuss was about.
Getting Downtown from Pearson Airport
Up until last year, if you were visiting Toronto via air you had two main options to get downtown from the airport. You could get there by taxi for about $60 and a 45-minute drive depending on traffic congestion or you could take the Airport Rocket bus and then transfer to a subway, a much cheaper option (about $6), but an hour or more journey.
Launched in June, 2015, the UP Express leaves every 15 minutes from the Link Train station in Terminal 1 and takes only 25 minutes to arrive at its end destination at the Union subway station in downtown Toronto. It also stops at Bloor and Weston stations. From these stops you have access to the entire Toronto transit system (TTC). The UP Express faced low ridership initially with a fare of $27.50 one way. As ridership continued to decline, the TTC lowered the fare to $12. I don’t think we would have taken the UP Express at almost $60 for the two of us. The lower fare seems far more reasonable.
Buy Tickets Online or from Vending Machine
Once we decided to take the UP Express, we found we only had six minutes before the train was to depart. Steve tried to create an account and purchase tickets through the online app, but ran into resistance when creating a password because of rather complicated (and old school) rules about its composition (so many numbers, letters etc). With just two minutes to spare, we bought tickets at the machine and hopped on the train just in time to depart. Tip: If you want to pay online, give yourself more than six minutes to create an account.
Comfort Features
As you’d expect with a brand new train, it was comfortable, bright and clean. Each seat has a power outlet and overhead bin as well as a nice pulldown tray table. Overall, it was a smooth, comfortable ride.
Wifi Fail
It’s wonderful that the train offers free wifi. Unfortunately, we spent the first half of our ride trying to gain access before we gave up.
The login dialogue box features a large blue button encouraging you accept terms and connect using Facebook. We didn’t want to do that (Steve doesn’t even use Facebook) so opted for the “other option” to connect.
This resulted in an error message for both of us. There was a number to call for technical support, but after a couple of tries and with the ride half over, we figured it wasn’t worth it. I did not try joining via Facebook so that might have worked. Hopefully, this was a temporary glitch and not a recurring issue.
Arriving at Union Station
The train station connecting to Union station is very sleek and spills out conveniently in front of a well-appointed Ontario tourist information centre. That’s nice if you’re a first-time Toronto visitor and need to get your bearings.
The Upshot: Is it worth taking the Union Pearson Express?
It is a relatively simple and pain free way to guarantee a quick ride to downtown Toronto. Steve and I are big fans of public transit and despite the small glitches, this was a pretty good experience.
The cost is right about at our cut off point in terms of what we’d be willing to pay. The previous fare of almost $30 was a real no-go when a taxi for two people would be about the same price and would take you to the door of where you wanted to go.
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Alternative to the “Big Smoke” or “Hogtown”. The 6ix, The Six or The 6…..
Thanks to Drake, I think, right? Origin is the area code 416?