As an international student, or just a student in general, we don't all have the luxury of owning a car. Especially as an international student, you wouldn’t have a Canadian driver's license the moment you touch down in Canada, and only certain countries are eligible for a driver's license exchange with no wait time if you have a driver's license from a previous country (most of the countries on this 'no-wait-time' exchange list are "first world" countries as well.)
While you can take an Uber or Lyft almost anywhere, those costs can rack up very quickly overtime.
Ideally, the most cost effective way to travel around the city would be; The TTC - The Toronto Transit Comission.
Within the TTC you have trains, buses and streetcars. For transportation within the Greater Toronto Area (or GTA) there are other service systems and vessels aside from the TTC, such as GO buses and GO trains, Viva/YRT buses (that operate in the York region), MiWay Buses (which operate within Mississauga) and much more.
The most commonly used transport vessels or transit service systems would be based on your location, however for me, having lived primarily in Toronto, I'm most familiar with the TTC.
They have buses which operate all over Toronto and parts of the GTA, the streetcars which are mainly in the Toronto region, and the subway/train lines consisting of;
Line 1: Yonge-University line (yellow)
Line 2: Bloor-Danforth (green)
Line 3: Scarborough (blue)
Line 4: Sheppard (purple)
Paired with the transit apps I recommended in my blog post here you can check the arrival times for the buses and trains as well as plan your commute by checking your travel time estimate, so you can determine if it's shorter to take the train the entire way, or take the train halfway and bus the rest for example.
Choosing the quickest way to get from point A to point B from my experience has depended primarily on three things:
The means of transportation you decide on. [Eg. Bus, Streetcar, Train]
The time you leave.
Subway closures and/or construction.
For example, the train can be a quick option, seeing that there isn't really any traffic underground, where they mostly pass through. However, aside from construction, there can be significant and often frequent delays for reasons ranging from: someone pressing the emergency button, someone being on the actual train tracks (this is more common than you might think) or being held at a station waiting for the train ahead of you to move forward.
Something to note when comparing the vessels, is that the trains stop at every single station, whereas the buses and streetcars only stop if a stop is requested, or there are persons to pick up at the stops on route.
When you're in a rush, it can be annoying sometimes having to stop at every single station on the subway lines, however it lessens your chances at missing your stop (once you don’t fall asleep) which is particularly helpful when you're new to the city and are trying to get more familiar with the transit system.
Note: to request a stop on the bus you’d either push the red stop buttons located on the numerous poles throughout the bus, or pull the yellow chord lined against the windows of the bus. (I've added some photos below and included some arrows to point out how to request a stop on the TTC Buses)
For the streetcars, you'd push the red stop button located on the poles throughout the vessel similar to the bus.
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FARE PAYMENT
In terms of payment for transit, you can still pay the fare with physical coins that you drop into a box at the front of the bus, by the window where a TTC personnel will be in the subway near the gateways where you would pass through, or on these machines on the streetcar. (See below.)
However, I believe the presto card became the primary payment method on the TTC back in 2019-ish times.
The Presto card is essentially a card that you put money on to cover your travel fare, and top up regularly (unless you have a monthly, or yearly pass.)
All you need to do is tap it on the small green machine called a presto reader found at the doorways of the buses, the gateways at the train stations, or on either side of the doors on the streetcars.
This is what the readers in most of the transit vehicles look like:
Once tapped, a total of $3.20 is deducted from the amount you have on the card (unless you have the student discount then it will be less) but within tapping, you have a two hour transfer.
Say for example you tap your presto card to get on the train around 1pm and you hop off ten stops later. Within two hours (between 1pm and 3pm) you can hop back on the train to go back home, hop on a bus, a street car, anything. When you tap again, you won’t be charged again.
But only within the two hour time slot.
So anytime after 3pm, or after the two hours have passed, the next time you tap, a new $3.20 is deducted from your card balance.
The two hour transfer is really handy when it comes to making a quick grocery trip, or just running errands where you know you won’t be out for long, but note this is only applicable for presto card users.
The Presto card also works as your proof of payment or POP.
When you pay via coins at the front of the bus, the driver will give you a piece of paper, like this,
also known as a transfer which proves that you’ve paid the fare. This paper is also your proof of payment.
When in the train station, look for the machines like the picture below to press the button and receive a piece of paper with a time stamp indicating you’ve paid the fare as well. This is if you paid with coins, not with the presto card. This is also another version of proof of payment in the subway.
If you pay for your fare with coins, please do not lose this paper - your proof of payment. In the case that there are TTC fare inspectors on the buses, trains or streetcars, by showing the proof of payment, or providing your presto card upon request, this is proof you paid the transit fare, and won’t be charged the fine of fare evasion. (You can be charged up to $425 or receive a criminal charge.)
For presto card users, ensure to tap the card anytime you board a vessel, as this will validate your two hour transfer. The fare inspectors can see when last you tapped the presto card, and at what station or stop. Read more about proof of payment from the TTC website by clicking here.
Ensure to check your card balance before going on a trip to avoid having that big red X buzz on the screen when you have insufficient funds on your presto card.
You would know if you don't have the sufficient funds on you card, if you don't see a green check come up after tapping and the amount remaining on your balance is displayed (if you have a monthly pass it will indicate that instead.) A big red X buzzes when you don't have enough funds, and is loud enough for the whole bus to know you have no money on your card. A humbling experience to say the least and the loudest reminder to make sure you don't forget to check your balance before leaving next time.
You may encounter from time to time, a TTC vessel where the presto reader is not in service.
In a case like this, just locate the next working presto reader on the vessel.
Note: For the TTC vessels, you only have to tap on once to get on, no need to tap to get off. (That's only done on the GO buses, which also accept the presto card)
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TOPPING UP YOUR PRESTO CARD
As I discussed in my post here the presto app still has a lag in topping up money on your presto card automatically with 0 waiting time. In order to top your card up instantly, you have to use one of the self-serve reload machines.
The minimum is $5, and you can add money on the card through $5, $10, $20, $50 intervals. Just tap on the plus sign to add the values.
The machine's screen will look like the image below. You just drop your presto card into the slot, select how much money you want to add to your card and pay for it. If you have interac like I talked about in my post here you just need to tap your debit or credit card on the interac symbol, or you can use Apple Pay if you have that set up.
You’ll find the self-serve reload machines in any subway station and by some bus stops.
They look like this;
NB: The larger black machines take cash, while the small green ones only take credit and debit. If you need to purchase a new presto card, you can only do this at the black machines.
You’d just have to follow the instructions towards purchasing a new presto card, which costs $6CAD and you can put money on it at once before collecting it. The whole process takes less than five minutes.
You can also use your presto for other transit operating systems in Toronto, like the GO bus, but the fare deductions are different, and calculated by distance whereas using the train, bus and streetcar, its a one time tap on fare.
Always remember to check how much money is on your card before you leave home, and if you’re venturing out of Toronto, do some research before hand on what the different applied fares are on the non TTC vessels.
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TRAVEL TIMES
In terms of travel times, if possible, you especially want to avoid early times like 7am-9am, and later times like 4pm-6pm during the week.
These are typically the rush hour times, meaning there's likely to be heavier traffic, the buses and streetcars are more likely to stop at every single stop, and are twice as likely to be packed to the brim, limiting your chances of getting a seat depending on what stop you get on at.
I have noticed however that some stops usually pick up more people than others, so depending on what station or bus stop you hop on at, you might just beat the rush.
A major station like Union will always have a large number of people embarking and disembarking. Other main downtown stations like Queen or Dundas, or stations where you change for line 2 to transfer, such as St. George, Spadina and Bloor-Yonge Stations will also have large crowds. Less crowded stations are ones like Museum, Glencairn or Downsview Park, where the most you'd hear is the echo of the trains on the tracks.
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CLOSURES/CONSTRUCTION: SHUTTLE BUSES
I remember in my first year in Canada, someone told me that among the seasons in Toronto, construction season is 24/7, and let me tell you, they were not joking.
There is always some kind of construction happening somewhere around Toronto, and there are almost always repairs happening on the subway lines, which lead to subway closures.
Those subway closures can really put a dampener in your travel plans, especially if you rely mostly on the line 1 (yellow line) as these stations usually have the most construction and repairs happening compared to other TTC train routes.
Often times, shuttle buses are presented during the subway closures, where there are labelled buses (eg. “Line 1 southbound”) which follow the same route above ground as the train would underground, stopping at all the same stops.
Note however, that shuttle busses can get crowded pretty quickly when you think of a bus with no more than about 30-35 seats which can hold about 50 people max with those standing, now having to try to hold the number of people the train can hold which has to be about 6x times the amount.
The TTC says that new buses come every minute because of this, to compensate for the large number of people that travel by train, but sometimes you end up waiting just as long as you would for a regular bus. When you compare that to the subway arrival times which tend to be most frequent than any other travel vessel (a new train about ever 4-5 minutes most days) it's probably in this moment you'd wished you uber-ed to your location instead.
During subway closures, if you happen to hop on a train not seeing the notices that certain stations are closed on your route to your destination, if you're on the line 1, they black out the lights on the subway map of the closed stations, to indicate the train will not be stopping at those stops in particular. If you need to go past the closed stations, or your stop is one of the closed stations, you would have to exit the train at the last stop before the closures begin, and essentially follow the crowd and the signs to the shuttle buses.
Note: On a regular line 1 subway commute with no closures, the red lights means the train has already passed that station, and the green lights are stations that the train still has to stop at.
They do a pretty good job at putting up proper signage indicating where to go to find the shuttle buses during closures, but I usually just follow the mass crowd because everyone has to get off the train at that closure stop before the shuttle buses anyway, whether that station was their final destination or not.
If you happen to be travelling at a time where there are subway closures, the trip can end up being a little longer than a direct trip, but it happens so often here, usually with enough notice that it can be pretty simple to plan accordingly, or take another route if needed.
My main piece of advice would be to always check out the transit apps before you leave home, so you don’t get caught off guard.
The TTC watch app is the best to get real-time updates on what's going on on subway lines, as this would be the first place you'd get notice that there are subway closures, disruptions, construction, or train/bus delays, and mostly accurate arrival times for the trains, buses and streetcars, updated in real time. You can also check their twitter page for regular updates @TTChelps.
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FINAL TIPS
The location stated on the front of the trains, buses and streetcars is the final stop it makes.
eg. Line 1 to Finch
eg. 44 to Kipling Station
eg. 501 to LongBranch
Not all the train stations are located underground, but for the ones that are, you're highly unlikely to have any cellphone service or wifi while underground. Your best bet at getting service is only when the train stops in the stations on route, but the signal is lost again once the train continues forward.
There are numerous train stations that are also major stops for buses and streetcars, like Finch and Finch West Stations, Sheppard West Station, Lawrence and Lawrence West Stations, Wilson Station, Kipling Station, Bathurst Station and many more. It's especially helpful on those cold winter days where you don't have to step foot outside if you have to change transit vehicles to get to your final destination.
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To close off, the TTC in itself isn't too difficult to figure out, and overtime you get a hang of it, eventually knowing instinctively where you need to go for certain routes, which buses tend to take longer than others, alternate routes to get to a destination, which stations you prefer to avoid and more. Whenever you're in doubt, you can also always ask the bus driver at the front, or TTC personnel in the stations.
With the exception of some characters you may encounter from time to time on the city's public transit, I can't deny how useful and above all, cost-effective the TTC is, and there are so many tools available to plan a successful trip. Whether it be just a ten minute ride to the closest grocery store or mall, or going on a random adventure to a part of the city you've yet to see.
I can proudly say I can name almost all the stops (kind of-ish in order) on the line 1 from Finch Station to Vaughan Metropolitan Station.
I'm like, becoming a Torontonian slowly but surely. 😉
City girlllll. 🤪
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