March Madness: A Kiwi’s Guide from Madison Square Garden

After departing Aotearoa on an intrepid twenty-hour journey toward Ontario, figuring out public transport at the end of it certainly isn’t an undertaking for everyone. Some of you might be lucky enough to have a ride waiting at Pearson Airport, some might be considering forking over the small fortune for an Uber or taxi, and yes, that small fortune is considerably larger than what you are used to paying out of Auckland or Wellington airport. Or, some more clued on individuals might have purchased a Union-Pearson express ticket before they even landed! 

Regardless of what type of traveller you are, and whether you have yet to arrive, are a new addition, or a true Canadian “hoser,” the below guide will make you an expert on public transport in Toronto, the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Ottawa, and Hamilton.

PRESTO

A PRESTO card is your key to getting around much of Ontario on public transport.

The cards are available for purchase at all Shoppers Drug Marts in the GTA, GO Transit & UP Express stations, and TTC stations. They are only $4 CAD (with a minimum load required), and work immediately after purchase.  

PRESTO cards provide discounted fares on almost all services and allow you to conveniently tap on and off where you would usually have to buy an advance ticket for the best rate, such as the GO Trains or the UP Express. There are usually further discounts offered by some municipalities and services for students, children, seniors, Canadian veterans, and more.

Just like your Auckland Transport card, Bee, or Snapper, these are physical cards. However, if you’d prefer not to have a physical card, you can swap your card to be digital, loaded onto your Apple Wallet or other phone wallet service.* **
_{*You can NOT have both a physical and a digital card, changing to digital deactivates your physical card.
** PRESTO cardholders travelling to Ottawa should NOT change their card to a digital card as OC Transpo does not accept digital PRESTO cards.}

PRESTO Cards work on any public transport service in the cities of Toronto, the wider GTA, Hamilton, and Ottawa. The cards also work on GO Transit, which connects Toronto to several smaller Ontario cities. It’s important to note that PRESTO is not provincial-wide (yet, anyway). So those looking to travel to the likes of Kitchener-Waterloo, Sudbury, Kingston, St. Catharines, and so on, will need to conduct further research.  

Bonus, PRESTO cardholders also get discounts and perks at some attractions around Ontario. Click this link to see what discounts are currently on offer!

Don’t have a PRESTO yet? Every service mentioned in this guide allows you to tap most credit and debit cards, Wise and Revolut cards. Some international debit cards may not work, but in our experience, cards issued by New Zealand banks work just fine. 

In some cases cash and paper or digital tickets can also be purchased, such as the Union-Pearson Express. 

Toronto Transit Commission (TTC)

Finch, Vaughan, Union. These are names you’ll be hearing several times upon arriving in Toronto. The infamous TTC is known for lengthy construction times, delayed departures and a subway that has surprisingly lost more stops than gained in the last two decades. Yet it is the apparatus that keeps two of the six million strong city moving. The TTC is responsible for Toronto’s subway system, buses, and street cars. Below is a bit of insight on each of them.

The Toronto Subway’s ability to bypass traffic makes it one of the fastest and best methods of transportation in the city. Missed your train? You won’t be waiting much longer than five minutes for the next one. The biggest rapid-transport system in Canada (although Montreal is catching up!), this will be many people’s go-to from the work commute, to shopping, sports games, concerts and connecting transit. TTC subway entrances can be identified by their iconic red and white TTC logo, or by the coloured circles (typically yellow or green signifying the line they are on) with the stop’s name.

While the street cars are certainly better than the novelties in Auckland and Christchurch, they are in our experience, not to be relied on for punctuality, and don’t hold a candle to the tramways of San Francisco, Melbourne or much of Europe. They are a great way to see downtown Toronto and provide a smooth and comfortable journey. For job interviews, stick to the bus.

The buses of the TTC are relatively reliable and connect most of the space left in between the subway and street cars. They are naturally subject to traffic so be sure to plan ahead and give yourself a bit of extra time in case of delays. A note that outside of Toronto proper, local municipalities operate their own buses, not the TTC. They all accept PRESTO, but information  as fares and reliability will vary from Burlington to Oshawa. 

All TTC transport is tag on when boarding, you do not need to tag off when disembarking.

GO Transit

GO Transit is the best option for mid-ranged travelling around the GTA. If you don’t have a car, it will be the key to getting to Niagara Falls, and surrounding cities. Easily identified by their iconic green branding, they are a popular choice for out of town commuters and visitors alike. They are the Te Huia or Capital Connection equivalents.

GO Trains are what run on Toronto’s heavy rail. The main hub is Union station, which converges with the TTC’s subway. There are seven main lines which operate with varying frequency, usually on the half-hour or the hour, but check ahead and plan your visit in advance to avoid having to wait around unnecessarily. The Lakeshore West line is the train line that takes you to Niagara Falls.

Just like the train, GO Busses connect Toronto to the wider region, but they can travel to neighbouring cities that do not have the same rail infrastructure, and are in some cases, even quicker than the train! Once again, this is subject to the traffic on the day. GO Busses are incredibly useful for those in the outer region of the GTA, as they are the best public transport option for reaching Pearson Airport.

GO Transit offers weekend passes which give unlimited travel on one weekend day (and public holidays) for $10. These must be bought online and are a great way to save some money on your weekend excursions. 

GO Transit is one of the only services where you have to tag on, and off.

Union-Pearson (UP) Express

The Union-Pearson Express is the conduit between Toronto’s busiest train station and her busiest airport. This express connection is incredibly fast and efficient.

As mentioned earlier, the UP express can use a PRESTO card, most debit and credit cards, and tickets can be bought online, or in person. Fill your boots!

The UP Express only goes to-and-from Pearson Airport’s Terminal 1, so for flights arriving and departing from Terminal 3 will need to use the free Toronto Pearson International Airport Terminal Link to head to Terminal 1.

The UP Express is one of the only services where you have to tag on, and off.

VIA Rail

VIA is the long-range rail system that services both the whole province, and all of Canada. For those cities in Ontario far away from Toronto such as Windsor, Sudbury, and Ottawa. This is not a tag-on-tag-off service, and tickets must be purchased in advance.

The VIA rail is incredibly efficient, and has a low risk of cancellation, so is one of the safest options for inter-provincial travel, though it is often more expensive than private bus companies.

Booking well in advance is the best way to keep the price as low as possible. There are also discounts for certain groups such as students at certain universities, and CAA members. Those of you under 25, keep an eye on the “Canada Strong Pass” which has been providing periodic VIA rail discounts throughout 2025 and 2026. 

Hamilton Street Railway (HSR) & Ottawa’s OC Transpo

In addition to Toronto, PRESTO can also be used for public transport in Hamilton and Ottawa.

Hamilton’s HSR has a very reliable bus service. The city’s significantly smaller population means traffic has minimal impact on the busses. Most routes connect at the Frank A. Cooke terminal near the Hamilton GO station, allowing for easy connection to Toronto.

In 2025, a bus was stolen and the considerate crook still took the time to made all the stops along the route! No matter who’s behind the wheel, you’ll be in safe hands.

In addition to the busses, the Hamilton LRT has been “coming” for over fifteen years, so, expect to see ground broken in 2080 at this stage. 

Ottawa’s OC Transpo does do one better than Hamilton, with the O train line connecting the East and West of the city, and the airport, for an affordable price. Heeded North or South? That’s too bad, you’ll have to find another way to get around

The city does have a relatively reliable bus service, especially downtown and around the university, with mixed reviews in the outer parts of the city. 

Despite being less than a fifth of the size of Toronto, Ottawa’s public transport is certainly lagging behind other cities in Canda, and is one of the most expensive to use in Ontario. As of writing this, it’s a full dollar more than the HSR and TTC on one-way trips.

Toronto Island Ferries

Lastly, Toronto Island Ferries, unlike the rest of Toronto’s transport, are run directly by the city. They are the only public transport connection between the island and the mainland.

A round trip will set you back just shy of $10 CAD as of 2026, with a few discounts for seniors and children. This makes it one of the more expensive options on this list, but be wary of water taxis. They do have the advantage of convenience, but will sting you dollars well into the double digits!

Tickets can be purchased online or at the terminal, they run with varying frequency throughout the seasons, usually on the half-hour, forty-five minute, or hour marks.

If you are flying in and out of Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport (YTZ), do not take the ferry. Instead, there is an underwater pedestrian tunnel you can take for free!

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And that’s a guide on Toronto’s public transport, by kiwis, for kiwis. Not comprehensive enough for your liking? Don’t worry, we’ve got you. Below is a link to the landing page of every service mentioned above for you to keep on learning to make you a Toronto public transport maestro.

PRESTO
Toronto Transit Commission (TTC)
GO Transit
VIA Rail
UP Express
Hamilton Street Railway (HSR)
OC Transpo
Toronto Island Ferry

^{_{Article by Joseph Simpson, 23rd March 2026
Want to know more? Reach out to Joseph via our Facebook and Instagram channels.}}