Toronto public transport: tickets, passes and apps

Toronto's city system is the TTC: subway, streetcars and buses. GO Transit trains and buses to the suburbs and other cities are a separate operator with distance-based fares.

Fares change most years. Treat every price below as a 2026 estimate and confirm the current figure on the TTC or PRESTO site before you travel.

The simplest option for a short visit is contactless: hold a credit card, phone or watch on the reader when you enter a station or board a bus or streetcar. Whether a daily cap then applies to your taps is check — confirm it on the TTC site, and use the same card all day so any cap counts your rides together.

If you want a physical card, buy a PRESTO card from a machine in a subway station or at the UP Express desk at Pearson (check). It works on the TTC, GO Transit, UP Express and most buses in the Greater Toronto Area, which makes it the better choice if you plan to leave the city.

Cash rules and where cash is accepted on buses and streetcars are check; most visitors never need cash.

The TTC does not run a single official trip planner that everyone uses. Most riders plan with a general transit app that pulls live TTC data, and pay with PRESTO or a bank card rather than an app.

PRESTO has its own app for checking balance and reloading a card. For live arrivals and route planning, a third-party transit app with TTC data is the usual choice. Check which apps are current when you arrive, as names and coverage change.

Inside the City of Toronto the TTC fare is flat, so a subway ride followed by a bus or streetcar counts as one trip as long as you keep moving in the same direction within the transfer window (check). Transfers are loaded onto your PRESTO card or contactless tap automatically (check).

Cross into Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan, Markham or other 905-area cities and the rules change. Some suburban buses charge their own fare, and GO Transit trains and buses charge by distance (check). If you tap a PRESTO card on and off GO, the system calculates the fare for you (check).

For most visitors staying downtown, zones never come up: the CN Tower, Kensington Market and the Distillery District are all inside the city fare area.

Toronto Pearson (YYZ) is about 25 km northwest of downtown. The UP Express train is the fastest fixed option: it runs from Pearson to Union Station in about 25 minutes, with a stop at Bloor. Whether the fare is separate from the TTC and how you buy it are check.

Other airport options — a TTC bus plus subway, or a taxi or ride-hailing car — exist but their routes, times and costs are check. Billy Bishop (YTZ) sits on the harbour islands close to downtown; the shuttle and ferry details are check.

The subway runs roughly from early morning to about 01:30, with reduced service overnight; buses and streetcars cover some routes when the subway is closed (check). Check the last train time on the night you need it.

Rush hour, roughly 07:00–09:30 and 16:00–18:30 on weekdays, is busy on the Yonge–University line and at Union. If you can shift a trip by an hour, you will stand less.

Streetcars along Queen, King and Spadina are useful for short hops downtown and often faster than walking in bad weather. Where you pay — on board or at a stop machine — is check.

Keep your card or phone separate from other contactless cards when tapping, or the reader may charge the wrong one. If a reader fails, take the next one rather than tapping twice.