How to leave Waterloo/how to get to YYZ

Wed, 04 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Yes, my Waterloo travel page is about how to leave Waterloo.

I thought I should have this as a top-level page instead of a blog post. Mostly, only the numbers have gotten bigger, but also I’ve added flixbus (for now). Past entries:

Here are various options for carless transportation from Waterloo in 2023.

To Pearson Airport (YYZ)

The taxi is the fastest option. Waterloo Taxi will drive you to the airport for $110 and from the airport at $130, both including HST, but not including tip. If I’m trying to stand by for an earlier flight to Toronto (Montreal-Toronto or an Air Canada Comfort fare), then I would call them once I’ve boarded the flight to Toronto, and that’s enough lead time for them. You go to the pre-arranged taxi desk at YYZ and they summon your taxi from the pen.
The option I take most often on weekdays is GO to either Square One (bus) or Weston or Bramalea (train) and then MiWay or UP Express or GO 94 to YYZ. The all-GO or GO and Bramalea Transit options are probably the cheapest possible way of getting to/from Pearson at $13. (That is surely cheapest in an absolute sense, including wear and tear on your car.) The Presto Card will work unless you have a GRT connection. The GO bus has started running on weekends now too.

I usually budget about 2 hours. The 25C (express to Square One) is fast if you are going when it is going. I just asked and Google Maps reported a 2h15 trip from the University of Waterloo to Pearson Terminal 1 at 10:30pm on a weekday; the fastest trip I can find is 1h41 from the Kitchener GO station to T1.
I haven’t taken Airways Transit for a while. Their prices used to be finely tuned to be competitive with other options but now they are not.
Flixbus runs between 0 and 3 daily trips from Toronto Union Station to Pearson to Kitchener to the University, priced at $13 and going up closer in with dynamic pricing. Good if they line up with your schedule. A bit tricky if you are flying into Pearson, since flights can be delayed.

Short-turn YYZ

Twice in 2019 I happened to be flying into YYZ on day N and flying back out on day N+1 or N+2. Renting a car can be a cheaper and faster option than public transit and taxis, especially if one has the quick-rental options at YYZ. Of course one still has to drive the car. I paid $36 and $60 all-in for the rental itself in October 2019, plus gas.

Kitchener on Patrick Lam

How to leave Waterloo/how to get to YYZ

To Pearson Airport (YYZ)

Short-turn YYZ