Toronto Pearson International Airport (CYYZ/YYZ)
Toronto, Canada
Toronto Airline Crew Layover Guide
Reviewed by Captain AL
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The YYZ crew card
| Fastest into town | UP Express train from the station inside Terminal 1: 28 minutes to Union Station in downtown Toronto |
|---|---|
| First and last train | First train 5:27 a.m. on weekdays and 6:24 a.m. on weekends and holidays; last train 12:54 a.m. every day. The station itself is open Mon to Fri 05:00 to 01:00 and Sat to Sun 06:00 to 01:00 |
| Payments | Tap on and tap off with the same PRESTO card or contactless debit or credit card. The adult PRESTO tap fare is CAD 9.25 one way; a Standard adult ticket bought online or from a machine is CAD 12.35 |
| Tap water | Safe to drink |
| Emergency | 911 (City of Toronto and Ontario numbers. Pearson airport sits outside the city, so at the airport call 911 or ask airport staff, not the Toronto non-emergency line.) · non-emergency 416-808-2222 |
| Solo & at night | The TTC Request Stop Program lets anyone travelling alone by bus between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. get off between regular stops. Tell the Operator at least one stop ahead and exit through the front doors |
| Crew knows | Two adult UP Express fares run side by side: CAD 9.25 when you tap a PRESTO card or a contactless debit or credit card, and CAD 12.35 for a Standard one way ticket, with the Standard return at CAD 24.70. Tapping both legs therefore comes in under the Standard return, as long as you tap off with the same card you tapped on with, because a different card is charged as a second trip. There is no UP Express station at Terminal 3, so a Terminal 3 arrival rides the free Terminal Link over to Terminal 1 first and pays for that in minutes. |
| Crew deals | Verified car rental and hotel rates for airline staff: on this page, right below this guide. |
airlinecrewdiscount.net · YYZ crew card · Checked Aug 2026 · Next check Nov 2026 · Screenshot this card for offline
Every number on this page comes from an official source. Where no official source gives a number, we say so instead of guessing.
Getting from Toronto Pearson into downtown Toronto: the UP Express train, the TTC Airport Express bus, or the overnight bus?
Two clean choices out of Pearson: the UP Express train straight to Union Station, or the 900 Airport Express bus to the subway at Kipling for a fraction of the price. The train only touches Terminal 1, so a Terminal 3 arrival costs you a transfer first.
👉 Swipe sideways to see the full table
| Mode | Time | Cost | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Train (UP Express to Union Station) | 28 minutes to Union Station, 19 minutes to Bloor Station, 15 minutes to Mount Dennis, 12 minutes to Weston every 15 minutes |
CAD 12.35 Standard adult one way and CAD 24.70 return; CAD 9.25 adult when you tap a PRESTO card or a contactless debit or credit card; seniors 65 plus CAD 6.20 Standard or CAD 5.80 PRESTO; children 12 and under free | The station is inside Terminal 1 only, directly adjacent to the Terminal Link train that connects Terminals 1 and 3. The airport operator states the Terminal Link is free, runs 24 hours a day, takes two to eight minutes between stations, and has a maximum wait of four to eight minutes depending on the hour. Follow the ‘Train to the City’ signs. Pay by tapping on and off with the same card, by buying online in advance, or at a ticket vending machine at the station. PRESTO card sales and loads at the airport are only available on the Terminal 1 UP platform and only by debit or credit. Crew on a long layover can buy a Long Layover Return online for CAD 12.35 adult or CAD 25.70 family, valid from Pearson Station and expiring 7 hours after the trip starts. |
| Bus and subway (TTC 900 Airport Express to Kipling Station) | approximately 20 to 25 minutes between Pearson and Kipling Station 10-minute or better all-day service; service operates from approximately 5:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Saturday and from approximately 8:15 a.m. to 2:15 a.m. on Sunday |
CAD 3.30 adult with a PRESTO card or a tapped Interac debit or credit card, CAD 3.35 in cash; children 12 and under ride free | The TTC’s own system map describes route 900 as an accessible express bus between Kipling Station and Pearson Airport and notes that luggage racks are available on this route. Kipling is the west end of subway Line 2, and the bus platform sits inside the station. Unlike the train, the 900 calls at both Terminal 1 and Terminal 3. Tapping gives you an automatic two-hour transfer onto the subway. Cash gets a paper transfer instead, which still covers a continuous one-way trip onto the subway but does not give you the two-hour window to break the journey and reboard, and cash is exact fare only because no change is given. |
| Overnight bus (TTC Blue Night 300A Bloor-Danforth) | 30-minute or better service; service operates from approximately 2 a.m. to 5 a.m., seven days a week | CAD 3.30 adult with a PRESTO card or a tapped Interac debit or credit card, CAD 3.35 in cash | Route 300A Bloor-Danforth runs overnight along Danforth Avenue and Bloor Street to Pearson and stops at both the Terminal 1 ground level and the Terminal 3 arrivals level. The TTC states service runs from approximately 2 a.m. to 5 a.m., seven days a week. Check the overnight gap before you count on this bus: it does NOT cover every hour the UP Express is down. The last UP Express from Pearson is 12:54 a.m. and the 300A does not start until around 2 a.m., there is no TTC airport bus between roughly 5 a.m. and 5:30 a.m., and Sunday mornings are thin, because the first UP Express is 6:24 a.m. while the 300A has finished by about 5 a.m. and the 900 does not start until about 8:15 a.m. |
| Bus and subway (TTC 52A Lawrence West and 952 Lawrence West) | 52A approximately 75 minutes at peak and 50 minutes off peak to Lawrence Station; 952 approximately 75 minutes at peak 52A from approximately 5:30 a.m. to 1 a.m., seven days a week; 952 approximately 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., Monday to Friday only |
CAD 3.30 adult with a PRESTO card or a tapped Interac debit or credit card, CAD 3.35 in cash | The alternate TTC route off the airport, running east to Lawrence Station on subway Line 1 rather than to Kipling on Line 2. Useful when your Toronto address sits on the Yonge side of the city, not the Bloor side. Note the branch letter: the airport service is the 52A, not a plain 52. At 50 to 75 minutes this is the slow option, not a shortcut. |
| Regional bus (GO Transit routes 94 and 40, Terminal 1 ground level) | 24 hours a day, seven days a week; route 40 every 20 to 30 minutes during the day | The TTC’s own airport page records that GO Transit routes 94 and 40 serve the Terminal 1 ground level around the clock. This is the only 24-hour surface option off the airport, which matters because the UP Express stops at 12:54 a.m. and the TTC 300A only covers roughly 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. No fare or journey time is quoted here: those belong to GO Transit, so check the fare with GO before you board. |
Best Areas for Crew Stays in Toronto, from the downtown core at Union Station out to Kensington Market, the Distillery District, and Yorkville
Downtown core and Union Station: Where the UP Express drops you: the financial district, the waterfront, and the CN Tower all sit within a short walk of the platform.
Kensington Market and Chinatown: Low-rise, dense, and cheap to eat in, a short subway or streetcar hop northwest of Union and the usual first stop for a short window.
Distillery District: Pedestrian-only Victorian brick lanes east of downtown, compact enough to cover on foot inside an hour.
West Queen West: Galleries, independent shops, and the late evening bar strip running west from downtown along the streetcar line.
Yorkville and the Annex: Museums and the leafier end of the centre, sitting on the Bloor subway line that the UP Express meets at Bloor Station.
What to Do on a Layover in Toronto, from a short sit airside to the downtown core and one neighbourhood beyond it
Under 5 hours: Stay airside. A downtown round trip plus the walk to Terminal 1 and screening on the way back does not sit comfortably inside a short window, especially from Terminal 3.
5 to 9 hours: One clean move: the UP Express to Union Station, the downtown core and the waterfront on foot, and the same train back. Fix your return train in your head before you leave the platform, and remember the last one is 12:54 a.m.
9 hours plus: A full city run is realistic: Union Station, one neighbourhood beyond the core such as Kensington Market or the Distillery District, and a proper meal, with the Blue Night bus behind you if the evening runs past the last train.
Crew Tips for Toronto and YYZ Airport: the two UP Express fares, the terminal with no train station, and what paying cash costs you on the TTC
Paying for the train, and which fare you are actually quoting: UP Express prints two different adult fares and the gap is real money. A Standard adult one-way ticket bought online or at a station machine is CAD 12.35, and the return is CAD 24.70. Tap a PRESTO card, or a contactless debit or credit card, and the adult fare is CAD 9.25 one way instead. Only Adult PRESTO fares are available when you tap with debit or credit, so seniors, youth, and students need an actual PRESTO card with that fare type set. Tap off with the same card you tapped on with, because a different card is charged as a second trip.
The Terminal 3 trap: There is no UP Express station at Terminal 3. The station is inside Terminal 1, directly adjacent to the Terminal Link train that connects Terminals 1 and 3, and the operator’s own instruction for a Terminal 3 arrival is to transfer using the Terminal Link first. Follow the ‘Train to the City’ signs. Budget that transfer into your window before you commit to a downtown run on a tight layover. The 900 Airport Express bus does not have this problem: it calls at both terminals.
One Fare does not cover the UP Express: Ontario’s One Fare program gives you a free transfer between the TTC and GO Transit, Brampton Transit, Durham Region Transit, MiWay, and York Region Transit when you pay with a PRESTO card or a tapped debit or credit card. The TTC states plainly that UP Express is not included. So a UP Express ride into Union followed by a subway or streetcar is two separate fares, while the 900 Airport Express to Kipling and onward by subway is one TTC fare with an automatic two-hour transfer.
Cash on the TTC, and the Mississauga fare-zone question: A TTC adult fare is CAD 3.30 when you tap a PRESTO card or an Interac debit or credit card, and CAD 3.35 in cash. Paying cash still gets you a paper transfer, which the TTC states is valid at transfer points on the day issued and allows a continuous, one-way trip on TTC vehicles, so the 900 plus the subway on one continuous trip is still a single fare in cash. What cash actually costs you is the two-hour window: a paper transfer does not include the two-hour transfer, so you cannot break the trip and reboard, and cash is excluded from One Fare. Cash is also exact fare only and no change is given. Children 12 and under ride free, and each rider aged 13 or over must tap their own card or device. One more thing crew reasonably get wrong: the airport is physically in Mississauga, so a zone surcharge or a MiWay fare feels likely. There is neither. The TTC states all service to Terminal 1 ground level and Terminal 3 arrivals level is within the Toronto fare zone and a single fare is required, and that Mississauga Transit fares are not accepted at the stops in the airport.
Connectivity: UP Express provides free Wi-Fi at its stations and on the trains, which covers the 28 minutes between Terminal 1 and Union Station. Treat it as a bonus rather than a plan: do not schedule a crew call or a large upload around it. No published detail on Wi-Fi or SIM sales inside the terminals themselves could be confirmed, so plan on your own data until you are on the train.
Alone on the network after dark: Two official TTC provisions are worth knowing before a late run back. The Request Stop Program is open to anyone travelling alone by bus between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m.: tell the Operator at least one stop ahead and you can get off between regular stops, exiting through the front doors, provided the Operator can stop safely. It does not apply on streetcars. Every subway platform also has a Designated Waiting Area with a Passenger Assistance Intercom and a public telephone.
Emergency Numbers for Toronto, Ontario, and Canada
👉 Swipe sideways if the numbers do not fit
| Emergency (police, fire, paramedic) | 911 |
| Toronto Police Service, non-emergency, 24 hours (from a mobile, dial *TPS or *877) | 416-808-2222 |
| Health811, free health advice from a registered nurse, 24 hours | 811 |
| City of Toronto 311, non-emergency city services, 24 hours, 180 plus languages | 311 |
| Canada country code (calling from abroad) | +1 |
Save these before you fly; numbers work from any phone.
How do I get from Toronto Pearson to downtown Toronto?
Take the UP Express train from the station inside Terminal 1. The operator puts the ride at 28 minutes to Union Station in downtown Toronto, with trains every 15 minutes. A Standard adult one-way ticket is CAD 12.35, or CAD 9.25 if you tap a PRESTO card or a contactless debit or credit card, tapping off with the same card at the other end. If you land at Terminal 3, take the Terminal Link train to Terminal 1 first and follow the ‘Train to the City’ signs.
How much is the UP Express from Pearson Airport to Union Station?
There are two adult prices and it depends how you pay. A Standard adult one-way ticket bought online or from a station machine is CAD 12.35, and the return is CAD 24.70. Tapping a PRESTO card, or a contactless debit or credit card, brings the adult fare down to CAD 9.25 one way. Seniors 65 and over pay CAD 6.20 Standard or CAD 5.80 with PRESTO, and children 12 and under travel free. Crew with a long layover can buy a Long Layover Return online for CAD 12.35 adult, valid from Pearson Station and expiring 7 hours after the trip starts.
Is there a cheaper way from Pearson Airport to Toronto than the UP Express?
Yes, the TTC 900 Airport Express bus to Kipling Station, which is the west end of subway Line 2. The adult fare is CAD 3.30 with a PRESTO card or a tapped Interac debit or credit card, or CAD 3.35 in cash. The TTC describes the 900 as a 10-minute or better all-day accessible express bus with luggage racks. Tapping gives you an automatic two-hour transfer onto the subway. Cash gets a paper transfer, which still covers a continuous one-way trip onto the subway but not a two-hour window to break the journey and reboard, and cash is exact fare only. Note that One Fare does not cover the UP Express, so the bus route is one fare end to end while the train plus a subway is two.
Does the UP Express run from Terminal 3 at Pearson?
No. The UP Express station is inside Terminal 1 only, directly adjacent to the Terminal Link train that connects Terminals 1 and 3. A Terminal 3 arrival has to transfer on the Terminal Link to Terminal 1 first. The TTC 900 Airport Express bus, by contrast, calls at both Terminal 1 and Terminal 3.
Is tap water safe to drink in Toronto?
Yes. The City of Toronto states that Toronto’s tap water is safe to drink and that the City provides clean, safe drinking water to residents, businesses, and visitors. It is drawn from Lake Ontario and treated and continuously tested to meet or exceed the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act set by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.
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Crew Discounts in Toronto: verified car rental and hotel rates for airline staff sit right below this guide. Bookmark this page before you head down to the UP Express platform. Next Toronto rotation you start on the rates instead of from scratch.
