Toronto has achieved what many other cities have not: a variety of safe, efficient, affordable transportation options to get people where they're going — fast.
By Air
Toronto Pearson International Airport
The fourth largest international airport in North America and the world's largest originator of traffic into the United States, Toronto Pearson International Airport delivers safe, efficient and quality service to millions of passengers every year. In 2002, Toronto Pearson handled 25.9 million passengers.
Serving as Canada's gateway to the world, its three terminals are the departure points for more than 61 domestic, U.S. and international airlines travelling to 300 destinations in 54 countries.
Toronto Pearson is Canada's busiest airport, offering extensive service to major American destinations such as New York (160 flights per week), Chicago (130 flights per week), Washington (85 flights per week), and Los Angeles (21 flights per week). As such, it has become the pinnacle choice for cross-border travel.
Toronto Pearson is undergoing a 10-year $4.4 billion redevelopment program in order to meet the growing demands of air travellers. The project has four major components: Terminal Development; Airside Development; Infield Development and Utilities to serve the airport. The Terminal Development Project will replace Terminals 1 and 2 with a single unified terminal, which, in conjunction with Terminal 3, will ultimately be capable of accommodating up to 50 million passengers per year.
Link to Toronto Pearson International Airport
Toronto City Centre Airport
Located on Toronto Island, conveniently near downtown, the Toronto City Centre Airport handles short-haul commuter flights to Montreal, Quebec; Ottawa and London, Ontario.
Other Airports
The Toronto area is also serviced by three other notable airports - Buttonville, Oshawa and Hamilton.
By Rail
Two national railways — CP Rail Systems and Canadian National Railways (CN) — provide rail freight access to the rest of Canada and North America from Toronto. Facilities that are integrated with key northern U.S. railroads through all cross-border gateways create a network reaching more than 33,000 kilometres (21,000 miles) in length.
By Car
For the most part, Toronto's road network comprises several major four and six-lane arterials and multi-lane expressways that provide a seamless connection to other Canadian cities and the major U.S. borders Michigan and New York.
Highway 401, an east-west highway that facilitates travel to the north of Toronto, is one of the three busiest freeways in North America. Approximately 300,000 vehicles travel on it on an average weekday.
QEW — or Queen Elizabeth Way — is an east-west highway traversing the city along its southern boundary by Lake Ontario. It merges with the Gardiner Expressway through the downtown and again with the Don Valley Parkway, a northbound expressway.
Highway 407 is a newly opened six-lane toll highway that runs east-west, bypassing the city on its northern boundary.
By Public Transit
The Toronto area is served by 10 public transit systems. The biggest of the 10, the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), is the second largest transit system in North America after New York. More than one million passengers use 2,300 buses, streetcars and subway cars that operate daily on 6,480 km of routes.
By Water
The Port of Toronto is the waterway connection to the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway - a link that enables ships to travel a total of 3,747 km to the head of Lake Superior. The average navigation season is from the end of March to mid-December.
The Port of Toronto is a transportation hub for a wide market, including all of Ontario, northwestern Quebec, and upstate New York and Ohio. In 1998, the Port handled over two million tonnes of cargo and is a full multi-modal distribution centre. The impact of port-related business alone is estimated to be $422 million.
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Rail
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