Price slash on Toronto's UPExpress

UPExpress at Bloor Street station
creative commons image wiki commons

As we reported in October in New hope for Toronto's UPExpress, the slick new Toronto airport train had suffered since its opening with ridership far below projections. Marketed to the business traveller, the high fares on the empty trains were unaffordable for airport workers, and an annoying indulgence that few local travellers would fork out for. As the messy back story behind the launch fares has emerged, the pressure was heating up.

Now, 9 months after the service began, the Toronto Unuion Express airport train is being reborn with lower fares. The $27.50 cash fare will be slashed to $12. Presto card holders will pay $9, versus the prior $19. Airport workers will see their monthly pass price drop from $300 to $140. The new rates come into effect on March 9th.

And Torontonians are happy: according to a survey by the Toronto Star, 51% say the fares are fair now, and will avail themselves of the rail service. Better late than never!

Related resources
Metrolinx set UP Express price high despite warnings
Torontonians on board with lowered airport train fare, poll suggests
New hope for Toronto's UPExpress
Toronto joins the 21st century with Pearson airport train
Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) transportation guide
Toronto City Billy Bishop Airport (YTZ) transportation guide

New hope for Toronto's UPExpress

UPExpress airport train at Pearson station
creative commons image chriskillam on Flickr

After a beleaguered start, it appears there may be hope on the horizon for Torontonians who watch the city's airport train cars pass by empty.

The Globe and Mail has reported of a rumoured takeover of the Union Pearson Express by the city. In the article, Toronto Mayor John Tory "acknowledged that the idea is just a 'passing reference' in what is expected to be a lengthy report on the feasibility of his $8-billion SmartTrack, which would run on the existing GO rail network and has a planned stop in the Pearson airport area."

Passing reference or not, we can't help but be optimistic.

The Union Pearson Express on a busier day
creativecommons image sweetone on Flickr

While the building of the new Toronto Airport train was much anticipated, doubts about ridership arose immediately after the fare structure was announced (see our blog post Toronto joins the 21st century with Pearson airport train).

Since beginning service in June, UPExpress trains have been running largely empty, with few but the most flush travellers, and an occassional local, paying the steep fares. For an international airport, served by thousands of local workers, Toronto deserves better. Let's hope the SmartTrack will get the Toronto Pearson Airport train on the right track.

YYZ Airport train: fast, but not cheap
creativecommons image chriskillam on Flickr

Related resources
Staff report hints at Toronto taking over Pearson express train
Pearson airport express trains 90 per cent empty
Union Pearson Express — the train Toronto loves to hate
What travellers want – and at the right price
Clean Train Coalition on UPExpress diesel design

Toronto joins the 21st century with Pearson airport train

Toronto's shiny new YYZ airport train
wikicommons images (except as noted)

Toronto has finally joined the 21st century with its new train service to Pearson International Airport (YYZ). There have been discussions since the late 1980s, but this week the dream become a reality.

One can now jump on a train - the Union Pearson Express, or UPExpress - from Toronto's YYZ  airport to downtown (or vice versa) in about 25 minutes onboard a touted luxury train that boasts a comfy ambience and free WiFi, similar to that of the Heathrow Express. This new train only stop twice enroute – the Weston and Bloor West Stations.

The price tag for a one-way journey is a steep $27.50 fare per adult. Gasp.

The fare is quite high in comparison to other airport-downtown train journeys around the world and it is difficult to determine whether this price point will gather enough passengers to warrant itself a sustainable business model. The Vancouver Canada Line, a comparable national example, takes approximately half the time (half the distance) and only costs $5.50 during peak times and $2.75 evenings/weekends, so a $10-15 price tag for the UPExpress would seem more fitting.

creativecommons image
chriskillam on Flickr

Based on the current pricing system, the reduction in airport parking and taxis could be quite limited, and given the UPExpress only frequents downtown, it seems more geared towards business travelers and tourists versus city residents, whom would be better off catching a taxi or a bus. There is a reduced fare for Presto fare-card holders ($19 one-way), but it's not enough to entice regular riders.

What would be a game changer would be if the UPExpress had alignment to Toronto’s subway system or light rail transit to give more flexibility in options for all travelers.

In the meantime, having more transit choices for travelers at the Pearson International Airport is a good thing so long as the arguably prohibitive cost does not make this investment a boondoogle.

Related resources
The Union-Pearson Express is the good news story Toronto refuses to accept
Union Pearson Express test ride: A first look at Toronto’s downtown-airport train
Union Pearson Express Opens Today
Toronto Pearson Airport (YYZ) transportation guide

End of Days - YYZ to discontinue bus service

Toronto's Airport Express back in 2009 when it was decked out for a Cuba promotion.
The shuttle service to/from Pearson Airport is a common sight outside the Royal York hotel
 in downtown Toronto. But not for much longer... (photo: wikicommons)

Toronto Pearson Airport's infamous shuttle bus service, the Toronto Airport Express, will be ending their service on October 31, 2014.

Porter Airlines landing at Toronto's Billy Bishop Airport
on Toronto Islands, in the city centre.

The shuttle's operator, Pacific Western Transportation, says the discontinuation is due to Billy Bishop Airport's increased popularity, as well as the planned airport subway system scheduled for 2015.

For many travelers, the bus service was simply becoming too inconvenient with construction and gridlock making the service too long, and too inconvenient for cost conscious travelers looking for a cheap and quick service to downtown Toronto.

The good news is that Toronto will soon join many other cities that have a special subway line that takes passengers to/from the international airport. Metrolinx is well into construction of the new Union Pearson Express line, or UP Express. The project has already won international recognition, as Project of the Year at the 2013 Global AirRail Awards.

Don't get too excited if you see the
 Link Train at Pearson, as it only
 provides inter-airport connections.

In Toronto, it will enable many of Canada's snowbirds that live right downtown to walk underground, hop on the airport subway and then get on their plane without ever going outside. Imagine leaving Toronto in the winter time when it is -20° celsius in a shirt and shorts enroute to Mexico in a comfortable climate controlled environment. No more bringing your needless parka to a tropical destination.

While there will be a gap in service between the discontinuance of the Toronto Airport Express line and that of the new airport subway, it is anticipated that travellers will rely on using the city airport (YTZ) more, taking a taxi or shared airport shuttle services.

Related resources:

• Toronto’s Pearson Airport express bus to stop this fall due to construction, traffic, Island Airport
• Rollin' Down the Track
• Express train to Pearson airport prepares for takeoff
• Options to/from Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ)
• Options to/from Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (YTZ)
• Toronto Layover Options and Things to Do in Toronto