PRESTO, the TTC and GO trains: getting around Toronto without overpaying

If you've used an Opal card or tapped your phone on a Melbourne tram, you already know 80% of this. The other 20% saves you real money.

The short version

• A TTC adult fare is CA$3.30 with PRESTO, a debit or credit card or your phone, and that covers unlimited TTC trips for two hours after your first tap [1].
• Since 1 September 2026 the TTC caps fares: after 47 paid trips in a calendar month, the rest of that month is free, as long as you tap the same card each time [1][2].
• Ontario's One Fare program means you don't pay twice when you switch between the TTC and GO Transit within the time window [3].
• UP Express runs between Pearson airport and Union Station every 15 minutes; the adult fare is CA$9.25 with PRESTO or CA$12.35 otherwise [4].
• Kids 12 and under ride the TTC free [1].

How paying works: PRESTO or just tap

Toronto's system is run by the TTC (subway, streetcars and buses inside the city) and Metrolinx (GO trains and buses to the suburbs, plus UP Express). They share one payment system, PRESTO.

You have three ways to pay a TTC fare:

For most Australians the easiest start is tapping the same Visa, Mastercard or Interac debit card you'd use anyway. An Australian-issued card works at the reader, but your bank may charge a foreign transaction fee on every tap, which adds up over a month. Once you have a Canadian bank card, switch to that.

A PRESTO card is worth getting if you want concession fares (students and seniors need one with the right discount type set), if you'd rather not tap your bank card, or if you'll use GO a lot and want a default trip set [3]. You can buy one at machines in subway stations and load it online.

The two-hour transfer

From your first tap, any further TTC trips within two hours are free [1]. That includes changing direction. Pop up Line 1 to the shops at Eaton Centre, grab a coffee, and catch the subway home inside two hours, and you've paid once. Cash fares don't get it [1].

The new monthly cap

The TTC scrapped the adult Monthly Pass and replaced it with fare capping on 1 September 2026 [2]. It works like this:

1. Tap the same card, phone or PRESTO card every trip. Switching cards splits your count.
2. Each paid fare counts. Free transfers inside the two-hour window don't.
3. After 47 paid fares in a calendar month, every TTC trip for the rest of that month is free [1][2].
4. Keep tapping anyway; your tap is your proof of payment if a fare inspector checks [2].
5. The count resets on the 1st of the next month [1].

At CA$3.30 a fare, that caps your monthly TTC spend at roughly CA$155. Heavy riders who commit for a year can still buy the Adult 12-Month Pass, listed at CA$143, and post-secondary students still have their own monthly pass at CA$128.15 [1]. The TTC says those passes remain the lowest fare for people who qualify [2].

The cap is calendar-based, not rolling. If you arrive mid-month, your first month won't reach 47 trips, and you'll just pay per trip.

The TTC network in plain English

• Subway. Line 1 (Yonge–University) is the U-shaped spine running north–south through downtown. Line 2 (Bloor–Danforth) crosses east–west. Line 4 (Sheppard) is a short spur in North York.
• Streetcars. The red streetcars on King, Queen, Dundas, College, Spadina and others are the downtown workhorses. King Street has transit priority, so it's often faster than walking. You board at any door and tap inside.
• Buses. The rest of the city. Night buses on the "Blue Night" network run when the subway is shut.

Big difference from home: there's no free inner-city zone like Melbourne's tram zone. Everything costs a fare, but the transfer rule makes it generous.

GO Transit and One Fare: the suburbs and beyond

GO trains and buses fan out from Union Station to Hamilton, Oshawa, Barrie, Kitchener, Niagara Falls and dozens of towns in between. Fares go by distance, so tap on and tap off [3].

Ontario's One Fare program, which the TTC joined in February 2024, removed the double fare problem [3]:

• TTC then GO. If you tap onto GO within two hours of your first TTC tap, you're reimbursed for the TTC part of the trip [3].
• GO then TTC. Transfer to the TTC within the window and you don't pay another TTC fare [3].
• How. Use PRESTO, PRESTO in your phone, or the same debit or credit card for both legs. Cash and PRESTO Tickets don't qualify [3].
• Remember to tap off at your GO destination, unless your PRESTO has a default trip set [3].

Free transfers from GO don't count towards the TTC monthly cap; only paid trips that start on the TTC do [3].

For weekend trips this matters. A GO train to Niagara Falls or a Lakeshore West run to Burlington for a hike costs far less than a hire car, and you skip the insurance issues covered in our Ontario licence guide.

Getting to and from Pearson

Toronto Pearson is in Mississauga, about 25 km northwest of downtown.

UP Express trains leave Terminal 1 every 15 minutes, seven days a week, and stop at Weston, Mount Dennis and Bloor on the way to Union [4]. Bloor station connects to Dundas West on Line 2, handy if you live in Roncesvalles or the Junction. If you land at Terminal 3, take the free Terminal Link train to Terminal 1 first.

Bike Share Toronto and walking

From spring to autumn, Bike Share Toronto is the fastest way to cover short downtown hops. It offers pay-as-you-go rides, day passes and annual memberships, with a growing share of e-bikes; the City is adding hundreds of e-bikes, solar docks and new docking points in 2026 [5]. Check the app for current prices before you commit to a membership.

Cycle infrastructure has improved along Bloor, University and the Martin Goodman Trail by the lake, but traffic is heavier and more aggressive than in most Australian cities. Watch for streetcar tracks; a wheel caught in one is a classic newcomer crash.

In deep winter, many downtown commuters walk underground through the PATH network instead. Our first Toronto winter guide explains how.

Getting home to Australia

There are no non-stop flights from Toronto to Australia. Your realistic choices:

• Via Vancouver. Air Canada connects Toronto to its Vancouver flights to Australia's east coast. You stay in Canada for the connection, which means no US transit paperwork. Check current routes and seasonal schedules before booking.
• Via the US west coast or Texas. Qantas and US airlines fly to Australia from Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dallas–Fort Worth. Pearson has US preclearance, so you go through US immigration in Toronto. You need an ESTA or US visa even just to change planes, because the US has no airside international transit.
• Via Asia or the Middle East. Longer, but sometimes cheaper, especially for Perth.

Two Smartraveller points worth knowing. Australians flying into Canada need an eTA, and dual Canadian citizens aren't eligible for one [6]. And Australians can't transit through the US from Canada by land, rail or ferry, so the "train to Seattle, fly from there" plan doesn't work without proper US entry [6].

For mates who've found the cheapest month to fly to Sydney or which connection actually makes the bags, ask in Cooee Canada, our Facebook group for Australians in Canada.

Sources

1. Fares and passes – Toronto Transit Commission
2. Monthly fare capping now in effect at the TTC – Toronto Transit Commission, September 2026
3. Regional travel and One Fare – Toronto Transit Commission
4. UP Express – Toronto Pearson International Airport
5. Bike Share Toronto 2026 – Global News
6. Canada travel advice – Smartraveller, Australian Government

Keep reading

• Swapping your Australian licence for an Ontario G: what to bring
• Your first Toronto winter: heating, gear and keeping sane
• Cost of living in Toronto vs Sydney and Melbourne
• Consular help and Smartraveller for Australians abroad