Public transport in Toronto

[xpressentry]

My wife has lived in big cities like Mumbai and London which has great public transport connections and night buses. I have a UK driving license which I plan to convert to an Ontario driving license since we want to live in or around Toronto. My wife is independent and likes to travel all over the place without depending on me to drive her around and she isn't interested in driving or learning to drive. I want to know if people can commute easily in and around Toronto between downtown and suburbs by public transport alone? Most jobs are in downtown Toronto but living there is enormously expensive so we are okay with living in the suburbs and commuting.

 

[spyfy]

I would say the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) is better than people always say it is. As long as you live in Toronto Proper (Downtown, Scarborough, Etobicoke, North York,...) and therefore in TTC territory, there is buses all over the place, many night buses, too (although the night network is thinner). It's true that there is only two subway lines which is less than toronto needs. But in the core there is the streetcars, too. They are slow and overcrowded around rush hour, but they are working on it with new streetcars. Currently they are planning to change one of the downtown streets (King Street) to allow streetcars travel faster.

The TTC isn't the cheapest network, you can check the prices on their website.

But again I would say they are OK and you can definitely get everywhere, although driving is faster in many (but not all) cases.

If you don't live in Toronto but in other municipalities (Mississauga, Vaughan, Brampton,...) someone else would have to chime in since I don't have a lot of experience with regional transit.

 

[xpressentry]

Thanks for the inputs. We are considering neighbourhoods in Mississauga and Brampton and we will do our research. I had a look at the prices and I think I'm paying much more in London.

 

[bellaluna]

Best to stay within TTC territory if you have the option, but if you're also eyeing Brampton and Mississauga, I would say your wife would have no problem with public transport there either. Look for a house that is within walking distance of a bus stop though, some neighbourhoods there are a bit out of the way.

I have to take York Region Transit to get into Toronto proper, and it is very easy but pretty expensive. Brampton, Mississauga, and YRT are covered by TTC's weekly GTA pass, so your wife can get unlimited rides on those systems, if she travels daily:

http://www.ttc.ca/Fares_and_passes/Passes/GTA_pass.jsp

If she prefers to pay per ride, which is what I do since I travel infrequently, it would be advisable to get a Presto card, which works for Brampton and MiWay, and will eventually supplant tokens and tickets on the TTC.

https://www.prestocard.ca/en/about/paying-for-transit

 

[xpressentry]

Best to stay within TTC territory if you have the option, but if you're also eyeing Brampton and Mississauga, I would say your wife would have no problem with public transport there either. Look for a house that is within walking distance of a bus stop though, some neighbourhoods there are a bit out of the way.

I have to take York Region Transit to get into Toronto proper, and it is very easy but pretty expensive. Brampton, Mississauga, and YRT are covered by TTC's weekly GTA pass, so your wife can get unlimited rides on those systems, if she travels daily:

http://www.ttc.ca/Fares_and_passes/Passes/GTA_pass.jsp

If she prefers to pay per ride, which is what I do since I travel infrequently, it would be advisable to get a Presto card, which works for Brampton and MiWay, and will eventually supplant tokens and tickets on the TTC.

https://www.prestocard.ca/en/about/paying-for-transit

Thanks for the tips.