It should be much less than 16 hrs. YUL-PEK is not much longer than YVR-HKG, which is 12.5 hrs. YUL-PEK will be around 13 hrs.

Btw, EWR-PEK is 14 hrs, not 17 hrs.

Oh, because they want to keep the transportation in the sanitary zone and otherwise it would involve a much larger renovation.

That makes sense though it still seems like a ridiculous waste of space, time and money. How often will people find they need to be at one side of the airport 3 mins faster then by walking or using a moving sidewalk? It's a concept you would have expected back in the 60's.

The new Union to Pearson train will cost (one way from Union to Pearson) $19 with a presto card, $27 without one. Pretty good price I'd say.
http://www.cp24.com/video?clipId=510781

Sucks for employees to pay 10$ though. It should be free for them. I know there's an employee shuttle at YUL operating between the parking lots and the terminals for free, although it isn't exactly the same thing. 19$ for people with Presto cards is a good price too.

It might be there to deter them from using it too much. If airport staff used it all the time it might lead to overcrowding and make it tough for travelers to get seats. Also it only cost $3.20 more then the Go Train to the airport.

There's hardly any airport employee's who live in downtown Toronto to begin with. 75% of the airports work force comes from Peel region- basically Mississauga & Brampton. Only 3% commute to Person via the 192 airport express bus from the Subway. At best maybe 1-2% of the airport workforce lives downtown. And if they use a vehicle to commute now they may no longer need one to commute and vehcile ownership is far more expensive than 255$ a month - the cost of a monthly pass for airport workers with the federal tax credit applied.

Sounds about right.

$27 is very expensive - consider a tourist family of 4. Over $100 one way just to get to Toronto?

I think they're trying to price gauge the tourists.

Its a lot more reasonable if you are a local and have a presto pass. Under $20.

Makes sense, they're only here once and will more willingly pay for the convenience. The ppl who regularly use it get a discount.

The family fare (two adults and up to 3 children under 18 years) will be $55.

That's actually really good seeing a cab fixed rate from union to the airport is $55 plus tip.

http://www.taxifarefinder.com/main.php?city=Toronto

Matt Gurney at the National Post had a great op-ed poking fun at all the people who foam at the mouth about UPX.

Ya these people that think the price is too high really need to put it into perspective. Personally I can't wait till it's up and running. No more cramped TTC bus that's not even a true express, or paying $65 for a cab.

Couldn't agree more. Often when going to Pearson in the afternoon I would take TTC even if work was paying just because at least it was a reliable hour to get there... I've taken cabs/airport limos that got stuck on the gardiner/DVP and it took nearly 2 hours. Missed more than a couple flights that way.

$27 is a steal for a direct reliable trip to the airport.

$27 dollars one way seems really pricy in comparison to other big city airports I travel to frequently. The Maglev in Shanghai is 80RMB return (around $13). The Airporter in HK is 160HKD return (around $22). Both travel 30km+.

:previous: Agree. In one swoop, they've turned what should have been an asset for Torontonians into an asset for the rich.

$27 is fine from the POV of people with good jobs, but this service should have broader appeal than that. At $27, the vast majority of people are going to balk and find alternatives. This is an infrastructure upgrade for the well heeled. This should be $15.

To be fair, it's $19 for those who have Presto cards. A Presto card is something that essentially anybody who takes transit regularly in the GTA owns.

And look at this way... if you're going to be spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on a flight, you can afford a UPX ticket.

What I really want, is for Metrolinx to sign a deal with VIA letting people book UPX tickets through the VIA booking engine for connections. I should be able to go to the VIA Rail website, ask for a booking from Kingston to Pearson Airport, and it will buy me my VIA ticket to Kingston and my UPX ticket from Union to Pearson, all in one transaction. That's one of the main benefits of UPX, is it provides better access to the airport for all of us in the smaller cities of Ontario who rely on trains, buses, and cars to get us to Pearson. VIA already has an agreement with Metrolinx for this to be done with GO trains, so I'm optimistic it will be extended to UPX.

Slightly inflated, but still in the upper realms of fair I'd say. They need to recupirate construction costs somehow, and I imagine the trains won't be as packed as a typical Lakeshore West GO train, for example.

Yeah, exactly. It seems bizarre that I have taken the streetcar up to Bathurst station, and then to Kipling to catch the 192. Because it's more reliable than a cab at rush hour. It's a while, but it's constant. I could see myself taking the UPX from Bloor West station in certain scenarios.