Toronto Union Pearson Express | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx | MMM Group Limited

Important to not that most of those systems are part of the standard transit network meaning that you pay the fare but it is integrated with the local transit system. In other words you pay the difference between getting to the airport and using the transit to get to the station where as in Toronto you pay twice.

By this metric, Toronto is much worse than this chart shows.
 
I'm scratching my head what the direct rail link is to JFK for $16? There's only the airtrain into JFK, it doesn't go downtown, and costs $5.
 
Yeah that doesn't add up. AirTrain is $5 plus LIRR from Jamaica to Penn Station would be $10 during peak, $7.25 off peak.
 
threnody said:
Yeah that doesn't add up. AirTrain is $5 plus LIRR from Jamaica to Penn Station would be $10 during peak, $7.25 off peak.
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That's not direct though ... that's a regular commuter train from which you can catch a connecting train that goes to the airport. How does that differ from taking the GO Train from Union to Kipling and changing to TTC 191 Airport Rocket (which I've done a couple of times, when I've had to be a the airport around 6 pm on a weekday).
 
I had it saved on my hard drive, but not sure the source. Seems unofficial, and I'd view it with skepticism. But I think it's safe to say it's correct for showing that UPX is the costliest air-rail link on the continent, and probably the Americas.
 
nfitz said:
That's not direct though ... that's a regular commuter train from which you can catch a connecting train that goes to the airport. How does that differ from taking the GO Train from Union to Kipling and changing to TTC 191 Airport Rocket (which I've done a couple of times, when I've had to be a the airport around 6 pm on a weekday).
Click to expand...

Yeah I'm just saying that's the closest thing I can imagine for a "rail link" to JFK. But the numbers still don't add up so who knows.
 
And the Denver EMU to DIA isn't yet operational; it opens in 2016.

None of the New York airports have direct rail access, EWR and JFK require a transfer to AirTrain to NJ Transit or LIRR, or to the subway. Oakland Airport requires connecting to a shuttle bus, called AirBART. Vancouver is only as expensive as shown on a one-way fare from the airport; it's cheaper to ride to YVR or with a pass.
 
The UPX is a failure with high fares, no fare integration, and incredibly lousy ridership. It has justly earned the scorn of Toronto travellers and all Ontario taxpayers.

The good news if that with lousy ridership, red ink till the end of time, public scorn, and Tory finally acknowledging that Eglinton West ST will probably not go ahead but rather the Eglinton LRT extension you will see Tory rerouting his ST to continue further north/west along the current UPX corridor. In other words I can see Tory approaching Metrolinx and offering it to take the entire line off their hands and use it as the ST route.
 
ssiguy2 said:
The UPX is a failure with high fares, no fare integration, and incredibly lousy ridership. It has justly earned the scorn of Toronto travellers and all Ontario taxpayers.
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Excuse me, but I'd actually prefer that you not speak for me, and especially not tell lies in doing so. I am an Ontario taxpayer and UPX does not have my scorn, it has my admiration; I am very pleased with every aspect of the service including fares. Please, in the future, state "it has justly earned my scorn" or the scorn of "some Ontario taxpayers". It is despicable to assume that you have any right, or sufficient competence, to speak for me and the entire province.
 
The service does not have my "scorn" - it's a valuable and convenient service which enhaces the GTA.

I have always maintained that their fare strategy was a mistake, but even I ( a proven sucker for taking one more cycle thru a debate ) am tired of rehashing this. Give ML a full twelve months to try to build ridership, and then we can see.

If anyone can find the Vegas book for "Will UPX lower its fares in June 2016", I'd love to see the odds.

- Paul
 
Riverdale Rink Rat said:
Is there any provenance for either chart?
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Both of these charts are originally from a BlogTO articles...and yes the Canadian dollar has changed, but the purchasing power parity has not changed that much domestically, so that's mostly irrelevant. The original article is here:
http://www.blogto.com/city/2014/12/is_torontos_air-rail_link_the_priciest_in_north_america/
ShonTron said:
None of the New York airports have direct rail access, EWR and JFK require a transfer to AirTrain to NJ Transit or LIRR, or to the subway. Oakland Airport requires connecting to a shuttle bus, called AirBART. Vancouver is only as expensive as shown on a one-way fare from the airport; it's cheaper to ride to YVR or with a pass.
Click to expand...
For EWR, it's USD $13 from Penn Station to the airport and then changing to an airport monorail...given that it directly serves separated terminals, it's pretty much the same as a direct airline.

For JFK, the probably got their data from here for $15 USD peak fare including airport charge...also a monorail directly serving separated terminals:
http://web.mta.info/mta/airtrain.htm

OAK has a new service with a silly cable-pulled "People Mover" to connect from the Oakland station to the airport:
BART-OAC-Coliseum.jpg

This service costs $10.05 from downtown SF including BART and the airport surcharge. Oh, and to clarify silly, this was very expensive to build, diverted lots of funds that BART sorely needed, and isn't even all that fast. It was a slam-dunk case for BRT.

Anyway, just wanted to remind people of North American comparisons with posting that. It's very easy to cherry pick incredibly expensive foreign example, especially when converting into the weak Canadian dollar. I'd suggest it's more useful to look at projects a little closer to home.
 
Thanks for the link, Napoleon. A good article and well thought out.

However, the pricing really comes down to the competition for transportation to this airport (own car to parking, taxi/limo, TTC) and from this airport for an inbound traveler (really, unless said traveler is a savvy budget tourist, the TTC option will likely be ignored but you need to add car rental, maybe. Do people travelling downtown from Pearson rent cars sometimes?) Pricing is a perception thing, though, and at least one person here has suggested a cut from $19 to $15 would be to go from expensive to reasonable. I still think this service needs to be revisited next June, and not before. The price is more than reasonable and the service is great. They need to sort out their marketing.
 
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