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

timio said:
How about a trebuchet built off the side of the CN Tower? Get the counterweight right and it could be a very speedy flight to Pearson. You'd have a pretty good view of the city too.
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I wish there was a zipline from the top of the CN Tower.
 
salsa said:
I wish there was a zipline from the top of the CN Tower.
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A zipline from CN tower to Pearson...hmmm. Pearson's a bit too far, I may land short, somewhere just past Dufferin Mall.

Let's build a taller CN tower first, beating Saudi's upcoming 1km-tall Kingdom Tower...

...and then we can petition TTC for zipline public transit! :D
 
mdrejhon said:
A zipline from CN tower to Pearson...hmmm. Pearson's a bit too far, I may land short, somewhere just past Dufferin Mall.

Let's build a taller CN tower first, beating Saudi's upcoming 1km-tall Kingdom Tower...

...and then we can petition TTC for zipline public transit! :D
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As most UTers like to say, "I wish it was taller". But for now, maybe the zipline should terminate at Toronto Island. :)
 
Napoleon said:
It's an awesome train. It also costs $6.40 one/way if you have a flight that day. Now at 431 km/hr, it would be fun to compare the cost per km/hr to the UPX ;)
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The Maglev in Shanghai doesn't depart from downtown, but rather in an outlaying area, more like Dundas West station in Toronto.
Considering the size of Shanghai, the Maglev is not that practical or useful for most people. Very few people would be heading to Longyang Road as their destination - it is really not close to anything. It is more like a tourist thing and I doubt many people used it for more than once.
 
1overcosc said:
Not to mention we're not a totalitarian country where the government can do things very quickly without democratic input or respect for worker's rights. Pretty easy to build megaprojects when you can use tear down houses 1-2-3 and use slave labour!
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Please do some research on how much those workers make versus cost of living in the city before using inflammatory words like "slave labour", OK? Don't let it be a knee jerk reaction. You probably know very little about China in the first place.
Like said, give credit when it is due. The fact is, they are building something very fast, which will vastly benefit the next generations, before salary gets so high that a three stop subway would cost 3 billion dollars.

Do we honestly think the extremely slow pace of our transit building is largely due to respect for workers' rights or democracy? How much of those "democratic debate" has nothing to do with the merit of the transit itself but rather is pure BS and waste of taxpayers' money?
 
On the cost side, I wonder how competitive is UP compared with Uber (not taxi)?

I went to YYZ the other day and it was too early and UP didn't start operating. So I used Uber, which cost $29 from a downtown location ($9 after the first timer rebate), with the convenience of the car waiting at my door, instead of me lugging my way to UP terminal (15 minutes walk), and stopping right in front of the airport terminal where I want to be. Total time was 22 minutes door to door (of course it was early and there was no traffic).

When I returned, I was a bit tired and didn't really see any UP signage. So I walked to the 192 Rocket, which happens to be waiting, and it took exactly 60 minutes for me to get home. UP would take 45 minutes including walking. Too bad UberX for some reason is not allowed to operate at YYZ and only the more expensive options were available.

I am pretty sure I will use Uber again to get to the airport, especially if with a friend. It comes to $15 per person.
 
ksun said:
I am pretty sure I will use Uber again to get to the airport, especially if with a friend. It comes to $15 per person.
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I took Uber to a GO station once, it worked pretty well.

You could use Uber to go to the York dropoff right under UPX, and get to the airport quicker, albiet more expensively. But not during rush hour where taxis go slower than walking.
 
Sometime in the last decade, I remember walking the Skywalk and thinking that it felt like an airport. It now is. Yesterday, I landed, took the UP Express, walked out and the Skywalk felt just like an extension of Pearson International because the first time I had to set my foot outside after getting off the plane was at the CN Tower. I walked the rest of the way home in about 10 minutes.

mjl08 said:
Has anyone been on the UPX since the free ride launch? What does ridership look like so far?
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It seemed moderately busy yesterday around 8pm. I felt bad for the people paying full price whereas I tapped my PRESTO card on the way in and only paid $19. There really is no indication whatsoever that there is a discount for using PRESTO. It's an explicit cash grab on tourists and I feel that that's just wrong. At the very least they could've had PRESTO card in the different fare options. You'd pay a couple of bucks for a temporary paper PRESTO card and get to use it around the city and get the $19 fare on your way back to the airport.
 
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ksun said:
Too bad UberX for some reason is not allowed to operate at YYZ and only the more expensive options were available.
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I am not fan of Uber but as I understand it (correct me if I am wrong) UberX is their taxi option...right? In that case, they would have to apply for and get and pay for the special permits to allow them into the airport pick up queue....lots of regular cab drivers don't have this either...if you get a cab from downtown to the airport and the driver is not an airport cab....they either have to return to the city empty or engage in the illegal practice of trying to pick people up away from arrivals (typically departures) to avoid being caught.

Given that Uber's business model is based on lower regulation/fees so that they can charge less to the public....I doubt they would be keen to get those permits and pay those fees.

But the regular Uber..."isn't a taxi service it is a ride share app"....so you could have one of those people pick you up in their private car and share a ride with you home. ;)
 
MetroMan said:
It seemed moderately busy yesterday around 8pm. I felt bad for the people paying full price whereas I tapped my PRESTO card on the way in and only paid $19. There really is no indication whatsoever that there is a discount for using PRESTO. It's an explicit cash grab on tourists and I feel that that's just wrong. At the very least they could've had PRESTO card in the different fare options. You'd pay a couple of bucks for a temporary paper PRESTO card and get to use it around the city and get the $19 fare on your way back to the airport.
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It is certainly listed as a fare option online...which I assumed is where most visitors would have researched/read about the train....where is it that they are hiding it?
 
MetroMan said:
Sometime in the last decade, I remember walking the Skywalk and thinking that it felt like an airport. It now is. Yesterday, I landed, took the UP Express, walked out and the Skywalk felt just like an extension of Pearson International because the first time I had to set my foot outside after getting off the plane was at the CN Tower. I walked the rest of the way home in about 10 minutes.
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I've actually seen that part of the skywalk used as a set for an airport terminal scene in a tv show or movie somewhere.
 
MetroMan said:
Sometime in the last decade, I remember walking the Skywalk and thinking that it felt like an airport. It now is. Yesterday, I landed, took the UP Express, walked out and the Skywalk felt just like an extension of Pearson International because the first time I had to set my foot outside after getting off the plane was at the CN Tower.
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Thinking it further -- the whole PATH system is an indoor extension of Pearson, especially after Union revitalization. Any tourist could vacation to Toronto in the winter, without ever having stepped outside, see a hockey game, go to a convention, stay at hotel, visit some lovely restaurants, shop, all without ever stepping outdoors.

Thanks to the platform-edge doors of UPX at both Pearson-side and PATH-side, keeping people indoors all the way to PATH. Add indoor connections to the CN tower, Ripley's aquarium and Rogers Center, and then with some appropriate advertising, and even better wayfinding, this could be a draw for a winter-time tourists who would otherwise pass Toronto over. A PATH smartphone app that listens to Bluetooth beacons, would be perfect, for "PATH GPS" to help everybody explore the system quickly and easily.
 
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