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How to use the Toronto Subway?

The Toronto subway is a great way to get around the city. In this article I will show you how to use it and get the most out of it.


The Toronto Subway is a fast and efficient way to get around the city, as well as being one of the easiest transit systems to use. Here are some tips on how to use the Toronto subway to make your commute easier.

In our passage through eastern Canada, we found ourselves in the need to cut a day from our stay in Toronto, with which we would have only a day and a half to visit. In this case, the subway became our ally to be able to take advantage of our stay.

Toronto subway

What are the opening hours?

The lines start at 6 AM to 2 AM (Monday to Saturday), and from 8 AM to 2 AM on Sundays. These are the most recent schedules taken from the official TTC website.

Toronto subway

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How to buy tickets for the Toronto subway?

In the stations there are vending machines, where you can buy tickets to enter the subway. You can pay by card or cash.

Machine Toronto subway

How much do the tickets cost?

The tickets are divided into three main categories:

  • 1 trip ticket, it costs 3.25 and with this ticket you can, as its name says, make only one trip.
  • 2-trip ticket, it costs 6.50 and with this ticket, you can do a round trip, for example, or simply take the subway, go to one place and after that place, go to a different one. You don’t necessarily have to go back to the starting point.
  • 1-day ticket, costs 13.50 and with it you can take the metro for a whole day. Consider that its validity is for the day you start using it and not for 24 hours. If you are going to make more than 4 trips on the metro, this ticket is for you.
Machine Toronto subway

What are the Toronto subway routes?

The Toronto subway has 4 lines that have different colors:

  • Yellow: line 1 that will be useful for visiting places like the town hall, where you can see the letters of the city, and the CN Tower.
  • Green: line 2, which will be useful to visit the Museum of Contemporary Art.
  • Blue: line 3.
  • Purple: line 4.
Map Toronto subway

How did we live the arrival to the Toronto subway?

Arriving at the station, we bought the tickets in the vending machines. We were lucky, since the times we had to use the subway, there were not many people, neither to buy the tickets, nor on the platforms. The service is quite reliable and punctual.

Toronto subway

Here, I show you how the 2-trip ticket is, you have to keep it with one all the time you travel on the subway. In our case, we never had any verification.

Ticket Toronto subway

Most of the stations we visited had escalators and elevators, so you can have peace of mind not to suffer if you bring plenty of suitcases.

Of course, in some stations you have to walk a lot, since they can be enormous. I don’t remember exactly which one, but there was a station that we passed right after visiting the CN Tower, which was huge and easy to miss, and it was also connected to a shopping center and the train station.

But other than that, the other stations are effortless to use, the metro down the street is discreetly marked, but you can see it. Do not fear that you will not be able to find it.

An easy and convenient metro system

In conclusion, the Toronto Subway is an easy and convenient way to get around the city. It is affordable and efficient, and can be used by everyone. With a little planning, you can use the Toronto subway to your advantage and make your commute a breeze. If you buy the one-day card, you can combine it with the trams, to get even more out of it.

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Olga Grijalva

Olga is a traveler and travel content creator with 17 years of experience. Her goal is to share useful information to help you plan your adventures. She has visited more than 40 countries and is excited to share her experience with you.

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