Transportation Options in Canada

If you are moving to Canada to live in the country on a temporary or more permanent basis you will want to familiarize your self with the various transportation options in the country. And even if you are simply going to Canada for a vacation or holiday you will still benefit from knowing the best ways to travel in and around the country. There are multiple options for transportation in Canada, and which one is best depends mostly on how far you are traveling.

If you are looking for transportation options in and around a city like Toronto then you will have several options to choose from. There are taxis, subways, and buses that you can take around a city. Or you can choose to be in charge of your own transportation and go by foot and walk to your destination, or you can bike, rollerblade or take a dog sled if you are in an area where that is a viable option. If you are looking to travel outside of a city, made you are looking to travel between two cities then your transportation options look a bit different as it is not practical to walk or bike long distances. For longer distances your options include flying by plane, taking a bus or a charter coach or hopping on a train for the trip.

There are two types of train service in Canada. There is regional train service and there is national train service.

National trains are the trains that are operated by VIA Rail. On these trains you can travel from the most western coasts of Canada to the most eastern coasts of Canada. Train service like this takes a lot of time though. For instance, train travel from Vancouver to Toronto takes about three days as you have almost 3,000 miles to cover. Prices vary depending on distance and time of year.

For regional trains, the GO train is the railway system that is most used in the southern part of the province of Ontario. It connects cities around the greater Toronto area including Oakville, Mississauga and Woodbridge. Do not confuse this railway system with the Toronto Transit Commission as you need a separate ticket for it. In Mississauga there is also the Mississauga Transit, which is a network of buses.

The bus network in Canada is rather extensive. It is by far the slowest method of transportation though. There are a number of different operators and most also offer connections to United States destinations as well.

In Toronto the public transportation system is called the Toronto Transit Commission. It is made up of a subway network and a bus network. There are three subway lines. In Montreal the public transportation system is called the Société de transport de Montréal and has a subway network that consists of four different lines.