The Union Station Bus Terminal is at 81 Bay Street, on the north-east corner of Bay and Lake Shore Boulevard inside CIBC Square. It serves GO Transit buses and intercity coaches including Megabus and FlixBus. TorontoAirportTransfer.services meets passengers at the terminal's customer pickup and drop-off area on level P1, timed to the actual bus, with one fixed fare to Pearson, a hotel or anywhere in the GTA.
Union Station Bus Terminal: the basics for a pickup
The bus terminal opened in December 2020 at CIBC Square and replaced the old downtown coach terminal on Bay Street near Dundas. It is owned by Metrolinx and sits one block south-east of Union Station itself, connected by an indoor pedestrian bridge over Bay Street. GO Transit's own station page lists a customer pick-up and drop-off area on level P1 with elevator access to the waiting area above, and that is where our chauffeurs meet bus passengers by default. It is a much calmer place to meet than the Lake Shore curb, and it keeps you out of the weather. When you book, enter the terminal as "Union Station Bus Terminal, 81 Bay Street" rather than Union Station, so the chauffeur goes to the right building and level.
Who arrives at 81 Bay Street
The terminal handles two very different kinds of traveller. GO Transit buses bring commuters and weekend visitors in from across the GTHA and beyond, including routes that run where GO trains do not. Intercity coaches bring people in from much further away: carriers listed at the terminal include Megabus, FlixBus and Ontario Northland, along with cross-border operators whose schedules link Toronto with Buffalo, Niagara Falls and New York. The mix changes over time, so always confirm your carrier's departure point on its own website. From our side it makes no difference which company you rode: we track the arrival, meet you on P1 and take you where you need to go.
Fares from the bus terminal
Because the terminal is downtown, fares match those from Union Station and the Financial District. These are planning figures, one way, all-in before HST.
| From 81 Bay St to | Business sedan (3 pax) | Executive SUV or luxury van (6 pax) | Sprinter (14 pax) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto Pearson (YYZ) | $130–160 | $160–205 | $280–345 |
| Billy Bishop (YTZ) | Short downtown hop, quoted by the engine | Quoted by the engine | Quoted by the engine |
| Mississauga | Quoted by the engine | Quoted by the engine | Quoted by the engine |
| Hourly, 3 h minimum | $130–150/h | $160–190/h | $225–270/h |
The reservation engine gives the exact figure for your address, date and vehicle before you confirm. Every fare includes the chauffeur, vehicle, fuel, 407 tolls if used, airport fees and gratuity; HST is shown separately. See our rates page for the wider fare table.
Why a car after a long coach ride
Someone who has just spent eight hours on a coach from Ottawa, Sudbury or New York rarely wants to haul a suitcase through the PATH and onto a subway platform. The terminal is well connected, but a transit connection from Bay and Lake Shore to Scarborough, Brampton or Vaughan can easily take an hour with a transfer or two. A pre-booked car turns that into a single, predictable trip. It also solves the late-arrival problem: many overnight and evening coaches arrive when subway service is thinning out, and the rideshare surge on a Friday night near Scotiabank Arena can be steep. Our fare is fixed at booking and does not move with the clock. For people travelling on to the airport, a car from 81 Bay St to the departures door at Pearson avoids a second change of mode entirely.
Tracking a coach arrival
Coaches are harder to track than planes. Traffic on the QEW, the 401 or at the border can add an hour to an arrival without warning. When you book, give us the carrier, the departure city and the scheduled arrival, and message dispatch if you see a delay on your carrier's app. We watch highway conditions on the routes coaches use and adjust. The fare includes 15 minutes of waiting from the time you tell us you have arrived, and extra waiting is charged in 15-minute blocks, so there is no penalty for a bus that was held at the Peace Bridge. For cross-border coach passengers, allow for time at Canada Border Services Agency inspection before the coach continues to Toronto; the CBSA site explains what to expect when you enter Canada by land.
Walking between the bus terminal and Union Station
Some travellers get off a coach and connect to a train, or step off a VIA train and need a GO bus. Metrolinx publishes the indoor route: from the Bay concourse at Union, go through the doors near the Tim Hortons, walk towards Scotiabank Arena, turn into the Scotiabank Galleria, take the escalator up and cross the pedestrian bridge over Bay Street into the terminal's second level. The outdoor alternative is to walk south on Bay Street and enter from the Lake Shore side. Either way it is only a few minutes. If you would rather be picked up at Union Station for a train and dropped at the bus terminal, or the reverse, book it as a normal point-to-point trip. It is short, but with heavy bags in January it can be worth it. Our Union Station page explains pickups on the Front Street side.
GO bus connections to Pearson
Some GO bus routes also serve Pearson, and travellers sometimes plan a GO bus from downtown to the airport or the reverse. It is an inexpensive option for a solo traveller with light bags. The trade-offs are the same as with any shared service: fixed departure times, stops along the way, and luggage you handle yourself. Our car takes about 25 to 60 minutes from 81 Bay St to Pearson depending on traffic, goes straight to your terminal door and costs the same for one passenger or three. For families and groups, splitting one fare narrows the gap with transit, although transit is still cheaper. The detailed comparison is in limo vs Uber vs taxi vs UP Express, and the downtown-to-airport run is covered on Pearson to downtown Toronto.
Event nights next door
The terminal is directly beside Scotiabank Arena, home of the Maple Leafs and the Raptors and a regular concert venue. On event nights Bay Street and Lake Shore Boulevard fill with crowds and ride-hail cars an hour before the doors open and for an hour after the final whistle. A coach arriving at 10:30 pm on a game night lands in the middle of that. Our chauffeurs know the pattern and approach the P1 pickup area from the least congested side, and dispatch warns you if we expect delays getting in. If you are booking a departure from the terminal on an event night, add ten to fifteen minutes to your pickup time. For groups heading to a game or show rather than away from one, see sports and games transport.
Intercity passengers heading to the airport
A common pattern: a traveller rides a coach into Toronto from a smaller city with no airport of its own, then connects to an international flight from Pearson the same day. It works, but the margin matters. Coaches can be late, and missing a long-haul flight is expensive. We suggest at least four hours between the scheduled coach arrival and an international departure, and three for a domestic flight. Book the car from 81 Bay St with the flight details in the notes so the chauffeur goes to the right terminal. If you are unsure whether you are flying from Terminal 1 or 3, check your airline booking and our terminal finder. Travellers leaving Canada should confirm their document requirements on the Government of Canada travel site before they set off.
Luggage and vehicle choice
Coach passengers often travel heavy: students moving in for a term, families visiting for weeks, workers relocating. Choose the vehicle by bags, not only by people. A business sedan takes about three standard suitcases; an executive SUV or luxury van about six; a Sprinter about fourteen. Boxes, bicycles and large sports bags fit better in an SUV or van, and we would rather send the bigger vehicle than have a chauffeur trying to close a trunk on P1. Tell us about unusual items in the booking notes. Browse the fleet to see sample interiors and capacities. For student move-ins with a lot of gear, a luxury van is usually the right choice and still costs one fixed fare.
Accessibility at the terminal
GO Transit lists accessibility features at the terminal including tactile signage with raised print and Braille, accessible intercoms for people who are hard of hearing, power doors and accessible washrooms. The P1 pickup area is connected by elevator to the waiting area, which makes it a practical meeting point for travellers with mobility aids. Tell us in the booking if you use a wheelchair, a walker or a scooter, and whether it folds, so we send the right vehicle. Ramp-equipped vehicles are available on request and are described on our wheelchair accessible transfers page. If a relative is travelling alone and needs help from the waiting area to the car, add meet and greet so the chauffeur comes up to find them.
Meet and greet at the bus terminal
The standard fare covers a pickup at the P1 customer pickup and drop-off area. Meet and greet is optional, planning figure $25–35: the chauffeur parks, comes up to the waiting area with a name board, and helps with the bags down to the car. It is useful for first-time visitors who do not know the building, for older relatives, and for anyone arriving with more luggage than they can manage alone. Because coach arrival gates are only assigned shortly before departure, the chauffeur meets you in the waiting area rather than at a specific gate. Dispatch confirms the meeting point by message. The same service is described in more detail on our meet and greet page.
Children on the coach, car seats in the car
Parents who rode a coach with a toddler know the problem at the other end: a taxi does not have to provide a car seat, and many will not have one. Whatever the exemptions for taxis and buses, we fit the right child seat for every child who needs one. Infant seats, convertible seats and boosters are available on request; add them when you book and the chauffeur installs them before you reach the car. There is more on this on the child car seat transfers page, and the province explains which seat suits which age on its car seat guidance. If you are travelling with your own seat, tell us and the chauffeur leaves room for it.
Onward trips beyond Toronto
Not everyone stops in Toronto. Some coach passengers need a car onward to a town the coach does not reach, or back across the border. We drive to all of Ontario with our own chauffeurs, and cross-border runs to Buffalo, Niagara Falls NY, Detroit and New York. A long-distance trip from 81 Bay St is quoted by the same reservation engine with the fare fixed before you confirm. For those runs, see the long-distance car service page and, for the US side, the cross-border limo to USA page. Carry your passport and any visa or eTA required; the chauffeur cannot help with document problems at the border.
Booking a pickup at 81 Bay Street
- Enter "Union Station Bus Terminal, 81 Bay Street" as the pickup address.
- Add your carrier, origin city and scheduled arrival time in the notes.
- Choose a vehicle by passengers and bags, and add child seats or meet and greet.
- The reservation engine shows one all-in fare with HST listed separately. Confirm and pay.
- When you arrive, message dispatch; the chauffeur meets you at the P1 pickup area.
Cancellation is free more than 72 hours before pickup; 72 hours or less is 10 %, 48 hours or less 50 %, and 24 hours or less or a no-show 100 %.
