The great Vaughan-Toronto transit race: Will car beat bus, subway?
Reporters pit York Regional Transit and TTC subway against a car trip to see who will win

Yorkregion.com
March 22, 2018
Tim Kelly

Two commuters leave from Vaughan for downtown Toronto on a weekday at the same time.

Who gets there faster?

My colleague, Simon Martin, and I decided to find out recently.

I took the public transit route, getting on the Hwy. 7 York Region Transit bus at Martin Grove Road and linking up at the Vaughan Subway station where I then took the brand new subway to Union station.

Simon, on the other hand, took the four-wheeled route, driving all the way to Union from Martin Grove and 7. He made his way there as quickly as he could.

Who got there first? Who spent more?

Read on to find out.

Tim’s story:

February 28 was a beautiful day to take public transit as it turned out. I got on the Hwy. 7 bus at 7:15 a.m. using my Presto card as payment. The bus was about half-full as we trundled along the regional road making frequent stops. By the time we arrived at the Vaughan Subway Station around 25 minutes later, it was three-quarters full. About five got out at the gleaming new station.

The huge new subway station, full of the latest amenities, was easy to navigate. I made my way down the two levels in about three or four minutes and got on the subway as we left at about 7:50. People filed on at each of the new stops – Hwy 407, Pioneer Village, York University – until the subway cars were mostly full. The ride was smooth as we made our way down to the Bloor/Yonge connection.

But then, a strange thing happened. There were several brief delays. As I looked around watching the standing-room only strap-hangers, the voice came over the intercom while the train stopped, telling us there had been an emergency alarm activated. It happened four separate times costing us about 10 minutes in delays.

As a result, I got off the train at about 8:35, a total of about an hour and 25 minutes after I got on the bus at Martin Grove and Hwy. 7. I used my Presto card four times for the round trip when I returned to Vaughan for a total spend of $12. And I had a pretty smooth trip.

Simon’s story:

I watched Tim hop onto the bus at Martin Grove and headed to my car. I hate losing to Tim at anything so I was anxious to beat him to Union Station

7:25 a.m. -- I got on the 427 South and it was smooth sailing. I put in my apple AirPods and cranked some Charles Bradley.

7:29 a.m. -- I’m flying and am already at the Airport. There’s no way Tim is going to beat me.

7:37 a.m. -- No traffic as I get on the Gardiner Expressway.

7:38 a.m. -- ... and the Gardiner is like the clogged arteries of someone who has ate at McDonald’s every day for four years.

7:45 a.m. -- I may have only moved about 600 metres. I don’t understand the lane changes when nobody is moving. Stay in your lane!

7:57 a.m. -- I get off the Gardiner onto the Lakeshore as Google Maps suggests and it is much more pleasant. I feel better about life looking off into Lake Ontario.

8:08 a.m. -- I pass Ontario Place. There doesn’t seem to be much traffic at all on the Lakeshore.

8:20 a.m. -- I get to Union Station and no sign of Tim. He’s not answering texts. The whole process took about an hour.One-way costs: $4.30 for gas, $20 for parking.