Ground Transportation Drop Off at Pearson International Airport (YYZ)

November 15, 2022 2:52 AM

Looking to help a relative who will be arriving at Pearson (YYZ) by coach bus from London, ON. She will get dropped off at Terminal 1 and needs to get to Terminal 3 for her flight.

I know there is an inter-terminal shuttle/train, but she is anxious about where the bus will drop her off and how far or close it is to the shuttle/train to Terminal 3. I contacted the bus company but all they could confirm is the exact drop off spot at Terminal 1.

She will exit the bus at Terminal 1, Ground Level, Post P1.

I assume this is right outside the entrance to departures or arrivals (as they pick up and drop off from the same spot). I would love confirmation of this without having to call Pearson because I am overseas.

If indeed the drop off spot is right outside the terminal entrance, how much of a walk is it to get to the train to Terminal 3?

Any info is helpful. I took the inter-terminal train myself in June so I know it's quick, but I don't know the ins/outs of arriving at Terminal 1 on a bus.

Thank you.

posted by gursky to Travel & Transportation (6 answers total)

Mucking around with the interactive map, there is a "Door P" on the Ground Level of Terminal 1; I would expect that the "Post P1" is close to that door along the curb outside. If that's correct, she will need to go into Terminal 1, go up to Level 2 (Departures), cross the roadway via the bridge, turn left, and then take the escalator up to the Terminal Link platform.

The interactive airport map linked above actually has a point-to-point directions feature; if you click on one item on the map, there's an option to get directions. According to that, it takes 6 minutes to get from the drop-off point to the Terminal Link platform in Terminal 1. You can also set your departure point as Door P and your destination as somewhere in Terminal 3 if your relative wants to know what will happen when they get to Terminal 3.

I should note that I've not actually had to switch terminals at YYZ in some time; hopefully someone who has been there more recently can confirm or refute my directions above.
posted by Johnny Assay at 4:42 AM on November 15, 2022

Signage and accessibility at Pearson are competent, and there are generally people in uniforms and high-viz vests around helping navigate from place to place. From memory, from ground drop-off at Terminal 1 it is straightforward to follow the signs that look like a train face-on to get to Terminal 3 with a minimum of fuss.

While the entire exercise is accessible, an able-bodied person should be able to make their way from the curb to the train in under ten minutes.
posted by mhoye at 5:54 AM on November 15, 2022

I haven't taken the airport train to go between terminals but I've used it to go from the parking garage a couple of times. It is well signed and accessible so I don't think your relative should have trouble getting there although there's a decent amount of walking involved. 10-15 minutes sounds about right.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 6:09 AM on November 15, 2022

When she arrives, she should go up one level to arrivals. From there, there will be signs for "train to city" and a little train symbol. There are probably signs for the Link train, too, but that isn't what I normally focus on. What she needs to know is that the Link train and the UP Express leave from different spots on the same platform, on level 6 of the parking garage, so following either set of signs will get her to the right spot. She will come to the Terminal Link train first. If the train is mostly standing she is on the right train. If the train is mostly sitting, that's the wrong one.
posted by TORunner at 6:51 AM on November 15, 2022

I have no idea which part of the airport I was in, but my recent YYZ experience involved a huge, exhausting amount of walking, made worse by the fact that the moving walkways along the way were either under repair or only going in the opposite direction (I don't remember). It was ridiculous. However, the thing that might be useful to your relative is that airport staff were by far the most helpful I've ever encountered, with multiple cart drivers and others asking me unprompted if I needed help even though I'm not visibly disabled. There were even benches along the way with telephones for people to call for assistance.

So I got the impression that despite (or because of) a horrible layout, YYZ does actually care somewhat about accessibility. If your relative is worried because walking a lot would be hard for them, I would actually try writing the airport and asking specifically about the route in question and whether there are any accommodations available. I probably wouldn't bother with most airports, but this one seems like they might actually help.
posted by trig at 10:28 AM on November 15, 2022

Thank you, all. Your responses have reassured my relative and she feels much less anxious now. You are so helpful.
posted by gursky at 11:27 AM on November 16, 2022