Toronto Convention Centre Transportation: Airport Transfers and Delegate Car Service

Most delegates reach the Metro Toronto Convention Centre by walking out of Union Station and following a covered corridor, so Toronto Convention Centre transportation is mostly a question of what happens before and after that corridor. This page covers both buildings, the entrances, the parking quirks and when a pre-booked car beats the train for speakers, executives and groups.

How do you get to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre by private car?

The centre's own directions describe the North Building's main entrance on Front Street and the South Building on Bremner Boulevard. Because the event sets the hall, not the postal code, the safest instruction is the exhibit hall or meeting-room name from your registration email. The chauffeur uses it to choose the street, and your confirmation then names the drop-off point.

From Toronto Pearson the distance is about 27 to 28 km (17 mi). Outside rush hour the drive usually runs 30 to 45 minutes, and on a weekday afternoon, when the Gardiner Expressway is slow, you should allow 60 to 90. From Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport the trip is about 3 km and normally 10 to 15 minutes.

Check your fixed fare

North Building and South Building: addresses and entrances

The centre publishes both addresses. The North Building is at 255 Front Street West, with its main entrance on Front Street. The South Building is at 222 Bremner Boulevard, near the CN Tower. Walking from Union Station, the South Building is on your right along Bremner Boulevard when you go outdoors, and on your left if you walk indoors through the SkyWalk.

Some events use both buildings, with delegates moving between them. Others sit entirely in one hall, and a few combine conference rooms in one with a trade show in the other. If you are travelling for work, check the building before booking the car, because walking between the two takes several minutes and a drop-off at the wrong one can mean a longer walk with luggage.

The North Building also holds the John Bassett Theatre, a screening room used by the Toronto International Film Festival. If you are heading to a festival event, see our TIFF transportation page.

The SkyWalk and Union Station: arriving without going outside

The SkyWalk links Union Station to both buildings, so a delegate arriving by rail can go from the platform to the exhibition floor without stepping outside. It is sensible for winter conferences, when the walk is the difference between arriving dry and arriving with wet shoes in a keynote.

The centre also describes an air-rail link to Pearson. The UP Express ends at Union Station, a short indoor walk from the North Building. A delegate with a carry-on can leave Terminal 1, take the train and walk to registration. The centre advertises about 25 minutes to the airport; that is a train figure (the UP Express itself lists about 28 minutes), not a drive. For a layout of the station concourse, read our Union Station page.

Parking, garage clearances and why vehicle height matters

The two garages hold about 1,700 indoor spaces, and payment is cashless. Clearance is where a surprising number of event trips go wrong: the published limits are 1.9 m (6 ft 3 in) at the North garage and 2.0 m (6 ft 6 in) at the South garage. A Sprinter van is taller than either, and some tall SUVs will not clear them either.

For a small group in a Luxury SUV or a Sprinter, the answer is a curbside drop-off on the street rather than a garage entrance. The chauffeur then waits nearby on call, or returns at a scheduled time. Garage rules and rates belong to the centre and can change, so check the centre's getting-here page before you plan a self-drive.

From the airports: the options compared

The UP Express fare is on the UP Express fare page, and the free Billy Bishop shuttle is described on the airport's shuttle page. Check both before you travel, because fares and schedules change.

When the UP Express and SkyWalk is the better choice

If you are alone, you arrive mid-morning, you carry one bag and your event is in the North Building, the train is hard to beat. It avoids the Gardiner, it costs less than any car, and the last few hundred metres are indoors. A busy conference week can add traffic to Front Street and Bremner Boulevard, and the train sidesteps it.

For anyone staying at the Fairmont Royal York, which stands directly across from Union Station, the train gets you to the hotel in the same trip. The Ritz-Carlton Toronto is listed by its operator as within walking distance of the centre, and sits about 28 km from Pearson.

When a private car wins

A booked car makes sense when the schedule matters more than the cost per head:

• Speakers and executives. A keynote speaker arriving at 7 am should be driven to the stage door, not sent through a crowded station.
• Groups of three or more. Splitting the fare is rarely cheaper than a single vehicle once you add the taxis at the far end.
• Heavy equipment. Display cases, banners and luggage belong in an SUV or Sprinter, not on a train.
• Late arrivals and early departures. Your chauffeur is waiting after midnight, and the fixed fare does not change by the hour.
• Multi-stop days. A hotel, a meeting off-site, the centre, a client dinner and the airport can sit on one booking.
• Privacy. A name-board alias in arrivals keeps a delegate's name off the wall.

Book this transfer

Delegate shuttles and group movements

Event organisers rarely need one car. They need a loop. A typical pattern is a morning run from two or three hotels to the centre, a mid-day return and an evening loop to a reception.

Vehicles for that pattern run from a sedan to an Executive Sprinter (up to 12 passengers and 12 bags) and, on request, mini-coaches and coaches seating 20 to 56. Corporate accounts with monthly invoicing keep the event on one invoice, and multi-leg itineraries put the whole programme on one booking. Read our trade show transportation page and the corporate events page to see how we schedule repeating shuttles, and the meetings and hotels guide for a checklist on room blocks.

Name-board meet and greet inside arrivals is available on request, which helps when an organiser wants one friendly face at the airport rather than forty delegates reading signs. Flight and train arrivals are tracked, so a late flight does not leave a driver idling or a speaker stranded.

Speakers, executives and VIP arrivals

A speaker has a call time, a green room and often a security contact. The chauffeur's job is to arrive early, know the stage entrance and take the guest to the right door. What happens in the car stays there: no client photos, no social posts, and an NDA if you want one.

Onroutz.ca is a transport service, not a security company: there are no armed drivers or bodyguards, but we work alongside a client's own security team when one is travelling. If the guest list includes high-profile attendees, agree the entrance, the order of vehicles and the exit with the venue's operations desk and your security lead ahead of time.

Exhibition Place is a different venue

Toronto also hosts large shows at Exhibition Place, about 3 to 4 km west of the downtown convention centre. Its address is 100 Princes' Boulevard, and its listed venues include the Enercare Centre, the Automotive Building and the Better Living Centre. A listing that says "Toronto convention" may mean either site, so confirm the venue on your registration confirmation before you give the chauffeur an address. The Exhibition Place site lists the buildings and transit directions.

The drive from Pearson to Exhibition Place is shorter than to the core, but the final approach is subject to the same event-day closures. We plan these trips with the same fixed-fare approach.

Hotels near the centre

Most delegates sleep in the core. The Financial District, the Entertainment District and the Harbourfront all sit within a short drive or a walk of the centre. Our downtown hotel transfer page lists the main districts and the drop-off points that make arrival easy. For the airports, see the Toronto Pearson page and the Billy Bishop page; the Pearson to downtown route compares every mode in detail.

Event-day planning checklist

• Confirm the building and the hall, and share the registration email.
• Share flight numbers for every arriving guest, so tracking is accurate.
• Decide whether speakers need a dedicated car.
• Agree a drop-off point with the venue's operations team for any large group.
• Set a fallback time if the opening session runs late.
• Name a single contact who can call the 24/7 desk.
• Check the events hub, the Toronto hub and the Canada hub for related pages, and the fleet for vehicle details.