Toronto Pearson International Airport to Scarborough
The longest cross-city run on this page: about 45 minutes by road and a flat-rate taxi of CAD 75-95. Public transport works but takes upwards of ninety minutes.
The far east end of the city, forty-odd kilometres across the top of Toronto from the airport. Scarborough is where a lot of the region's new arrivals actually live, and where the Bluffs drop a hundred metres straight into Lake Ontario.
How far is Scarborough from Toronto Pearson International Airport?
Scarborough is 42 km (26 miles) from Toronto Pearson International Airport by road, about 45 min by car outside rush hour. In a straight line it is 31 km. By public transport, TTC route 900 + subway Line 2 takes about 1h 40m including a change and costs C$3.3.
Every way to get there
Our verdict: TTC route 900 + subway Line 2 is the cheapest way at C$3.3 (1h 40m, with a change on the way). A taxi from C$75 saves roughly 55 min and takes you to the door.
What it costs for your group
The bus / shuttle is charged per person, while a taxi is one price for the whole car โ so the more of you there are, the better door-to-door value looks.
| Group | Bus / shuttle (per person) | Taxi (per car) | Best value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo ยท 1 traveller | C$3.3 | C$75 | Bus / shuttle |
| Couple ยท 2 travellers | C$6.6 | C$75 | Bus / shuttle |
| Family of 4 ยท 4 travellers | C$13 | C$75 | Bus / shuttle |
Which option should you choose?
| If your priority isโฆ | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest price | TTC route 900 + subway Line 2 | From C$3.3, about 1h 40m, with a change on the way. |
| Speed | GTAA flat-rate taxi | 45 min and door-to-door, from C$75. |
| A group of 4 | TTC route 900 + subway Line 2 | Four tickets still come to about C$13.2 โ less than a car. |
| A late-night arrival | Taxi or pre-booked transfer | TTC route 900 + subway Line 2 does not run all night; check the last departure before you land. |
By transport mode
Taxi
One of the airport's outer zones, so the rate is higher than downtown despite both being a single ride. The whole trip is the 401 โ allow well over an hour if you land between four and seven.
Where to catch it: Ground transportation level at either terminal; the dispatcher confirms the zone and issues the fixed-price waybill.
Best for small groups in a hurryBus / shuttle
Bus to Kipling, then Line 2 all the way east to Kennedy โ that is the entire width of the city underground, roughly forty stations. One fare of CAD 3.30 covers it, plus a local bus at the end. Cheap and genuinely long.
Where to catch it: TTC platforms at ground level in both terminals.
Best for solo & budget travellersPrivate transfer
Scarborough is spread out and its residential streets are not obvious from the highway. For a family arriving with cases after a long transatlantic hop, the fixed price and the single vehicle are the argument, not the speed.
Where to catch it: Met at the terminal, flight tracked.
Best for families, groups & late arrivalsCar rental
Free parking almost everywhere out here and the 401 runs door to door. If your stay is in the east end rather than central Toronto, a car costs less over a week than repeated cross-city taxis.
Where to catch it: Terminal counters, garage pickup.
Best for travellers who want to exploreScarborough & Toronto in photos
Step-free access in Toronto
At Pearson, wheelchair and mobility help comes from your airline rather than the airport, so the booking happens with the airline.
- Arrange wheelchair and mobility assistance with your airline at least 48 hours before travel.
- Self-service wheelchairs are also available in the terminals.
- Accessible check-in kiosks, hearing loops and in-terminal shuttles after security are provided in Terminals 1 and 3.
- The TTC bus fleet, including the 900 Airport Express, is entirely wheelchair and scooter accessible, according to the TTC.
Getting from YYZ to Scarborough
The full width of the city
Scarborough is forty-two kilometres from Pearson, which is nearly twice the distance to downtown and further than any other destination on this page except Niagara and Hamilton. The airport sits at the western edge of the region; Scarborough is the eastern end. Everything between them is Toronto, and you cross all of it.
It is worth being blunt about that, because Scarborough is often described as "in Toronto" in a way that suggests a short hop. It is not. Plan the journey as a proper transfer rather than an afterthought.
What is out here
This is where a very large share of the region's newer arrivals actually live, and the food reflects it โ Tamil, Sri Lankan, Chinese and Caribbean, mostly in strip malls along Kennedy and Lawrence rather than anywhere a guidebook would send you. The Bluffs are the geographic surprise: a wall of pale sediment dropping a hundred metres straight into Lake Ontario, with a park at the bottom that looks nothing like the rest of the city.
Most people making this journey are visiting family or coming home. Very few are tourists, which shapes what the transport options optimise for.
Taxi, and why this zone costs more
The airport authority prices by zone, and Scarborough falls in an outer one: CAD 75 to 95, confirmed at the rank and written on a waybill before you leave. The CAD 10 airport pickup surcharge applies as it does everywhere.
The whole drive is Highway 401, straight across the top of the city. Forty-five minutes is the clear-road figure. Land between four and seven in the evening and an hour and a quarter is more realistic. The fixed price is doing real work on this route โ the delay is common and it does not move the fare.
The CAD 3.30 crossing
Public transport does reach Scarborough for a single TTC fare, and the scale of it is almost impressive. Route 900 takes you to Kipling, at the western end of subway Line 2. Then Line 2 runs east โ through the whole city, roughly forty stations โ to Kennedy at the far end. From there a local bus covers the last stretch.
One fare of CAD 3.30 buys all of that, which is remarkable value and about a hundred minutes of your life. Travelling light, with time and a charged phone, it is a perfectly sound choice. With cases, after an overnight flight, it is an ordeal.
Booked cars, and who they are for
Booking a car ahead costs CAD 90-130, before the CAD 15 the airport levies on any reserved vehicle. That is more than the flat-rate taxi, and the reason people pay it is rarely comfort.
Scarborough is spread out. Its residential streets curve and branch in the way that postwar suburbs do, house numbers run into the thousands, and very little of it is legible from the highway. A family arriving with four cases and two children after a transatlantic flight is buying a vehicle that goes to the door, with the price settled and the flight number tracked so that a two-hour immigration queue does not become an argument with a driver.
Hiring, which is unusually sensible here
Parking is free almost everywhere in Scarborough โ at the malls, the parks, the residential streets, the strip plazas. The 401 runs door to door. Rates start near CAD 45 a day and the cars are in the terminal garages, so there is no shuttle to a remote lot eating into the first hour.
Over a week, a hire car will cost less than repeated cross-city taxis and far less time than repeated subway journeys. If you are staying in the east end and not spending your days downtown, it is the option that matches how the area is actually built.
The honest summary
There is no fast, cheap way from Pearson to Scarborough. Pick two of three: cheap and slow on the TTC, quick and fixed-price by flat-rate taxi, or door-to-door and dearest in a booked car. Staying a week? Hire something and stop choosing.
YYZ to Scarborough โ FAQ
How far is Scarborough from Toronto Pearson International Airport?
How much is a transfer from Toronto Pearson International Airport to Scarborough?
What's the cheapest way from Toronto Pearson International Airport to Scarborough?
How do I get from Toronto Pearson International Airport to Scarborough at night?
How much is a taxi from Toronto Pearson International Airport to Scarborough?
Other destinations from Toronto Pearson International Airport
