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(06-30-2017, 06:48 PM)panamaniac Wrote: I'm impressed by the hoops that some seem willing to go through to get to the airport. I've had the experience of using Airways Transit when the 401 was bunged up - the dispatch alerted the driver and we took detours (twice!) to get around the problems. I think we lost perhaps ten to fifteen minutes on the trip.
Yes, and that's a great argument for transit of some type, because they have dispatching and stuff, but it's still possible to be on the road between exits when a collision completely shuts the highway. I've been there, sat for hours in the middle of the 401 before police re-opened. Fortunately I was returning home, and didn't miss a flight, but it could still happen.
Once I was driving home from the airport at night on the 401, and realized there was no traffic coming the other direction. Not light traffic, I mean really none whatsoever. After several minutes of this, sure enough, collision in the other direction, followed by kilometres of absolutely stopped traffic. Not a good scene.
(06-30-2017, 03:32 PM).danbrotherston Wrote: To be honest, I find that an ironic statement. For me, traveling to Pearson, the mode is irrelevant so long as I'm on the 401. The singular source of anxiety I have getting to my flight is whether there will be an accident on the 401. If there is, it doesn't matter if I'm in a car or bus I will probably miss my flight. The ONLY solution to that is getting frequent GO train service.
I take probably 20-30 flights per year from YYZ, mostly for work. I drive for my short US trips (6:30 AM departure so leave Kitchener at 4 AM!) and either drive or take Blackcar for long ones. I don't stress traffic, I leave enough time that the odds of missing the flight are small, and even more for overseas flights. Blackcar is good because I can either work or sleep.
But that said, I'd be all over a frequent train connection to the airport. Or maybe even a frequent bus.
(06-30-2017, 03:32 PM).danbrotherston Wrote: To be honest, I find that an ironic statement. For me, traveling to Pearson, the mode is irrelevant so long as I'm on the 401. The singular source of anxiety I have getting to my flight is whether there will be an accident on the 401. If there is, it doesn't matter if I'm in a car or bus I will probably miss my flight. The ONLY solution to that is getting frequent GO train service.
I take probably 20-30 flights per year from YYZ, mostly for work. I drive for my short US trips (6:30 AM departure so leave Kitchener at 4 AM!) and either drive or take Blackcar for long ones. I don't stress traffic, I leave enough time that the odds of missing the flight are small, and even more for overseas flights. Blackcar is good because I can either work or sleep.
But that said, I'd be all over a frequent train connection to the airport. Or maybe even a frequent bus.
This is the thing that bugs me about going via the 401 though. No amount of extra time will ensure you don't miss your flight (and certainly not 2.5 hours). While it's unlikely we were stuck for over 3 hours when we were stopped on the 401. I'm not likely to leave 7 hours before my flights (3 hours recommended arrival time at airport before international flights + 1 hour travel time + up to 3 hours delay due to rare serious collision).
The best I usually do is accept that if I got stuck by a collision again, I'd miss a flight, and then leave 4 hours before a flight, and just let traffic eat into the 3 hours early recommendation.
(I'm also unwilling and unable to wake up in time to leave at 4 am...I've tried, so pretty much any other time has risk of traffic)
Yes ... 2.5h is the best-case scenario, given the minimal traffic at 4 AM, online check-in and carry-on luggage only. It's a crazy wake-up time but it does allow me to get into our US office by 9 AM, without having to leave the night before.
But in the end there is always some chance of a catastrophic delay that can cause you to miss a flight: an accident that blocks the 401 (before Google can direct you to take an earlier exit for a detour) -- or some level of a systemic failure that causes a train to cease running. The train failure is more rare but it can still happen. But flights can get cancelled, too: we just need to make our plans so that a travel delay will not have a massive impact. (For example, don't plan to arrive in Miami 2h before your cruise departs.)
(07-01-2017, 02:04 PM)tomh009 Wrote: I take probably 20-30 flights per year from YYZ, mostly for work. I drive for my short US trips (6:30 AM departure so leave Kitchener at 4 AM!) and either drive or take Blackcar for long ones. I don't stress traffic, I leave enough time that the odds of missing the flight are small, and even more for overseas flights. Blackcar is good because I can either work or sleep.
But that said, I'd be all over a frequent train connection to the airport. Or maybe even a frequent bus.
This is the thing that bugs me about going via the 401 though. No amount of extra time will ensure you don't miss your flight (and certainly not 2.5 hours). While it's unlikely we were stuck for over 3 hours when we were stopped on the 401. I'm not likely to leave 7 hours before my flights (3 hours recommended arrival time at airport before international flights + 1 hour travel time + up to 3 hours delay due to rare serious collision).
The best I usually do is accept that if I got stuck by a collision again, I'd miss a flight, and then leave 4 hours before a flight, and just let traffic eat into the 3 hours early recommendation.
(I'm also unwilling and unable to wake up in time to leave at 4 am...I've tried, so pretty much any other time has risk of traffic)
Doesn't anyone just stay the night in Mississauga? And usually Hotwire you can get a room for a decent price. Eases a lot of stress; plus many hotels let you rent a car space for like $20/day. Sure, you're losing a day or perhaps just a night, but man, no stress. ]
Though I guess if you're doing 20-30 flights per year, that'll add up to a few thousand per year, but if you're required to take that many flights, perhaps it's a small price to pay.
(07-02-2017, 07:49 AM)danbrotherston Wrote: This is the thing that bugs me about going via the 401 though. No amount of extra time will ensure you don't miss your flight (and certainly not 2.5 hours). While it's unlikely we were stuck for over 3 hours when we were stopped on the 401. I'm not likely to leave 7 hours before my flights (3 hours recommended arrival time at airport before international flights + 1 hour travel time + up to 3 hours delay due to rare serious collision).
The best I usually do is accept that if I got stuck by a collision again, I'd miss a flight, and then leave 4 hours before a flight, and just let traffic eat into the 3 hours early recommendation.
(I'm also unwilling and unable to wake up in time to leave at 4 am...I've tried, so pretty much any other time has risk of traffic)
Doesn't anyone just stay the night in Mississauga? And usually Hotwire you can get a room for a decent price. Eases a lot of stress; plus many hotels let you rent a car space for like $20/day. Sure, you're losing a day or perhaps just a night, but man, no stress. ]
Though I guess if you're doing 20-30 flights per year, that'll add up to a few thousand per year, but if you're required to take that many flights, perhaps it's a small price to pay.
At least a couple of times I’ve stayed at a hotel in Mississauga which includes up to a couple of weeks parking and a shuttle to the airport in a night’s stay. This worked out to a very reasonable amount overall. They're enough closer to Pearson than here to significantly reduce the risk of traffic problems.
(07-08-2017, 04:54 PM)jeffster Wrote: Doesn't anyone just stay the night in Mississauga? And usually Hotwire you can get a room for a decent price. Eases a lot of stress; plus many hotels let you rent a car space for like $20/day. Sure, you're losing a day or perhaps just a night, but man, no stress. ]
Though I guess if you're doing 20-30 flights per year, that'll add up to a few thousand per year, but if you're required to take that many flights, perhaps it's a small price to pay.
We do that occasionally for vacation flights, when we have an early departure; the cost for parking can indeed be very reasonable (less than PnF).
For the work travel, though, I prefer to spend the night at home and get up early. And I've done the early-morning drive enough times that it's pretty stress-free for me. Rush-hour drives are something altogether different though!
For the morning US departures, a hotel is really nice. Fortunately the company I work for pays for a hotel if the flight is early enough. I'm too cheap to ever pay for the privilege myself, though.
It's also possible to park, fly, and then stay on the way back. We've done this twice now when we had some GTA event the day after returning, and it can be better value than airport parking.
Not sure if this has been discussed before but there appears to be regular nonstop Greyhound from Kitchener to Pearson and return. Three other departure times as well.
I always worry about suitcases on these public transit options. Maybe when travelling by myself for work with only a carry-on it might work, but are they set up for a family with a full complement of hand luggage and couple of checked bags?
(11-28-2017, 11:51 AM)chutten Wrote: I always worry about suitcases on these public transit options. Maybe when travelling by myself for work with only a carry-on it might work, but are they set up for a family with a full complement of hand luggage and couple of checked bags?
Coach buses have a luggage compartment below, I don't think you'll have any problems, people use them for long distance chartered trips.
If you google "coach bus luggage compartment" and check the images, it would be hard to fill that area, and the under-seat areas on the bus, and the overhead areas on the bus.
