An Uber Way to Go (ish)

For half a year, we (my hubby & I) have been looking forward to this April vacay in Toronto and now that we’re here, we’re having a pretty great time. ;) One of the perks: time to do a little writing!!! Such a luxury…

This is us in one of the Casa Loma Towers. You can faintly see the CN tower in the top left... (but not really.. it IS there!)

We booked a condo to share with my sister (Carrie) and Brother-in-law (Braden), which was an easy choice as we quite enjoy spending time/vacationing with them. We booked our condo in downtown Toronto (Union Station area) to be near Rogers’ Centre to take in the Jay’s home opener and a couple other games as well as see the sights.

Now, that I’ve laid down the context, let me get to what I’ve felt inspired to write about: This Sask girl’s perspective on getting around the big city J

On Saturday, I flew in to meet Mitch who was already in Toronto for the National Holstein Convention. I was in YYZ by 10:15am and I knew Mitch would be in meetings until mid afternoon, so I decided to brave some public transportation and find my way to his hotel (which was north of Toronto—Markham area). It had cost nearly $70 for Mitch to ride a cab from the airport to his hotel and it became my mission to cut that cost in half at least ;)

When planning the trip, I had looked up info on Toronto’s transit system and printed off a subway map to familiarize myself with the general routes. I thought I had a fairly good understanding, but of course once you’re actually in a place, things look a little different.

In the Toronto Pearson Airport, there are several ways you can travel into the city. My plan had been to take what is referred to as “the Rocket” (a bus) to Kipling Station, which is the closest (first) station on the subway line. Instead, though, I climbed right onto a train (thinking perhaps they had updated the subway line to go right into the airport). It was a really nice train though, which should have tipped me off that it wasn’t city transit. ;)

I had gotten onto what is called the UP express train(Union-Pearson); train that travels between Union Station and YYZ. There are only two stops between Pearson & Union on this particular train, and seeing as I didn’t want to go all the way to Union, I thought I should probably get off sooner. I got off at “Bloor,” thinking that it was the Bloor Subway station, but it was not. It was a UP train stop on Bloor Street. Once I was off the train, things felt "off". The station was almost completely abandoned. Any information area was closed and I couldn’t even find anyone to ask directions from!!!

Because I was by myself, I wasn’t too bothered by the fact that I actually had no idea where I was and was alone in Toronto—Canada’s biggest city. In thinking things through, I often lay it out for myself. What’s the worst-case scenario? Worst case—I really am lost, so I call a cab to take me to Mitch’s hotel… potentially paying more than he did because I’m now in the city. Later on, when I was relaying my transit adventures to Mitch, he said, “No, worst-case scenario is that you get mugged and then you have no money, no phone and you’re alone/lost in the city.” –I married such an optimist… ;)

Anyway, the station really was empty, which was confusing to me because I still thought I was on the city line. There were information desks that were closed, and the maps on the wall didn’t make sense to me because I didn’t realize I was on a completely different line.

After wandering around the empty station for a while, I ventured out onto the street with my suitcase in tow, chose a direction and just walked. Of course there was nothing familiar, but fortunately about 2 blocks away, I stumbled into an actual city transit station. This was much more occupied than the other line; how you would expect to see a city metro station.

I bought my transit token, made my way through the gate and went down the stairs to find the platform that I believed would take me to where I wanted to go. Somehow, though, I was still operating under the assumption that I was in the Bloor metro station (but I was not)… the large signs stating Dundas West all over the place didn’t change my mind somehow. It’s amazing how difficult it can be to change your thinking once you’re convinced of something!

For a few stops down the line, I was frustrated/confused that the names of the stations weren’t lining up with what I thought they should be. Thankfully, I had my aha moment where it all made sense, a stop or two before I came upon the actual Bloor-Yonge Subway station and needed to switch trains.

I quite easily made the switch and now that the station names were matching up with the idea I had in my mind, travelling seemed easier and easier. That’s the beauty of a Subway. Trains can only go two directions—forward or back.

I had to switch subway lines one more time (which I had been anticipating ;) before I got to the end of the line that was closest to where Mitch’s hotel was. The line ended at the Fairview Mall. I had seen this online and my plan was to catch a cab from the mall entrance to travel the much shorter distance to the hotel.

I pulled my suitcase through the mall ;) and found what I thought might be a main entrance. I walked outside and looked around for a cab. I didn’t have to look long when a man in a black mini van called out his window, “Cab?” I nodded and headed over.  I thought it strange that there weren’t the markings of cab on his vehicle, but that didn’t cause me much pause (my naïve Saskatchewan roots). He put my suitcase in the back, helped me in the side door, and we were off.

I was trying to explain to him where I needed to go and I thought it funny how relaxed he was. He didn’t seem concerned about my destination. He was fiddling with his phone in a slightly confused fashion as he drove out of the mall parking lot.

…I realize that it may seem like I’m setting the stage for an ominous story of how I was abducted by a man in a black van…

But that’s not the case. ;) After fiddling with his phone a few minutes, the man pipes up, “You’re not Nancy???” I shook my head and said, “No…”

“Aw, Sh#*” said the driver.

I had stolen Nancy’s Uber ride.

I had actually heard of this concept of Uber rides because it’s a norm in large cities and we have friends in Texas who’ve used it. It wasn’t a mode of transportation that I’d thought of (hadn’t even crossed my mind) using for this trip, however. But there I was, now stopped on the side of a freeway onramp, in a black van with an Uber driver who had been expecting to drive Nancy to some mysterious destination.

Uber is run through the Uber app and there is no exchange of actual money between driver and passengers. Anyone with a vehicle can sign up to be an Uber driver (not sure how that is regulated..??) The app locates the 8 drivers that are nearest to you (you choose your ride), sends them your travel route and uses your credit card to pay the driver.

I felt bad that I had hijacked this man’s vehicle, albeit it was a completely innocent mistake. I’m certain he uttered the word “cab” out his window. It could be that he had said “cab” because as I’ve discovered during this trip, cab drivers hate Uber. I’m sure they lose business to Uber because an Uber ride is less than half the cost of a cab.

Anyway, Nancy had cancelled her Uber ride and we were sitting on the side of a one-way on-ramp. A tow truck actually stopped to see if we needed assistance. So, this Uber man was stuck with this ignorant farm girl. You bet I played the “Sorry, I’m from small town Saskatchewan” card as a means to gain sympathy. ;)

I was frantically trying to download the Uber app, which I did and then the driver helped me as I tried to hire his particular van to shuttle me to the hotel. For some reason the app wouldn’t find the vehicle that I was already sitting in. At this point, I think the driver just wanted to get driving. He doesn’t make any money by idling on the side of the road. We had seen the Uber price for the ride from the app, so we agreed that I would just pay him cash for this ride.

Within 20 minutes, we were pulling up at the Sheraton Parkway Toronto North Hotel. I knew we were at the right place because there were John Deere Tractors on display in the parking lot and Holstein Cow statues by the doors. ;) (Mitch had been attending the National Holstein Convention, remember?)

So my travel adventure, albeit lengthy and laden with missteps, was a success.

I don’t remember looking at the time when I pulled away from the Pearson airport in the UP train, but my flight had landed at 10:15am. I’m sure it must have taken me at least a half hour to get my suitcase, use the restroom and find the train. I arrived at the hotel at 1pm, so my entire venture from airport to hotel wasn’t much more than 2 hours in length. Mitch said his cab ride had taken nearly an hour and a half  (he got stuck travelling during the 4-5pm rush hour slot), so I don’t consider my time overly outrageous!

I paid $12 to ride the UP train. Had I come across the “Rocket bus” I could have eliminated that cost entirely and then I wouldn’t have walked around an empty station or felt so confused because it would have taken me directly to the end of the TTC subway line, which had been my intention. It was a nice train, though.

I paid $3 to ride the city subway lines.

The cost of my stolen Uber ride was $15, but I added another $10 for the trouble and time I had cost the poor guy. I didn’t want to damage our naïve Saskatchewan reputation by making us look stingy, too. ;) The guy was appreciative.

SO, there you have it. I found my way to Mitch’s hotel from the airport for $40. It wasn’t as much savings as I’d hoped for, but I feel as though I gained a wealth of transit knowledge in the process. We’ll consider it my tuition for Toronto transit schooling ;) and it proved useful!!!

The next day, Mitch and I checked out of the hotel and were headed back into the heart of Toronto. Because of my experience and because I already had the app, we took an Uber ride into the city. The cab drivers who were parked out front of the hotel didn’t much like it, but we rode back to the Fairview Mall for $14.72, and this time we didn’t exchange any cash.

I felt like a seasoned transit rider as I could expertly direct my husband where to go. ;) There were no missteps on this trip. We got on the subway and rode all the way down to Union Station (for $3 each). From there, we could easily walk the 4-5 blocks to the condo we are staying in. Success!! 

We’ve used Uber rides to take us to other tourist spots through this week, but we’ve also done a lot of walking and we’ve even dabbled in the city rental bike system, which I think is fabulous!!!

Toronto's famous, Graffiti Alley

This Sask farm girl feels quite empowered in making her way around the big city. If we had kids with us, I’m sure I wouldn’t feel quite so confident. ;)

I’ll close this post with a situation to ponder…

When riding your bike through the city streets, you ride on the road in the same direction as traffic, weaving around parked cars and using bike lanes when there is one, but what do you do when you come up behind THIS slow mover: