TRAIN VS BUS: Toronto to Niagara Falls Race 🏁

[@MER1978]

The Ontario gov should be ashamed of how few GO trains go between Canada's largest city + one of Canada's most popular tourist destinations.. if not the most popular.

[@andriyasredel]

Couldn't agree more...

[@ahurafarahani7751]

It’s a problem with track ownership as metrolinx (go transit overseer) does not own that section of track making it hard to expand. I couldn’t agree more that something needs to be done to make it faster and more convenient alongside with maybe some better trains for that trip? But let’s see what happens.

[@richman1972]

@@MER1978 Part of the problem is Freight traffic and the Welland Canal. From Outside Hamilton to outside St Catherines it is one track. They are slowly expanding. Next year they will have a station at Confederation Park and that will be the end of line on some of the runs instead of West Harbour in Hamilton. Station is under construction opening in 2025 and Switches (Turnouts) are going in at West Harbour to accommodate better service.

[@ryanz486]

What's sad, is before the current government took power, we had absolutely no GO service to Niagara, and the previous federal government removed VIA service here (at least in St Catharines), so public transit to get between Niagara and the GTA didn't exist. Would love to have hourly rail service. Will also be interesting to see what comes of the planned hovercraft between StC and TO.

[@richman1972]

@@ryanz486 GO trains started as an excursion train with the previous government who also implemented the GO Bus expansion not Ford. Expansion was already purposed before him, with him delaying it.

[@Wicketor]

Just a heads up. The Wego bus from the go station to the falls is free. It will be packed and they will try to sell you the day pass as you're getting off, but if you don't want it, just get off the bus and enjoy your day. You will however need the pass if you want to use the wego for any other travel or for the ride back. When I went, I just took an uber back to the train the next day when I was leaving, it ended up being far cheaper then if I and my wife had each bought a wego pass.

[@andriyasredel]

Ahhhh, good to know, thank you! Yeah, I took WEGO a long time ago and remember how packed it was... So, just wanted to avoid the crowds, to be honest. But it's good to know that it's free to get to the Falls!

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

Just because it's easy to escape fare enforcement doesn't make the bus free

[@andriyasredel]

@@OntarioTrafficMan who said anything about escaping the fare?

[@jiecut]

The $10 weekend Go pass is amazing. And that means your return trip is included too.

[@andriyasredel]

@@jiecut good point!

[@lukebarron656]

All it takes is a couple accidents on the Gardener 427-QEW whatever hwy and the bus turns into a nightmare train should always be relatively close to on time

[@andriyasredel]

@@lukebarron656 fair point!

[@MER1978]

Since we didn't want to stay for like 8 hours we ended up taking VIA on the way back.. but that train was really an AmTrak train that first needed a long time for people to clear customs before we could board.. the trip ended up getting us back 90 minutes later than scheduled.. almost double the 2 hour trip time.

[@andriyasredel]

Crazy 🤯

[@richman1972]

@@andriyasredel There are 3 trains direct each way between Toronto and Niagara and a GO Bus from Niagara connecting in Burlington with the train. All same price.

[@DurhamTransitGuy]

If you are commuting in the toronto/niagara area, never take flixbus. U can almost always take a go bus for way cheaper than flixbus.

[@andriyasredel]

I just checked the prices. For example, here is a breakdown for September 28, Saturday to get from Toronto (Union Station) to Niagara Falls: GO Transit (Train + Bus Combined) - $21.15 regular fare or $18.09 with PRESTO Flixbus - I could get a ticket for 3:45PM bus for just $14.99 GO is not that cheap.

[@PlutoniumMC]

Allthough flixbus may be cheaper for a single ride, with the Go Bus, you can get a monthly pass, and you get discounts with presto the more you tap on/off. Also, GO Transit has more departures.

[@PlutoniumMC]

You also paid less in the video for go transit. So it is cheaper. You only paid 10$

[@Lemonminer]

@@andriyasredelif you’re travelling with more than one person on GO you can get a day pass $30 for 2 people, $40 for 3 people, or $50 for 4 people. This includes the return trip too making it far cheaper even on weekdays.

[@andriyasredel]

@@Lemonminer good point!

[@yvonnelui6165]

Andriyas, you mentioned that the GO Train passed you as you were on the bus going into the city. So, if you had been on the Train, you would have been at Union sooner then the Flix Bus. Cost wise, with the WEGO & Go Train it is still cheaper than the bus fare for 2 seats. For an accurate comparision would need you to take two separate trips, one of bus and one of train. Bus depends on road conditions but train has its own tracks. Thank you though for your informative video!! I am going to Niagara Falls by GO Train in a couple of weeks myself ... 1st time by train.

[@andriyasredel]

First, wishing you an amazing trip to Niagara Falls! Enjoy it :) Secondly, yeah, you are right - I should have taken 2 separate trips to make them more comparable but I just ran out of time that day and decided to just take a bus back... Anyways, hope at least some of it was useful for you and I definitely think you are going to enjoy the GO train to Niagara!

[@yvonnelui6165]

@@andriyasredel 😀

[@arjundureja]

We don't know when that specific GO train left Niagara falls though. It could've left far before the bus did

[@teenvibespodcast]

Very nice video and loved the explanations hoping for more videos like this

[@andriyasredel]

@@teenvibespodcast thank you, appreciate it!

[@VintageKimchi]

when he said that "there are a couple of mcdonalds nearby" at the concourse. he didn't misspeak. there are literally two mcdonalds a few meters away from each other 💀like why? can we please get some nice local businesses there?

[@andriyasredel]

@@VintageKimchi I wish I misspoke… I mean there’s McCafe on the ground floor and McDonald’s underground. They both kind of serve a different purpose but like I agree, it’s way too much…

[@MetroElfren]

Great video! I do see where you're going with the comparison. However, I do see it as an unfair comparison mainly for taking one mode in one direction and a different mode in the opposite direction. In my experience with GO Train to Toronto Union Station though, it took me around 2 and a half hours from Niagara Falls.

[@andriyasredel]

Fair callout, thank you! I should have taken 2 separate trips in 1 direction but just didn't have the time to do that. Will do better next time!

[@whitemoonwolf13]

a better comparison would have been 2 ppl racing. one on train and one on bus at the same time.

[@andriyasredel]

@@whitemoonwolf13 sounds good, I’ll ask my wife to do it with me 😁😁

[@aliasnick4602]

Hi Andriyas - thanks you just inspired me to take my 5 year old to the falls on the weekend. I'm genuinely surprised at the outcome. Doesn't the train get extra points for the extra leg room, washroom, and ability to get up and walk around? I think my daughter will get stir crazy on the bus. Curious your thoughts if you can share. Thanks again.

[@andriyasredel]

Hello there! Your comment really warmed my heart and I wish you and your daughter an amazing trip to the Falls! Just make sure to bring some warm jackets as it's getting quite cold and windy this time of year! I would say that indeed, if you are travelling with a child, taking that trip on a train would be more comfortable. Having a clean washroom on board and freedom to walk around is quite hard to beat. When I was making that video, I didn't quite think of traveling with kids (I was just by myself) so taking that trip via train will definitely work better for you!

[@aliasnick4602]

@@andriyasredel Ohh yes we'll be dressed appropriately sir! Thanks for the thoughtful response. "daughter year old" I should re-read my own comment before completing. BTW & video suggestion: we recently discovered getting to Wonderland from Toronto via the TTC. If you can go, definitely check out Winterfest. Highly recommended for all ages. Cheers.

[@andriyasredel]

@ I was actually just on Wonderland’s website and saw Winter Fest and was contemplating if I should go or not… I think my wife and will give it a try, thank you for your recommendation!

[@andriyasredel]

@ hope you and your daughter enjoy Niagara Falls and have an amazing time 🙂

[@Haxerous]

The GO+WEGO passes can be bundled together and will be cheaper and more consistent. Also GO weekend passes are also quite cheap.

[@andriyasredel]

@@Haxerous makes sense, thank you!

[@bgy110107]

how long would the WEGO ride be from the train station to the Falls? it feels like a lot of the initial time savings from taking the GO train was loss from all the extra walking to and from the local bus stops

[@andriyasredel]

Good call! So, WEGO would have taken me almost directly to the Falls and saved me about 20 minutes of walking for $13 - www.niagarafallslive.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/wego-route-2019-1734x1800.pdf Instead, I took 204 Niagara Transit bus that dropped me off at Fallsview Bldv and Ferry St for just $3 - www.nrtransit.ca/media/3apdgirc/nrt-niagara-falls-route-104-204.pdf So, I preferred to ride in an empty bus but that cost me 20 minutes of walking! However, it still would have been slower than Flixbus (~2 hours and 53 minutes of total trip time via GO train + WEGO bus)

[@andriyasredel]

Not sure why my answer didn't come through from a few days ago but here it is again! So, WEGO would have taken me very close to the Falls for $13 in a pretty cramped bus. Instead, I opted for Niagara Region bus, which cost me $3 but instead I had to walk for ~20 minutes. Even if I would have taken WEGO, Flixbus would have still been faster time-wise.

[@Imman1s]

@@andriyasredel Just to be clear, all Go train passengers have a one-way complimentary ride to the falls in the WeGo buses that drops you literally there. You don't need to pay for it (and that's the reason why is so crowded). Also, having two buses waiting is not the issue you think... in fact, you need a lot of buses to carry all those people to the falls. Last time I went, I rode on the 5th bus, and I was reasonable close to the beginning of the queue. Luckily, it was fairly quick since they keep arriving one after the other, but if the train is particularly crowded (like mine was), it would still take a while.

[@ryanz486]

10:49 technically that's the tourist area, the train dropped you off downtown NF, which is why it looked like that. Niagara Falls is an absolute dump outside the tourist area. GO bus is also better. Traffic between Niagara and Burlington usually isnt too bad, then Burlington to TO you take the train.

[@andriyasredel]

@@ryanz486 yep, took that option multiple times but honestly love having direct service between TO and NF

[@dashcan8479]

NO YOU ARE A DUMP and NOT Welcome here RYANZ

[@agentzapdos4960]

Niagara Falls is entirely extremely poor. The only money in that entire city is in the tourist area where the casinos and the waterfall is.

[@johnhopper1069]

12:45 There is an HDMI port on the Flixbus, do you know what that is for?

[@andriyasredel]

@@johnhopper1069 no idea, maybe to connect to on-board screens and show something there?

[@MER1978]

I went with a visiting friend during the week in July.. There was one morning train going to NF at 9am .. then if you ignore the train coming back from about 90 minutes after that first train arrives in NF there was only one train scheduled to come back at 9pm.

[@andriyasredel]

🤯

[@Lemonminer]

There are GO buses that run every hour that take you to Aldershot GO so you can take the train rest of the way back to Toronto and it costs the same, and about the same amount of time too

[@richman1972]

@@Lemonminer Correction Burlington GO not Aldershot Go Route 12

[@evanthedrummer7800]

Taking the go train is so much faster

[@justmeajah]

enjoying this, new subs!

[@andriyasredel]

@@justmeajah yaaaaay, thank you!

[@musicotensai]

NF badly needs trains going right into the tourist area.

[@FakeOrphanFM]

The Falls are walkable from the VIA Rail station.

[@richman1972]

No tracks to the tourist area. and the GO station is in Downtown Niagara Falls. The Falls are actually the tourist area not Downtown. Try doing the trip during the Weekday. Traffic is a lot crazier. Bus would have taken twice as long.

[@richman1972]

​@@FakeOrphanFMNOT. It is about an hour walk from the train station to Table Rock at the heart of the falls.

[@FakeOrphanFM]

@@richman1972 Yup. I've done it several times.

[@patrickprovost7207]

It’s an hour drive…

[@andriyasredel]

It's 127KMs from Union Station to Niagara Falls. Assuming you want to get there in an hour, you have to drive at a constant speed of 125 km/h. I don't think that's realistically possible, especially considering our current traffic conditions.

[@LetsTalkTransit]

Nice Video! I do think its a bit unfair because of the direction of the train vs. the bus, and also because you compared Flixbus to GO, even though GO has buses to Niagara. Also PLEASE don't use AI Thumbnails I beg you!

[@andriyasredel]

@@LetsTalkTransit good feedback, will incorporate it next time! Thank you 🙏🏻

[@chrisanthony144]

jees, i cant believe it takes 3hr 30 with the train and bus. its honestly annoying and frustrating how the go train has delays and other issues constantly .

[@andriyasredel]

Yeah, I was also a little shocked to see how much it actually took me to get there :(

[@chrisanthony144]

@@andriyasredel Thanks for the video as i was considering doing this.

[@andriyasredel]

@@chrisanthony144 of course! Happy that you found it useful 🙂

[@ranjitb68]

+ the $3 bus fare at NF ?

[@andriyasredel]

@@ranjitb68 yep, good call!

[@anncsmells7039]

I AM comming in feb 27 to 1 i heard train is only weekends? Is it Just flixbus there Will operate ore what ro due

[@andriyasredel]

Yeah, it's just on the weekends but Flixbus is more flexible and you will be able to catch one on weekdays as well!

[@chillies4156]

Cool

[@andriyasredel]

@@chillies4156 thank you!!

[@matteolorenzobunag4314]

What is it like in niagrea falls

[@andriyasredel]

@@matteolorenzobunag4314 the Falls are gorgeous, no doubt. Area around is a little underwhelming with mediocre restaurants and hotels

[@dashcan8479]

Its great as LONG as YOU ARE NOT here. Clown mass immigrant invaders not welcome in Niagara Region. F off.

[@Imman1s]

Is basically a tourist trap with the beautiful falls as a backdrop. I wouldn't call the food "mediocre"... you just need plan ahead because the good stuff is not in the epicenter of the trap that is Clifton Hill. There are plenty of things to do, including visiting the falls (walking, boating and journey under the falls.. I recommend all three), then there are the casinos, interactive shows at the old hydro plant, some decent craft beer and a lot if interesting cuisines to try (I recommend a sunset dinning at the Skylon tower and the Brazilian steakhouse). For kids and young adults there are plenty of attractions, including those at Clifton hill (there are plenty of arcades, haunted houses, wax museums with superheroes, Ripley's museum and the go-cart track), Marineland and the Butterfly conservatory. There are also plenty of seasonal attractions; in summer you have firework shows every day, and in winter they have fairly decent Christmas illuminations. I personally dislike the touristy vibe of that part of the town, and rather spend my time visiting Niagara-On-The-Lake and the nearby wine tours, but for those you definitively need a car.

[@arjundureja]

Pretty sad how it took over 3 hours to travel only 130km. A high speed train could do that in under an hour

[@dashcan8479]

IN EUROPE. PLEASE TAKE THE NEXT FLIGHT FROM FMI PEARSON AIRPORT AND LEAVE.

[@arjundureja]

@@dashcan8479 calm down bro. why is it a bad thing to want good transit in canada??

[@andriyasredel]

@@arjundureja I know right?

[@MrCyclist]

Can I take my bike and if so where is it stored and priced for bikes? Merci

[@richman1972]

Bikes can be taken on the GO Train. and are free. All cars can hold 2 bikes.

[@andriyasredel]

@@MrCyclist yep, there’s just a special car for them which I show in my video 🙂

[@richman1972]

@@andriyasredel only on The Niagara Falls train on the weekend. Not during the week.

[@aloysiussejjengo]

cap🧢

[@grantboucher9342]

the front of the train in a UofT study occupants of front cars are exposed to diesel fumes

[@andriyasredel]

@@grantboucher9342 interesting, had no idea 🤔

[@rotatorcuffs8140]

That sounds interesting, I take the train occasionally but never thought of that. Can you link the study?

[@richman1972]

@@grantboucher9342 You mean by the Locomotive which is not alway the front of the train. The Locomotive is always on the East side/North side of the train. That is how they are all set up. There is a cab on the other end of the train that they can control the movement of the train from.

[@arjundureja]

@@rotatorcuffs8140 Just google "go train diesel fumes uoft". Important to note that the study concluded with "evidence is still emerging and not conclusive"

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

That AI generated thumbnail is cringe. Using real photos would make the video seem more legitimate. You can easily find creative-commons licensed photos on Wikipedia.

[@andriyasredel]

@@OntarioTrafficMan thanks for feedback! Don’t like the thumbnail, don’t click on it 🙂

[@somedudeguytv]

I just clicked on the video just to take a crap on the AI thumbnail. The fact this guy actually has footage of passing Go Trains and not useing those for thumbnails goes to show how low effort creators really aim for these days!

[@andriyasredel]

@@somedudeguytv thank you for your insightful comment! I like how you took 5 mins from your day just to ensure to comment how horrible the thumbnail is. But it worked, you clicked on it, so thanks for the view! By the way, link to your site is 403 Forbidden 👍🏻

[@dashcan8479]

Worst FMI immigrant video on the net. You win

[@andriyasredel]

@@dashcan8479 thank you for your sophisticated comment!!