Golden Horseshoe - Transportation

Transportation

The Golden Horseshoe is served by an extensive network of expressways, the backbone of which is Highway 401, one of the widest and busiest expressways in the world. Regional transit is provided by GO Transit trains and buses, and by private bus operators Greyhound and Coach Canada. Local transit is provided by municipal agencies, the largest of which is the Toronto Transit Commission, which operates four rapid transit lines and an extensive bus and streetcar network. Several cities in the region have approved rapid transit lines and will be beginning construction by 2014, these include the Kitchener-Waterloo light-rail and the Hurontario light-rail in Mississauga and Brampton. Toronto is currently the only city in the area with a rail-based local rapid transit network and is planning on a major expansion within the decade.

The primary airport of the region is Toronto Pearson International Airport (also known as Lester B. Pearson International Airport), located in Mississauga, which is the busiest in Canada, handling approximately 33.5 million passengers in 2011, and offering non-stop flights worldwide. Other regional airports of significance include John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport south of Hamilton, which is a major regional freight and courier location; Buttonville Airport and Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport in the Greater Toronto Area, both of which mostly serve regional business travellers but the latter being the third largest in the region for passenger volume; and Region of Waterloo International Airport just east of Kitchener, serving the Region of Waterloo. On the U.S. side, Buffalo Niagara International Airport is second largest in passenger volume in the region to Pearson Airport, serving 5.5 million passengers in 2008 and is frequently used by Canadian passengers flying to US destinations.