Wikimania 2009/Bids/Toronto/Getting there and getting around

Wikimania 2009 official bids:
Brisbane - Buenos Aires - Karlsruhe - Toronto
Questions and Answers:
Brisbane | Buenos Aires | Karlsruhe | Toronto

Country	Canada af · als · am · ang · ar · an · arc · ast · az · bar · bat-smg · be · be-x-old · bg · bi · bn · bo · bpy · bs · br · ca · cr · cv · ceb · cs · cu · cy · da · de · diq · dv · dz · el · eo · es · et · eu · fa · fi · fr · frp · fy · ga · gd · gl · gv · hak · haw · he · hi · hsb · hr · ht · hu · hy · ia · id · ie · ig · ik · ilo · io · is · it · iu · ja · jbo · ka · kk · ko · kw · ku · la · lb · li · lij · ln · lt · lv · min-nan · mk · ml · mn · mr · ms · na · nah · nap · nl · nds-nl · no · nov · nn · nrm · oc · om · pa · pam · pdc · ps · nds · pl · pt · qu · rmy · ro · ru · sa · scn · sco · se · sh · simple · sk · sl · so · sq · sr · sw · sv · ta · tet · th · tl · tg · tpi · to · tr · ty · uk · ur · uz · vec · vi · vo · wo · wuu · yi · yo · yue · zh · zh-classical · zu
Location proposed	University of Toronto cs · cy · de · eo · es · fa · fi · fr · id · it · ja · pl · pt · ru · zh
City proposed	Toronto af · ang · ar · be · bg · ca · cs · cy · da · de · el · en-simple · eo · es · et · eu · fa · fi · fr · frp · fy · ga · gl · gv · he · hr · hu · ia · id · io · is · it · ja · ko · kw · la · lt · lv · min-nan · mk · ms · nl · nn · no · pa · pl · pt · ro · ru · scn · se · sh · sk · sl · sq · sr · sv · ta · th · tr · ug · uk · vi · vo · yi · yue · zh
Proposed dates	Flexible
Contact person	Nick Moreau
Facebook	Support group

Getting there

Estimated airfares

Pearson's Terminal 1's interior, with Jonathan Borofsky's I dreamed I could fly sculpture.

Estimated round-trip travel costs from all continents, searching mostly American travel sites covering the first weekend in August 2006. Note that this list must be updated to reflect 2009.

Toronto Pearson International Airport is served by over 50 domestic and international airlines, and features modern facilities, especially for international and transborder flights, with a terminal opened in 2004, and significantly expanded in 2007. It is the 29th busiest airport in the world, allowing it to have the amenities of many of the other airports like, JetBlue operated out of Terminal 1 in San Francisco, offering travelers a modern and convenient gateway to their destinations with a touch of the airline's signature comfort and style.(such as a museum, artwork, sculptures, plentiful shops and restaurants, and an interterminal shuttle), while being slightly less harried than the other facilities. The airport also has US Border Pre-clearance, allowing many Wikimedians to deal with Customs before arriving home.

Airlines operating out of Pearson include Air Canada, Air Canada Jazz, Air Georgian, Air China, Air Jamaica, Alitalia, Austrian Airlines, Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways, Icelandair, Jet Airways, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Sunwing Airlines, Turkish Airlines, United Airlines (including United Express operated by Chautauqua Airlines and Shuttle America), Aeroflot, Air France, Air India, Air Transat, American Airlines, American Eagle, British Airways, Caribbean Airlines, CanJet, Cathay Pacific, Cubana de Aviación, Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines, El Al, Finnair, Kelowna Flightcraft Air Charter, KLM, Korean Air, Martinair, MyTravel Airways, Pakistan International Airlines, SATA International, Sol Dominicana Airlines, Skyservice, Grupo TACA, Thomas Cook Airlines, WestJet, and Zoom Airlines.

Europe City USD Euros Airline London $620 520€ Air Canada Rome $710 600€ Northwest Airlines Istanbul $870 730€ Air France Paris $880 740€ Air France Frankfurt $890 750€ Delta Air Lines Madrid $900 750€ Northwest Airlines Vienna $980 820€ Alitalia Warsaw $1,000 840€ Air France Moscow $1,053 760€ Aeroflot Asia City USD Euros Airline Tokyo $802 579€ Japan Airlines Mumbai $1,510 1,260€ Air France New Delhi $1,510 1,260€ Air France Singapore $1,660 1,390€ United Airlines Shanghai $1,690 1,420€ American Airlines Beijing $1,058 764€ United Airlines Taipei $1,725 1,200€ Air Canada Hong Kong $1,100 794€ Japan Airlines (includes stops in Chicago and Tokyo) Oceania City USD Euros Airline Auckland $1,720 1,440€ Air Canada Fiji $1,745 1,260€ Air New Zealand (1 stop in LA) Sydney $1,498 1,081€ Qantas

Africa City USD Euros Airline Cairo $940 790€ Austrian Airlines Johanesberg $1,650 1,380€ South African Airways Lagos $1,730 1,450€ Air France South America City USD Euros Airline Rio de Janeiro $1,150 960€ Varig Airlines Buenos Aires $1,320 1,105€ Aerolineas Argentinas North America City USD Euros Airline Montreal $140 120€ Via Rail (train) Chicago $300 250€ Air Canada New York $310 260€ US Airways Washington, DC $320 270€ US Airways Tampa $400 330€ Air Canada Los Angeles $440 370€ Air Canada or Delta Seattle $540 450€ US Airways Vancouver $550 460€ Canjet San Francisco $590 490€ US Airways Mexico City $600 500€ American Airlines Havana $610 510€ Air Canada

Flight and Driving times to Toronto, additional road times, additional air times

Visa issues

Canada is a far easier country to travel to than the United States. Canada allows far more people to visit without a visa.

Citizens of nations such as Greece, Mexico, South Korea, Israel, Botswana, and Hong Kong would all need to apply for visas to enter the United States...but can freely travel to Canada without any formalities.

For those who do require a visa, it is still typically much easier to acquire a Canadian visa - for example, while the United States rejects 40 to 50% of student visa applications, Canada rejects only about 10%. In part because of the travel difficulties there has recently been a steady procession of American organizations holding conferences in Canada. For instance, the American Psychological Association, American Library Association, Association of Trial Lawyers of America, American Philatelic Society, FBI National Academy Associates have all recently elected to hold conventions in Toronto.

Visa Requirements and Exemptions

Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada/Citoyenneté et Immigration Canada - http://www.cic.gc.ca

Countries and territories whose citizens require visas in order to enter Canada as visitors
Citizens of the following countries and territories require a Visa to VISIT or TRANSIT Canada:
A	Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan
B	Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi
C	Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China (People's Republic of), Colombia, Comoros, Congo (Democratic Republic of), Congo (Republic of), Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba
D	Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic
E	East Timor, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia
F	Fiji
G	Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana
H	Haiti, Honduras, Hungary
I	India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Ivory Coast
J	Jamaica, Jordan
K	Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Korea (Democratic People's Republic), Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan
L	Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania
M	Macao S.A.R., Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives Islands, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Micronesia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar
N	Nauru, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria
O	Oman
P	Pakistan, Palau, Palestinian Authority, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland
Q	Qatar
R	Romania, Russia, Rwanda
S	Sao Tomé e Principe, Saudi Arabia (Kingdom of), Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovak Republic, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Surinam, Syria
T	Taiwan (Republic of China), Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu
U	Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Uzbekistan
V	Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam
Y	Yemen
Z	Zambia, Zimbabwe

Countries and territories whose citizens do not require visas in order to enter Canada as visitors
Many people do not require a visa to visit Canada. These include:
citizens of Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Botswana, Brunei, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Israel (National Passport holders only), Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, Republic of Korea, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, San Marino, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Spain, Swaziland, Sweden, Slovenia, Switzerland, United States, and Western Samoa; persons lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence who are in possession of their alien registration card (Green card) or can provide other evidence of permanent residence. British citizens and British Overseas Citizens who are re-admissible to the United Kingdom; citizens of British dependent territories who derive their citizenship through birth, descent, registration or naturalization in one of the British dependent territories of Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn, St. Helena or the Turks and Caicos Islands; persons holding a British National (Overseas) Passport issued by the Government of the United Kingdom to persons born, naturalized or registered in Hong Kong; persons holding a valid and subsisting Special Administrative Region passport issued by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China; persons holding passports or travel documents issued by the Holy See.

Exchange rates

Currency unit Value in CAD Australian Dollar $0.8904 Brazilian Real $0.5710 British Pound $2.064 Renminbi $0.1370 Euro $1.484 Hong Kong Dollar $0.1296 Indian Rupee $0.02568 Israeli Sheqel $0.2568 Japanese Yen $0.009064 Mexican Peso $0.09313 New Zealand Dollar $0.7931 South African Rand $0.1497 South Korean Won $0.001091 Swiss Franc $0.8920

Currency Equals 1 CAD Australian Dollar AUD 1.123 Brazilian Real R$1.751 British Pound £0.48456 Renminbi ¥7.298 Euro €0.6739 Hong Kong Dollar HKD 7.717 Indian Rupee ₨38.93798 Israeli Sheqel ₪3.894 Japanese Yen ¥110.3 Mexican Peso MXN 10.74 New Zealand Dollar NZD 1.261 South African Rand R6.678 South Korean Won ₩916.3 Swiss Franc CHF 1.121

Getting around

Basic geography

The University of Toronto is located just to the northwest of the downtown core of the city. The main portion of the campus is bounded by Bloor Street on the north, College Street on the south, Spadina Street in the west and University Avenue in the east. All of these streets are major Toronto thoroughfares, and are well served by public transportation and taxies. Subway routes run under both Bloor and University, with four stations directly bordering the campus on the north and eastern sides.

In addition, the campus is relatively compact and pedestrian friendly. Walking from the northwest to southeast corners takes about 15 minutes, and reaching any point on campus from the nearest TTC station should take no more than five minutes.

Getting from the airport

Pearson International Airport is the primary airport for the Toronto area, and used by the majority of flights in and out of the city. Pearson lies on the northwest edge of the Toronto area.

• Distance from international airport: The University of Toronto is 32 km (20 miles) from Pearson International Airport. Taxies and airport limousines will cost approximately $50 from the airport to the campus area. A less expensive option, and often even faster, is to take public transit; TTC runs buses between Pearson and Kipling, the end of the Bloor subway line. From there the subway to Spadina or St. George takes about 15 minutes. GO Transit (provincial public) and Pacific Western Bus Lines (private) run direct trips to Union Station.

• Distance from mainline station(s): The University of Toronto is 3 km from Union Station (Spadina, St. George, Museum, and Queen's Park subway stations all connect the campus to Union.)
• Distance from most accommodations: If we stay in New College, about 60 metres. There are also at least a half dozen hotels within a ten minute walk, and many affordable hotels within walking distance of the subway.

It is very possible that a direct rail line between Pearson and Union will be operational by summer 2009; originally called Blue22, it was delayed by an environmental assessment.

TTC

the 510 Spadina Streetcar route map

The Toronto public transit system, run by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), operates buses, streetcars, and rapid transit in the city. The system also has WheelTrans, providing door-to-door services for persons with physical disabilities.

To get from Pearson Airport to the UofT (New College) by transit, simply take the 192 Airport Rocket shuttle bus to Kipling Station on the subway system (a 20-minute ride, service every 15-minutes), taking the Bloor-Danforth line to the Spadina Station. At Spadina, go up the flight of stairs at the Spadina exit to the underground streetcar station. Get on the 510 Streetcar (The streetcar's sign would either say 510 KING, 510 UNION STATION, or 510 QUEEN'S QUAY, but don't worry because they all make stops at New College). Get off at Willcocks Street. As this stop is only about 250 m south of the Spadina station, walking is also an option.

While you can pay for

• individual fares on the Transit system: CDN$2.75 (1.94€ or 2.75 USD), or CDN$1.85 (1.30€ or 1.85 USD) for students/65+
• individual fares in bulk: 5 for CDN$11.25 (7.83€ or 11.24 USD), or 5 for CDN$7.50 (5.05€ or 7.50 USD) for students/65+
• day passes: CDN$9.00 (6.26€ or 9.00 USD). Daypass is for one person on weekdays. Daypass is for a family/group on saturday, sunday, and statutory holiday. A family/group is defined as: 1 adult plus 5 children (age 19 or under), or 2 adults plus 4 children (age 19 or under), or 2 adults.
• week passes: CDN$32.25 (22.45€ or 32.21 USD), or CDN$25.5 (17.75€ or 25.47 USD) for students/65+