What Is GO?

On May 14, 2009, GO Transit officially merged with Metrolinx. The merger maximizes the two organizations’ strategy and planning expertise and implementation and operations know-how to build rapid transit projects faster and improve customer service.

The Minister of Transportation sets the strategy and policy framework for Metrolinx, and the Board provides business direction to staff.

Visit the Ministry of Transportation website for other information.

We recover most of our operating costs through revenue, consistently bringing in 80% to 90% of what we need to run our service from the farebox — one of the best financial performances for any transit system in the world.

The Provincial government subsidizes any operating costs that are not recovered through revenue. It is also responsible for the base capital funding needed for rehabilitation and replacement, to keep our system in a state of good repair. For growth and expansion capital costs, the province provides one-third of GO’s capital funding needs, with the understanding that the federal and municipal governments will contribute the remaining two-thirds.

GO Transit service map

GO Trains and GO Buses serve a population of seven million in a 10,000-square-kilometre area (approximately 4,000 square miles) extending from downtown Toronto to Kitchener-Waterloo in the west; Orangeville, Barrie, and Beaverton to the north; Stouffville, Uxbridge, and Peterborough in the northeast; and Oshawa and Newcastle in the east. We connect with every municipal transit system in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton areas, including the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC).

The Greater Toronto Area consists of the City of Toronto and the surrounding Regions of Halton, Peel, York, and Durham. GO Transit also serves the neighbouring City of Hamilton, and reaches into Simcoe, Dufferin, and Wellington Counties.

Our seven train lines are Lakeshore West, Milton, Georgetown, Barrie, Richmond Hill, Stouffville, and Lakeshore East. At peak rush-hour periods, train service is available at all stations.

In weekday off-peak hours, trains run only on the Lakeshore between Oshawa in the east and Aldershot in the west, and on the Georgetown line between Union Station in the east and Bramalea in the northwest. On weekends, trains run only between Oshawa in the east and Aldershot in the west. Bus connections extend our Lakeshore service to Newcastle in the east and Hamilton in the west.

Off-peak GO Buses between Union Station and other train stations (sometimes nicknamed train-buses) give passengers more choice when travelling to and from downtown Toronto before and after rush hour when the trains aren’t scheduled to run, even on weekends. More riders are choosing Union Station buses because they appreciate having the flexibility of travelling one way by train and the other by bus.

GO runs 185 train trips and 2,118 bus trips daily, carrying about 217,000 passengers on a typical weekday — 180,000 on the trains* and 37,000 by bus. Our ridership growth has continually exceeded expectations: The original GO Train service carried 2.5 million passengers in 1967, the first year of operation; today the combined rail and bus system handles nearly 55 million riders annually.

At least 96% of our train ridership is to and from Union Station in downtown Toronto, while about 70% of all bus passengers travel to and from the City of Toronto.

*Train service consists of trains and their related bus services — buses that meet the trains at terminus stations, and buses that connect Union Station with other train stations.

*Plus numerous stops & ticket agencies