The two roads north of the city
From Pearson to North York, Markham and Richmond Hill there are two routes. The 401 east — from the 427 or the airport's northern access — runs across North York to Yonge, Bayview, Leslie, Don Mills and the 404, and is free, 25 to 35 minutes to Yonge and Sheppard off-peak and 50 to 80 at the peaks. The 407 ETR — the 427 north to the toll road, east across Vaughan, Richmond Hill and Markham — is 30 to 45 minutes to Markham Centre or Yonge and Highway 7 at almost any hour, at a distance-based toll the engine shows before you approve it. Our rule: the 401 for North York south of the 401 and at quiet hours everywhere; the 407 for Markham, Richmond Hill and Thornhill at the peaks and on any day the 401 is broken. The 407 is offered as a line item on every booking north of the 401 and charged only if used.
The 401 across the top of Toronto is the busiest highway in North America — more than 400,000 vehicles a day through the Yonge corridor — and it is the road between Pearson and everything north-east of the airport: North York's centre and its neighbourhoods, the 404 corridor to Markham and Richmond Hill, the 400 to Vaughan. It is free, it is twelve lanes wide through the collector-express system, and at 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. it is a parking lot from the 427 to the 404, with the 401–404 interchange the single worst point in the region. Above it, since 1997, runs the 407 — a privately operated toll road with no congestion and a per-kilometre charge that is among the world's highest — and the airport run north of the 401 is a daily decision between the two. This article makes the decision destination by destination: the routes, the timings by hour, the toll's actual cost against the minutes saved, the chauffeur's rule, the Bridle Path and York Mills exception, the Thornhill and Bathurst corridor, Unionville and Markham Centre, the 404 corridor's head offices, Yonge and Highway 7, and the days the 401 is closed outright.
The 401: free, wide, and the worst road in the country at 5 p.m.
From Pearson the 401 eastbound is joined at the 427 interchange or via Airport Road's northern access, and runs east through Etobicoke, past the 400, the Allen Road, Yonge, Bayview, Leslie and Don Mills to the 404 and the DVP interchange — 25 kilometres to Yonge and Sheppard, 30 to the 404. Off-peak (before 6:30 a.m., 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., after 7 p.m.) it is 25 to 35 minutes to Yonge and 30 to 40 to the 404. In the morning peak (6:30 to 9:30) eastbound is 45 to 70; in the evening peak (3:30 to 6:30) 50 to 80, and worse when an incident closes the express lanes. The collector-express split helps and the chauffeur uses it; the rush hour article has the pattern hour by hour.
The 407: tolled, steady, and the escape
The 407 ETR is reached from Pearson via the 427 north (10 minutes) and runs east across Vaughan, Richmond Hill and Markham with interchanges at Weston, Jane, Keele, Dufferin, Bathurst, Yonge, Bayview, Leslie, Woodbine, Warden, Kennedy, McCowan, Markham Road and the 404. It flows at almost any hour — its congestion is rare and short — and the run from the 427 to Yonge is 20 to 25 minutes, to the 404 25 to 30, to Markham Road 30 to 35. The toll is charged per kilometre by a transponder, at rates that vary by time of day and zone (the peak rates are the highest, and the 407 article has the numbers); our vehicles carry transponders, the engine shows the estimated toll as a line item at booking, and it is charged at cost only if the chauffeur uses the road.
The chauffeur's rule
For destinations south of the 401 (Etobicoke, the Allen corridor, Lawrence Park, Leaside) the 407 does not help; the 401 or the surface arterials are the route. For North York north of the 401 and west of Yonge (Downsview, Bathurst Manor, the Jane–Finch corridor) the 407 saves five to ten minutes at the peaks and the chauffeur uses it only on bad days. For North York east of Yonge (Bayview Village, Don Mills, Willowdale, Henry Farm) the 407 to Bayview or Leslie and south saves ten to twenty at the peaks and is worth the toll when the 401 is red. For Thornhill, Richmond Hill, Markham and the 404 corridor the 407 saves twenty to forty minutes at the peaks and is the route at any hour except the empty ones. For the Bridle Path, York Mills and Hoggs Hollow — north of the 401, east of Bayview, but with their own access from the 401's Bayview and Leslie exits — the 401 usually wins unless it is broken. The rule is applied from the live traffic as the car leaves Door A, and the North York guide has the neighbourhoods.
North York Centre: Yonge and Sheppard, Empress Walk, the towers
The 401 to Yonge and north (or Sheppard from the Allen) is 25 to 35 minutes off-peak to Yonge and Sheppard's towers, the Empress Walk, the North York Centre's offices and Mel Lastman Square; at the peaks 50 to 75 via the 401, or 40 to 50 via the 407 to Yonge and south through Thornhill — a route that adds distance and saves time when the 401 is stopped. The towers' porte-cochères on the side streets (Elmhurst, Poyntz, Doris) and the Sheppard Centre's entrances are on the chauffeur's map; the North York guide has the neighbourhood.
Bayview Village, Don Mills and the east of North York
The 401 east to Bayview or Leslie and north is 30 to 40 minutes off-peak to Bayview Village's shops and streets, Don Mills' Shops and the Don Mills corridor's offices, Henry Farm and Fairview Mall; at the peaks 55 to 80 via the 401, or 40 to 50 via the 407 to Bayview or Leslie and south. The Bayview Village Shopping Centre's entrances, the Shops at Don Mills' loop and Fairview's are on the map; the North York guide covers them.
The Bridle Path, York Mills and Hoggs Hollow
The estates of the Bridle Path, the streets of York Mills and Hoggs Hollow's valley are north of the 401 between Bayview and Leslie, reached from the 401's Bayview or Leslie exits or from Yonge and York Mills Road, and their households — among the region's most affluent — book the airport constantly; the 401 is usually the route (25 to 35 minutes off-peak, 45 to 65 at the peaks) and the 407 to Bayview and south via Steeles and Bayview is the escape at 20 minutes more distance when the 401 is stopped. Pickups are at the gate or the door as the household prefers, the privacy and discretion standard applies, and the North York guide covers the estates.
Thornhill and the Bathurst corridor
Thornhill straddles Vaughan and Markham along Yonge north of Steeles and along Bathurst — the Promenade, the Bathurst Street corridor's synagogues and day schools, the Thornhill Village — and the 407 is the route from Pearson at any hour but the emptiest: the 427 north to the 407, east to Bathurst or Yonge, and south, 30 to 40 minutes; the 401 and Bathurst or Yonge north is 35 to 45 off-peak and 60 to 90 at the peaks. The Vaughan guide covers Thornhill's calendar and the Markham guide its eastern half.
Richmond Hill: Yonge and Highway 7, Bayview Hill, Oak Ridges
Richmond Hill is the 407's clearest case: the 427 north, the 407 east to Yonge, Bathurst or Bayview, and north — 35 to 45 minutes to Yonge and Highway 7's towers, 40 to 50 to Bayview Hill and Rouge Woods, 45 to 55 to Oak Ridges — at almost any hour; the 401 and the 404 or Yonge north is 45 to 55 off-peak and 70 to 90 at the peaks. The Richmond Hill guide covers the city's neighbourhoods and Mackenzie Health, and the 407 is on every Richmond Hill airport booking as a line item.
Markham: Unionville, Markham Centre, the 404 corridor and Cornell
Markham is the 407's second-clearest case: the 407 east to Woodbine, Warden, Kennedy, McCowan or Markham Road and south — 35 to 45 minutes to Markham Centre and the 404 corridor's head offices, 40 to 50 to Unionville and Cornell, 40 to 50 to Milliken and the Pacific Mall's plazas via Kennedy — against the 401 and the 404 north at 45 to 55 off-peak and 70 to 100 at the peaks, with the 401–404 interchange the region's worst point. The Markham guide covers the city and its Cantonese- and Mandarin-speaking chauffeurs; the 407 is approved on most Markham corporate accounts as policy.
The toll's real cost against the time
From the 427 to Yonge on the 407 is about 20 kilometres; to the 404 about 27; to Markham Road about 35. At the 407's peak rates (which are its highest, and which apply exactly when the road is most useful) the charge is a meaningful sum — the engine shows the estimate for your booking — and the question is whether it buys enough time. At 8 a.m. to Markham Centre it buys thirty to forty minutes; at 2 p.m. it buys five, and the chauffeur does not use it; at 5 p.m. to Bayview Village it buys fifteen; at 11 p.m. it buys nothing. The 407 article has the rate structure and the rule that the toll is charged only for the kilometres actually driven, at cost, on the receipt.
The days the 401 is closed
A few times a month the 401 across the top of the city is closed outright for hours — a serious collision, a tanker, a police investigation, an overnight construction closure that runs late — and every vehicle heading north-east of the airport is on the 407 or the arterials. Dispatch sees the closure on the provincial feed and texts affected passengers; the chauffeur's route uses the 407 (approved as a contingency on most bookings north of the 401 for exactly this) and the fare's fixed number does not change except for the toll. The Gardiner and DVP closures article covers the downtown equivalent and the winter driving article the season when the 401's closures are most frequent.
A worked example: Frankfurt to Unionville at 5 p.m.
Lufthansa lands at Terminal 1 at 15:50 on a Wednesday. A Mandarin-speaking chauffeur meets the passenger — grandparents visiting a Unionville family — with a name board at the international exit, and they are through at 16:45. The 401 is red from the 427 to the 404 on the screen; the 407 was approved at booking. The 427 north, the 407 east to Kennedy Road (28 kilometres of toll at the peak rate), Kennedy south to Highway 7, the Unionville address at 17:32. Forty-seven minutes. The 401 would have been ninety. The receipt shows the fare, the HST and the 407 toll at cost; the son who booked from Unionville approved the toll in the engine three weeks ago.
Pearson to the north-east, quick reference
| Destination | 401 off-peak | 401 peak | 407 (any hour) | Chauffeur's rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yonge & Sheppard (North York Centre) | 25–35 min | 50–75 | 40–50 | 401; 407 only when the 401 is broken |
| Bayview Village / Don Mills | 30–40 | 55–80 | 40–50 | 401 off-peak; 407 at the peaks |
| Bridle Path / York Mills | 25–35 | 45–65 | 45–55 | 401; 407 as contingency |
| Thornhill (Yonge / Bathurst) | 35–45 | 60–90 | 30–40 | 407 except at quiet hours |
| Richmond Hill (Yonge & Hwy 7) | 45–55 | 70–90 | 35–45 | 407 |
| Markham Centre / 404 corridor | 45–55 | 70–100 | 35–45 | 407 |
| Unionville / Cornell | 50–60 | 75–100 | 40–50 | 407 |
| Milliken / Pacific Mall | 40–50 | 65–90 | 40–50 | 401 off-peak; 407 at the peaks |
Booking the run north
The engine shows the 407 line item and its estimated toll for any address north of the 401; approve it and the chauffeur uses it only when it helps. The Pearson page has the airport's procedure and the Markham, Richmond Hill and Vaughan guides the cities.
