Across the whole city
From Pearson to Scarborough (Scarborough Town Centre, Agincourt, the Bluffs, Rouge) is the 401 east across all of Toronto: 35 to 50 minutes off-peak and 65 to 100 at the peaks. To Pickering 45 to 55 off-peak and 70 to 100 peak; Ajax 50 to 60 and 75 to 105; Whitby 55 to 65 and 80 to 110; Oshawa 60 to 70 and 85 to 120. The 407's eastern extension — the 427 north to the 407, east across York Region to the 412 (Whitby) and 418 (Oshawa) links, both toll-free since 2022 — runs 50 to 80 minutes at almost any hour to the Durham cities at the 407's longest and most expensive toll; for Scarborough the 407 to Markham Road and south saves time at the peaks. Our rule: the 401 overnight and midday; the 407 at the peaks and on any day the 401 is broken, approved at booking.
Pearson is on Toronto's western edge and Scarborough and Durham are on its eastern one, and the road between them is the 401 — through Etobicoke, past the 400 and the Allen, through the Yonge corridor, past the 404 and DVP interchange, through Scarborough to the Rouge and into Durham Region. At 4 a.m. it is forty-five minutes to Pickering and a pleasure; at 5 p.m. it is two hours and the worst drive in the region. The 407's eastern extension, completed in 2018 to Highway 35/115 with the 412 and 418 links to the 401, gave the east an escape it did not have before, at a toll that is the highest of any regular run we make. This article works the east from Pearson: the 401's timing by hour and exit, Scarborough's neighbourhoods from the highway, the Durham cities and their links, the 407 decision with its cost, the Kingston Road and Lake Shore alternatives, the days the 401 is closed, and the early departures and late arrivals that make the east's airport runs the ones most often made on empty roads.
The 401 east: timing by hour to Scarborough Town Centre
From Door A at Terminal 1 via the 427 and the 401 east to McCowan Road — 45 kilometres — the run to Scarborough Town Centre is: 5 to 6:30 a.m., 35 to 40 minutes; 6:30 to 9:30, 60 to 90 (eastbound is the lighter direction in the morning but the 401 is heavy both ways through Yonge); 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., 40 to 50; 3 to 6:30 p.m., 70 to 100, the worst window, with the evening exodus from downtown joining at the DVP and the 404; 6:30 to 10 p.m., 45 to 55; after 10, 35 to 45. Add ten minutes for the Bluffs and the lakeshore (Kingston Road south from the 401 at Brimley or Markham Road) and ten to fifteen for Rouge and the Zoo (the 401 to Meadowvale). The Scarborough guide has the neighbourhoods and the Scarborough black car guide the district's pickups.
Scarborough from the 401's exits
Scarborough's neighbourhoods are reached from the 401's exits in order: Victoria Park and Warden for Wexford, Clairlea and the Golden Mile; Kennedy for Agincourt's plazas and Kennedy Commons; Brimley and McCowan for Scarborough Town Centre, the Scarborough Health Network's General hospital and the Bendale streets, and for Kingston Road south to the Bluffs and Cliffside; Markham Road for Milliken's north (with the Pacific Mall on Steeles), Woburn and the Scarborough Health Network's Centenary hospital; Morningside and Neilson for Malvern, the University of Toronto Scarborough and Centennial College; Meadowvale for Rouge Hill, the Toronto Zoo and the Rouge National Urban Park; Port Union for West Rouge and the lakeshore. The chauffeur's exit is the destination's, and the Scarborough guide covers each.
The 407 to Scarborough: Markham Road and south
At the peaks, the 427 north to the 407, east to Markham Road or McCowan, and south into Scarborough is 45 to 55 minutes to Scarborough Town Centre against the 401's 70 to 100 — a toll of about 40 kilometres at the peak rate, which is a meaningful sum the engine shows before booking. Off-peak the 401 is faster and cheaper and the chauffeur does not use the 407. The rule for Scarborough: the 407 approved as a line item, used at the peaks and on the 401's bad days, and the receipt showing the toll at cost only when it was driven. The 407 article has the structure.
Pickering: the first of Durham
Pickering begins at the Rouge River, and from Pearson it is the 401 to Whites Road, Liverpool Road (the City Centre and the Pickering Town Centre) or Brock Road (Duffin Heights, the casino resort at Church Street, the 407 link north): 45 to 55 minutes off-peak and 70 to 100 at the peaks on the 401; 50 to 65 via the 407 to Brock Road or Whites Road and south at almost any hour. The Pickering guide covers the city, Frenchman's Bay, the Pickering Casino Resort and the new north at Seaton; from the 407 the Seaton subdivisions north of the toll road are ten minutes closer than the lakeshore.
Ajax: Salem, Westney and Harwood
Ajax is the 401's Salem Road, Westney Road and Harwood Avenue exits — Westney for downtown Ajax and the GO station, Harwood for the waterfront and Lakeridge Health Ajax Pickering, Salem for the west and Pickering Village — at 50 to 60 minutes off-peak and 75 to 105 at the peaks; via the 407 to Salem or Westney (the 407's Ajax interchanges) and south, 55 to 70 at any hour. The Ajax guide covers the town's communities, the Convention Centre and the 4 a.m. departures to the Caribbean and South Asia that make Ajax's airport runs the east's most frequent.
Whitby: the 412 link and Brooklin
Whitby is where the 407's eastern links begin: Highway 412 runs from the 401 at Whitby's western edge north to the 407, toll-free since 2022, and gives Whitby the east's best 407 access — from Pearson, the 407 east to the 412 and south to the 401 at Whitby, or straight to Brooklin from the 407's Baldwin Street interchange, 60 to 75 minutes at any hour against the 401's 55 to 65 off-peak and 80 to 110 at the peaks. Downtown Whitby is the 401's Brock Street exit; Port Whitby the Henry Street exit; the Whitby guide covers the county town and Ontario Shores.
Oshawa: the 418 and the longest run
Oshawa is the end of the regular service and the longest routine airport run we make: the 401 east to Stevenson, Park Road, Simcoe Street or Harmony Road — 60 to 70 minutes off-peak and 85 to 120 at the peaks — or the 407 east to Highway 418 (toll-free) and south to the 401 at Oshawa's east, 65 to 80 at any hour, with the 407's toll for about 60 kilometres at its longest. The Oshawa guide covers the city, Lakeridge Health and the cancer centre, Ontario Tech and the executive airport; the 407 is approved on most Oshawa airport bookings as policy, because the 401 at the peaks from Oshawa is two hours.
The toll from the east: the arithmetic
The 407's toll is per kilometre and the east is the far end of the road: from the 427 to Markham Road is about 40 kilometres, to the 412 about 55, to the 418 about 65, at rates that are highest at the peaks. The engine shows the estimate; the receipt shows the cost only if driven. At 5 p.m. to Whitby the toll buys forty to fifty minutes; at 1 p.m. it buys ten and the chauffeur stays on the 401; at 4 a.m. it buys nothing unless the 401 has an overnight closure — which, across the top of the city, it often does, and the 407 is then the route. The 407 article has the rates and the rule.
Kingston Road, the Lake Shore and the surface alternatives
When the 401 is closed outright in Scarborough — a collision at the 404, a tanker at Markham Road — and the 407 was not approved, the surface alternatives are Highway 2 (Kingston Road) through Scarborough's south and into Pickering and Ajax, Sheppard and Finch across the north, and Lake Shore Boulevard East and the Gardiner for the west end of the run; each adds twenty to forty minutes and the chauffeur's choice is made from the live traffic. Dispatch texts affected passengers when the 401 closes; the Gardiner and DVP closures article covers the downtown equivalents.
Early departures and late arrivals from the east
The east's airport runs are disproportionately overnight: its communities fly to South Asia, the Caribbean, the Philippines and West Africa on early departures and late arrivals, and the 4 a.m. pickup from Ajax to Terminal 3 (fifty minutes on an empty 401) and the midnight meet and greet at Door A with a Tamil-, Punjabi-, Tagalog- or Yoruba-speaking chauffeur are the bookings the Ajax and Scarborough guides describe as their most common. The red-eye article covers the overnight routine, and the 407 is approved as a contingency for the drive home when the 401 has an overnight closure.
A worked example: Sunwing from Montego Bay to Whitby, 11 p.m.
Sunwing lands at Terminal 3 at 22:50 on a Sunday in January. A family of five — three children in seats, a stroller, seven bags — is met at Door A by a Sprinter at 23:35 (forty-five minutes through customs with the kiosks and the carousel). The 401 has an overnight closure of the express lanes at the 404 and the collectors are crawling; the 407 was approved. The 427 north, the 407 east to the 412 (58 kilometres of toll at the overnight rate, the day's lowest), the 412 south and the 401 east one exit to Brock Street, the Pringle Creek driveway at 00:45. Seventy minutes; the 401 would have been ninety-five with the closure. The children slept from the 427 onward. The receipt shows the fare, the HST and the 407 at the overnight rate.
Pearson to the east, quick reference
| Destination | 401 off-peak | 401 peak | 407 (any hour) | 407 toll distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scarborough Town Centre | 35–45 min | 65–100 | 45–55 | ~40 km |
| Rouge / Toronto Zoo | 40–50 | 70–105 | 45–55 | ~45 km |
| Pickering (City Centre) | 45–55 | 70–100 | 50–65 | ~50 km |
| Ajax (downtown) | 50–60 | 75–105 | 55–70 | ~52 km |
| Whitby (downtown) | 55–65 | 80–110 | 60–75 | ~55 km + 412 (free) |
| Oshawa (downtown) | 60–70 | 85–120 | 65–80 | ~65 km + 418 (free) |
Booking the run east
The engine shows the 407 line item and its estimated toll for any Scarborough or Durham address; approve it as a contingency and the chauffeur uses it only when the 401 is broken. The Pearson page has the airport's procedure and the Scarborough, Pickering, Ajax, Whitby and Oshawa guides the destinations.
Scarborough's students: UTSC and Centennial from the airport
The University of Toronto Scarborough on Military Trail and Centennial College's Progress and Morningside campuses are the 401's Morningside and Neilson exits, 40 to 50 minutes from Pearson off-peak and 70 to 100 at the peaks (or 50 to 60 via the 407 to Markham Road and Morningside), and September and January bring thousands of international students through Door A to them — a parent in Chennai or Lagos booking a Pearson pickup with meet and greet, a chauffeur who speaks the family's language, the residence's loop on the chauffeur's map and a text at each step. The unaccompanied minors guide describes the handover and the convocation article the June days when the same families come back for the ceremony.
Booking notes for the east
Three small things. Approve the 407 as a contingency on every airport booking east of the DVP; the toll from the east is the region's highest, the chauffeur uses it only when the 401 is broken, and the receipt shows it only when it was driven. Confirm the luggage honestly — the east's families travel with more of it than anyone, and a family of five bound for Colombo needs the Sprinter. And take the pickup time the confirmation gives for a 4 a.m. departure; the empty 401 is the reason it is later than you feared.
