Canada - Various Questions About Payments

jbrassy

sausage_time said:

Also heading to Canada, thanks for the suggestions. Anyone used an eSim for mobile data while there?  Any good/bad stories?

SIM cards in Canada are shockingly expensive. I think I paid £60 for 8GB of 3G data. Found out that Canada is one of the most expensive countries in the world for sim cards and it's actually quite a big political issue there.

I would strongly advise getting an esim in advance. Nomad do 10GB for £22.50 which is probably a good deal compared to what you'll get out there: https://www.getnomad.app/en/canada-eSIM

hermante

Brie said:

And you didn't ask but check when you first use public transport if you need to get a "transfer".  In days of cash these were paper time stamped tickets that meant you could transfer from buses to the subway/underground or from bus to bus.  Normally there is a time limit from the time stamped but by picking up a new transfer as you move around you might get a full day's use with one fare.  Well at least it used to work like that in Toronto and Vancouver.

These days you just tap your contactless bank card every time you board a bus or enter/exit stations and it charges you accordingly. So in Vancouver you don't get charged again within 90 minutes, and Toronto has complicated rules depending on where you change modes.

Anyway, Vancouver tickets have been time-based for at least 15 years, if paying with cash, you receive a ticket which is valid for 90 minutes and you can go in and out of vehicles as you wish (but bus tickets are only valid for further travel on buses).

In Toronto you don't buy a ticket, you pay to enter the system. You needed a transfer if you wanted to exit the system and then re-enter without paying again, at defined interchanges, e.g. from subway to bus. If you never exited the system you could travel on the subway all day with one payment.

sausage_time

hermante said:

These days you just tap your contactless bank card every time you board a bus or enter/exit stations and it charges you accordingly. So in Vancouver you don't get charged again within 90 minutes, and Toronto has complicated rules depending on where you change modes.

Thanks - very useful, I'll be in both places.  Seems similar to the London/TFL model.  I like the simplicity.