Megabus now offering hourly trips from Toronto to Montreal, increased service to Pearson airport

In this file photo, passengers get off a Megabus bus at a Station in Rensselaer, N.Y., on Monday, April 9, 2012. (AP /Mike Groll)

Megabus, the popular discount bus company, is increasing its service ahead of the summer tourist season.

Effective today, Megabus will offer daytime hourly trips from Toronto to Kingston and Montreal, which works out to 16 daily departures.

In addition, all service coming from Montreal and Kington towards Toronto will continue to Pearson International Airport after stopping downtown at Union Station.

According to the company’s online booking platform, most trips between Toronto and Montreal cost between $50 and $70 each way, while most trips between Toronto and Kingston cost between $40 and $50 each way.

“Megabus will also be tripling the number of departures from Toronto to Niagara Falls for the tourist season with most trips serving the Table Rock Transit Station at Niagara Falls,” the company said in a press release.

“Toronto to Niagara Falls buses will now run seven days per week from 5:45 a.m. through 10:45 p.m., nearly hourly.”

Megabus now also offers additional trips between Toronto, London and Western University.

Thursday through Monday, there will be eight trips per day, more than double what had previously been offered.

“With summertime and warmer weather upon us, we’re expecting heavy volumes of travellers in Canada,” said Colin Emberson, VP Commercial for Megabus.

“The demand for travel is rapidly increasing and we’re pleased to be able to offer our customers even more options to meet their individual needs.”

Last month, Megabus launched a brand new cross-border route between Toronto and Detroit, Mi.

The company announced that it would run two trips daily between Detroit and Toronto with stops in Windsor, Chatham, London and Paris, Ont.

The trip is listed for approximately $60 each way, before tax.

Megabus also announced in December that it was launching new bus routes between Toronto and six cities in New York State.

These service increases come after a period of instability for the transportation industry due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Many bus companies struggled to stay afloat, most notably, Greyhound, which ceased Canadian operations in the spring of 2021.

The bus carrier had struggled for years with declining ridership, increasing competition and deregulation.

The company’s decision to shut down was a major blow to many rural and remote areas that had been serviced by Greyhound for years, while Megabus and others stuck mainly to larger urban centres.