FlixBus has added a bus link to Sudbury, with lines running to Toronto, departing at 2:30 p.m. and 2:50 p.m. every day except for Tuesday.
From Toronto, buses depart Union Station Bus Terminal at 8:30 a.m. and Pearson International Airport at 9:05 a.m. daily, Wednesday to Monday.
“We see this as an affordable way to get to the next destination or transfer to another transportation service as well,” company representative Jonas Pearce told Sudbury.com.
Tickets are between $49 and $59, and travel time between Sudbury and Toronto is between four and five hours.
Ontario Northland bus tickets to Toronto begin at approximately $80, and carry a travel time of between almost seven hours and more than 10 hours, according to their website’s ticket listings.
While FlixBus has an edge over Northland in relation to Sudbury to Toronto travel times and prices, Northland’s bus network offers vastly more service lines throughout Ontario.
Northland offers direct service between Sudbury and Ottawa (approximately seven hours), for example, while FlixBus passengers from Sudbury must transfer in Toronto before heading to Ottawa (a more than 14-hour journey, including a more than four-hour transfer time).
Once passengers reach Toronto via FlixBus service, they can transfer and make various other FlixBus connections stretching across North America.
One of the farthest trips, to Las Vegas, is less than $400, requires five transfers and takes more than 90 hours. A trip to Veracruz, Mexico, has approximately the same travel time from Sudbury.
The 40-passenger buses are similar to the old Greyhound buses, Pearce said, adding that they’ve been modernized with wifi connectivity and power outlets to charge devices.
The Sudbury market is a promising one, he said, noting that with various stops along the way between Sudbury and Toronto there’s opportunity to fill up buses along the way.
FlixBus recently launched in Sudbury, and Pearce said he anticipates the company growing.
“Maybe more stops, more frequency as we see fit, but we’re hoping we see a big demand for bus service,” he said.
Buses pick up passengers at the Ontario Northland Terminal (1663 The Kingsway) and The Four Corners (behind the McDonald’s parking lot at 1740 Regent St.), and drop them off at stops along the way to Toronto and conclude their run at Pearson International Airport and Union Station Bus Terminal.
“We see this as a great way for people travelling via air to leave your car at home,” Pearce said of the airport stop. “We’ll hopefully cover a lot of the city with those two stops.”
With Sudbury on board, FlixBus connects to more than 20 destinations in Ontario, including Ottawa, London and Niagara Falls.
FlixBus’s parent company is Flix North America Inc., which is also the parent company of Greyhound Lines Inc. In a media release, they promote themselves as providing the “largest intercity bus transportation and booking platform for North America.”
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
