Union Station Bus Terminal, Toronto: your arrival guide

Union Station Bus Terminal at CIBC Square, photographed 21 April 2025. Photo: JK Liu / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Union Station Bus Terminal is at 81 Bay Street, at Bay and Lake Shore, with an indoor bridge to Union Station. Read the stop name on your ticket: FlixBus also uses Toronto (Harbourfront), a separate stop on York Street.

If your bus arrives at 81 Bay, take the bridge into the Scotiabank Galleria before choosing your next direction. That is the useful first move in rain or winter, with your bags still beside you and no street crossing to negotiate.

Where is the bus terminal?

The terminal occupies part of CIBC Square, on the northeast corner of Bay Street and Lake Shore Boulevard. It is already downtown. The railway station is a separate building connected by the bridge; arriving at the bus terminal does not put you straight onto a train concourse. GO's terminal guide shows the entrances and connection.

Keep 81 Bay Street in the address you send to anyone meeting you. “Union” alone leaves them a choice of buildings and doors.

Two floors, with gates inside zones

In its 2023 terminal guide, Metrolinx describes 14 gates on two floors, grouped into four boarding zones. Think of an airport waiting area with gates, rather than one long outdoor bus platform. Metrolinx's layout description also identifies the Galleria connection.

FlixBus and Greyhound both place their Union stop on the second floor. For a departure, check the departure boards for your zone and gate. For an arrival, collect your luggage and enter the passenger area before choosing an exit.

Washrooms are on both levels. The waiting area is climate-controlled, with free Wi-Fi and charging ports. On the first floor, Second Cup opens daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., according to GO's café page; there is also a CIBC ATM. GO offers self-serve ticket machines and says its ticket counters do not accept cash.

Three ways out of 81 Bay Street

The Lake Shore Boulevard door

The main entrance faces Lake Shore, just east of Bay. Use it for the outdoor sidewalk route west toward York Street. It puts you at street level beside Lake Shore, so settle your direction before leaving the building.

The Bay Street door

The other street entrance is on the east side of Bay Street, opposite Scotiabank Arena. This is a street exit, distinct from the bridge above Bay. It is useful when your meeting point is specifically on Bay Street.

The indoor bridge to the Galleria

GO puts it plainly: “If you’re coming from Union Station, you can take the indoor pedestrian bridge over Bay Street”. Arriving by bus, take that connection in reverse, from the terminal's second level across Bay and down into the Scotiabank Galleria, between the arena and railway station. Metrolinx's illustrated route shows the bridge and level change.

From the Galleria, follow Union Station signs for trains or the subway. For York Street, take the PATH branch toward Maple Leaf Square and ICE Towers, described below. The one-fare transit guide covers onward travel once you reach Union.

This Bay Street bridge is separate from the west-side SkyWalk toward the CN Tower.

Which bus companies use the terminal?

The following operators identify Union Station Bus Terminal on their own pages:

• GO Transit: its regional bus terminal at 81 Bay Street.
• FlixBus: Union Station Bus Terminal, second floor.
• Greyhound: Union Station Bus Terminal, second floor.
• Ontario Northland: its Toronto station listing gives 81 Bay Street.
• Megabus / Coach Canada: its Toronto stop list includes the terminal at Bay and Lake Shore, second floor, and a stop at 8 York St @ Harbour St.
• Rider Express: its Toronto station page gives 81 Bay Street and a second-floor counter.

The operator's name alone does not identify your stop. FlixBus's Toronto page lists five stops, and its Harbourfront entry explicitly excludes Union Station Bus Terminal. That stop is on the west side of York Street, between Harbour Street and Queens Quay West, at the motorcoach loading zone. Megabus's 8 York St @ Harbour St stop is also on York Street at Harbour Street, near the same block. Both are York Street stops, separate from the terminal.

If your ticket says Toronto (Harbourfront) or 8 York St @ Harbour St, this terminal-exit route is not for you. You get off farther south, on York Street near the York suites. Heading to Union first would add a walk you do not need.

Walking to 12 and 14 York Street

• Under cover: from the terminal's Bay Street bridge entrance, through the Galleria and the PATH connection via Maple Leaf Square to the mapped ICE Towers PATH entrance, about 0.5 km, seven minutes of walking. This route changes levels. The January 2026 south PATH map shows the connection.
• Bridge, then Bremner: cross into the Galleria, use the Maple Leaf Square side to reach Bremner Boulevard, then go west to York Street and south. It is about 0.45 km, six minutes from the terminal's bridge entrance to the northern mapped York Street entrance of the ICE complex. This option finishes outdoors.
• Lake Shore sidewalk: from the terminal's Lake Shore door, walk west, crossing Bay at the signals, then continue to York Street and cross at the signals to the ICE side. It is about 0.4 to 0.5 km, six to seven minutes to the complex's two mapped York Street entrances.
• Already at the Harbourfront FlixBus stop: walk north on the west side of York, across Harbour and Lake Shore at the crossings, to the ICE complex. It is about 0.2 km, three minutes to its York Street entrances. No terminal detour.

Terminal routes run from mapped entrance to mapped entrance; all estimates use OpenStreetMap paths at 4.5 km/h and are rounded.

The estimates use OpenStreetMap's mapped sidewalks, crossings and indoor passages, with the Harbourfront start taken from FlixBus's own stop pin. Map data: © OpenStreetMap contributors.

StayToronto's York suites are at 12 and 14 York Street, in ICE Condominiums. The useful comparison is between entrances, not between two pins labelled “Union”.

A real StayToronto York suite. The photograph shows one living room, not a layout or view promised in every suite.

York is a nearby base for a short stay after the bus journey. The York building guide covers the suites; the Union Station stay guide handles the wider accommodation choice around South Core and the Financial District.

Before you go

GO's terminal-specific station page lists 5 a.m. to 2:50 a.m. daily and says the building is locked outside those hours. Ontario Northland's station page lists a narrower terminal window, 5:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. Neither the café hours nor a carrier's ticket-counter hours are a substitute for building access.

• For an early or late trip, confirm terminal access and the indoor connection against GO's current notice and your operator's instructions.
• For York check-in, use the arrival instructions for your assigned entrance; confirm the lift route if you need a step-free journey.
• If someone is collecting you, skip Lake Shore kerbside hailing. Use the terminal's P1 passenger pick-up/drop-off area, reached by elevator, and agree that meeting point with your driver.

StayToronto is not affiliated with GO Transit, Metrolinx, CIBC Square, Scotiabank Arena or the bus operators named here. Official operator and terminal sources are linked alongside the relevant details.

About this guide

Written by Declan Moss. Union Station Bus Terminal and operator details were checked against the linked official sources on 16 October 2026. Walking figures are estimates calculated from OpenStreetMap geometry, not a timed site visit.

A York Street base after the bus

Check York availability and live rates, or compare downtown furnished stays. Start with the stop printed on your bus ticket, then choose the arrival route that ends at your assigned door.