Friends and I (8 of us total) are flying into toronto on a friday evening, arriving around rush hour, and trying to find a convenient way to get to our hotel. The hotel is near church street and the university of toronto

Is there some sort of way to rent out a supershuttle type van or hire a limo that wouldn't bust the bank?
or is the subway a better way to go (in addition to being a large group, we're also cheap)

Or is it better to pile into 2 cabs and not worry about other arrangements?

This question is best asked in the Air Canada forum. The following thread will be of interest to you:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=364978

Your options seem to be ttc (toronto transit commission) from the airport by bus to a subway station, and then the subway to where you're going....or you could take a bus shuttle to downtown, or cabs. With 4 people per cab, I'd probably opt for two cabs, luggage space permitting. Cabs run approx $42 one-way.

Cheers,
notam

The answer (balancing "cheap" versus "convenient") may depend on exactly where your hotel is. Are you very close to Bloor St? Are you east or west of Yonge St? (Church is East, University is West.) If you tell us the address or hotel name, we might be able to give you a more precise answer.

If you take the bus to the E-W subway that runs along Bloor and your hotel is very close to Bloor, it will be a cheap trip (about $2.25 x 8 people), and fairly easy (although bus + subway will take a while).

The airport express shuttle bus drops off people in the south end of the centre of the city first, and gradually works it way north. I'm not sure what the northernmost stop is, but it could very well be a 5-15 minute walk from your hotel. Not very convenient for the price you pay.

But if your hotel is further south (enough that you'd want to change subway lines, or would have to walk 5-15 minutes), you might decide that a taxi is worth it, even though it will be quite a bit more expensive than TTC. I think 8 airport express bus fares might exceed the cost of two taxis (the airport "taxis", by the way are large town cars, plus a few vans, so I think you'd fit in two if you have limited luggage). Plus, the airport express still might not get you that close to your hotel.

At the airport, you'll see signs for taxis, as well as signs for limos. They seem to be exactly the same type of car (described above), but for some reason the limos charge about $10 more (for the same service). I only take a limo if there are a hundred people in line for the taxis (usually the lines are fairly short and move quickly).

The other factor to consider is weather. If it's snowing, the public transit can get a bit messed up. In that case, you're better off with taxis.

I don't think that there are mini-van services that serve the downtown Toronto area, offering drop-off services at locations of your choice (unlike, e.g. San Francisco). There are a few taxi companies with mini-vans, but they're not allowed to pick up at the airport unless you have an account. You could probably book one for the trip back to the airport (try Crown Taxi - not my favourite, but they have vans).

Do you need restaurant, club or sightseeing recommendations?

Which terminal? Kipling rocket (TTC #192) to subway is the cheapest, and during rush-hour, the most practicle. I always find the best limo/taxi rates on the departures level. After all, the driver does not want to return to city without a fare, which means room to haggle. After 25 years, the "authorities" still haven't cottoned-on to my personal "pre-arranged" set-up.

We're flying into which ever terminal American flies into

And our hotel is the Downtown Courtyard Marriott at 475 Younge Street, near College

Terminal 3 for AA.

Stumbled over this.
http://www.toandfrom.org/airport/ontario.html

Seems to be quite up-to-date. Also I forgot about Go Transit, a relatively inexpensive option to Yorkdale or York Mills subway stations. York Mills is a station on the Yonge line.

Sorry, it just occurred to me, GO doesn't serve T3.

If you don't have much luggage (don't try it if you're lugging your Loius Vuitton steamer trunk), want to travel as cheaply as possible, and are up for some public transit adventure, the TTC (bus/subway) is the way to go. The bus comes about every 15 minutes - and I think at T3 it leaves from the DEPARTURES level (one floor up from arrivals).

Your hotel is one short block north of College subway stop. After getting on the bus (hang on tight - it's a normal city bus that zips down the highway), you will have to take the Bloor line east to Yonge, then go south for two stops. If the bus doesn't hit traffic on the 427, the whole journey will take 45 to 50 minutes.

Note that you will need $2.25 CDN exact change each to get on the bus (although they will gladly take USD at par!). The bus will drop you off right in the subway terminal, so no need to pay again for the subway.

btw, your hotel is very centrally located. A block away from Woody's!

Enjoy your stay in T.O.

Transferring from the Bloor line on the subway to the Yonge line with unwieldy baggage at rush hour will not be fun. It's just a question of walking upstairs, but the subway is jam-packed at the Yonge/Bloor station at rush hour (from about 4:30-6:30 pm). It might be crowded, but won't be jam-packed outside that period.

For cheap eats, check out Amato Pizza on Yonge St, just south of College St (a block from your hotel). And the two nearby branches of Spring Rolls (a pan-Asian restaurant) - at Yonge south of Bloor and on Dundas west of Yonge - are a good option for a group looking for a moderately priced lunch or dinner, in sleek surroundings, where they can't agree on whether to go for Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, etc (they have it all). Make a reservation a little in advance though (e.g. 1/2-1 hour).

Thanks for all the advice, but after all that my friends are nearly unanimous that they just want to take a taxi, but at least i'll know which line to get in
thx

OK!
Now, how do we sneak you out of town, after the damage is done?