Car service to Sunnybrook hospital: entrances, drop-off and waits

How does a car service to Sunnybrook hospital work?

You book a pickup at home, a hotel or Pearson, and give us the appointment time and the wing. The chauffeur drives to the Bayview campus, stops at the patient drop-off area, helps you out and, if you booked one way, leaves. If you booked by the hour, the car waits nearby until you text that you are done.

The address alone is not enough at Sunnybrook. The Bayview campus has wings lettered from A to U, three parking garages and a large cancer centre, and its own directions page lists ongoing construction that moves drop-off points (Sunnybrook). Tell us the clinic name and the wing printed on your appointment letter, and we plan the closest legal stop.

How far is Sunnybrook from downtown, Pearson and the suburbs?

Planning figures; weekday rush hour on Bayview and the 401 can add a lot:

The reservation engine quotes the exact fixed fare for your address, date, time and vehicle.

Where does the car drop you off at Sunnybrook?

Sunnybrook publishes its drop-off guidance on its directions page, and it changes with construction. During the most recent garage and M-Wing works, the hospital said patients arriving by car or Wheel-Trans could be dropped off and picked up at M-Wing First Floor, with the M-Wing Ground Floor closed to drop-offs; that notice ran through September 2026. Check the Sunnybrook directions page the day before, because the point can move again.

Our chauffeurs check the same page and follow the on-site signs. If your clinic is far from the drop-off, ask at the information desk for a porter or a wheelchair, or bring a companion to walk with you. We do not stop in fire routes or ambulance lanes.

Which wing is my appointment in?

Your appointment letter or the clinic's phone message names the wing. The campus map lists, among others, the A-Wing, C-Wing, M-Wing, the George Hees Wing (L-Wing) and the Odette Cancer Centre (T-Wing). Some wings are connected indoors and others are a long walk apart, which matters for someone with a walker.

Put the wing in the booking notes, along with the clinic name and floor. The chauffeur aims for the drop-off nearest that wing that the hospital currently allows, and if the indoor walk is long, can walk you to the door before parking.

Should I drive and park, take the TTC or book a car?

Sunnybrook says TTC buses stop outside the A-Wing, the M-Wing and the George Hees Wing: the 11 Bayview from Davisville station and the 124 Lawrence from Lawrence station (Sunnybrook). For a mobile patient on a short visit, that can be the sensible answer. A car earns its place when walking, waiting or transfers are the problem.

What about parking if a family member drives?

The campus has three parking garages plus surface lots, and Sunnybrook has listed construction at Parking Garage 1 with changed entrances and exits. Accessible spaces are spread across the campus, including on Level 3A of Garage 1, according to the hospital's directions page.

The practical issue for older patients is the walk: from a garage level to the elevator, then indoors to the wing. A chauffeur removes that walk entirely, and the companion who would have driven can sit with the patient instead of circling for a space.

When does an hourly chauffeur make sense at Sunnybrook?

When the visit has an uncertain finish. Imaging followed by a consultation, blood tests that need results the same day, a chemotherapy or infusion session, a fracture clinic, or a first visit to a specialist all tend to run long.

With our hourly chauffeur service, the car is yours for at least 3 hours, then 30-minute blocks. The chauffeur waits off campus or in a legal spot, and returns to the drop-off when you text. Families from outside the city often book a full day, adding lunch or a pharmacy stop on the way home.

How does a typical Sunnybrook appointment day run?

A real-world example for a patient from Richmond Hill:

1. 8:00 am pickup at home, walker in the trunk; about 20 km to Bayview.
2. 8:40 am drop-off at the current patient entrance, chauffeur walks the patient to the information desk.
3. 9:00 am to 11:30 am bloodwork, imaging and a clinic visit.
4. 11:40 am text to the chauffeur; car at the drop-off within 10 minutes.
5. 12:00 pm pharmacy stop on Bayview.
6. 12:45 pm home, help to the door.

That is just under 5 hours on an hourly booking. The same day on one-way rides would need a timed return booked for a time nobody knew in advance.

Can visitors use a car service for daily hospital visits?

Yes, and it is one of the most common Sunnybrook bookings. Spouses visiting a partner on a long stay, especially in rehabilitation or veterans' care, often book a standing daily ride: pickup after lunch, a few hours at the bedside, home before dark.

Set it up once with dispatch, name the wing and the preferred time, and ask for the same chauffeur where the schedule allows. Our guide to transportation for elderly parents explains how families split the bookings and keep a shared contact list.

What if the patient is coming from Pearson?

Patients from outside Ontario or abroad often fly straight to treatment. Pearson to Sunnybrook is about 25 km and 25 to 40 minutes on the 401. We track the flight and include waiting from actual landing: 30 minutes on Canadian domestic and US flights, 60 minutes on other international arrivals. Curbside pickup at the pre-arranged area is included; meet and greet inside arrivals is an optional add-on, available at booking.

Patients staying several days often choose a hotel in midtown or north of the hospital; our midtown and uptown hotels page lists the area, and our travel desk can book the flights and rooms.

Which mistakes do people make getting to Sunnybrook?

1. Giving only "2075 Bayview". Name the wing and clinic.
2. Trusting an old drop-off habit. Construction moves the patient entrance; check the hospital page.
3. Booking a tight timed return after imaging or infusions.
4. Arriving too early in winter and waiting outside; hospital lobbies are fine, curbs are not.
5. Forgetting the health card and letter in a bag in the trunk.
6. Driving yourself after sedation. If the procedure involves sedation, you will need a companion; see our ride home after day surgery guide.

What should I bring for a long day at Sunnybrook?

A hospital day on a large campus is mostly walking and waiting. Pack light, but pack for it:

• Health card, appointment letter and medication list in a pocket, not in the trunk.
• A charged phone with the chauffeur's text thread open, so one message brings the car.
• Snacks and a water bottle, unless you have been told to fast before a test.
• A warm layer, because waiting areas and imaging rooms can be cold.
• Reading glasses and a book; clinics rarely run to the minute.
• A folding cane or walker if long corridors tire you; the chauffeur stows it.

Leave valuables and bulky bags in the car on an hourly booking; the chauffeur keeps the car locked and stays with it or nearby. If your companion is joining later, tell dispatch, and the chauffeur can collect them from home or the subway on the way back.

How does rush hour affect the trip?

Bayview Avenue and Mount Pleasant Road are commuter routes, and the 401 near Bayview is among the busiest stretches of highway in North America. An 8:30 am appointment from downtown can take twice the off-peak time. Chauffeurs leave early rather than hurry, and check Ontario 511 for closures before setting off.

From Pearson, the 401 east is the obvious route, but the collector lanes back up near the 400 and Yonge. When traffic is bad, chauffeurs may use Eglinton or Lawrence instead. Allow a buffer on any trip that ends at a fixed scan time.

What changes in winter at Sunnybrook?

The campus sits in a ravine landscape with slopes and long outdoor walks between some buildings. In ice and snow, those walks are the hazard. A car to the drop-off, a chauffeur offering an arm on the slippery stretch, and a pickup at the same door afterwards keep the patient indoors almost the whole time.

Our cars run winter tires November to April. On storm mornings, dispatch may move pickups earlier and will text you if the time changes. If the clinic cancels because of weather, tell us straight away so the booking moves with the appointment.

Does the chauffeur go into the hospital?

The chauffeur will walk a passenger to the information desk or clinic door when it is safe to leave the car, carry a bag and stow a walker or folding wheelchair. They do not enter exam rooms, handle medical information or provide personal care. A patient who must stay in a wheelchair can book our wheelchair-accessible vehicle in advance; tell us about the chair at booking.

How is the fare set, and how do I book?

We do not publish prices. The reservation engine shows a fixed, all-in fare before you confirm: chauffeur, vehicle, fuel, 407 ETR tolls on the planned route and gratuity, all included, with HST shown separately. One-way fares follow distance, time and vehicle; hourly fares follow the vehicle and the hours booked.

Open /book/, enter the pickup and "Sunnybrook, 2075 Bayview Avenue", and add the wing, clinic, floor, mobility aids and a family contact in the notes. Our sister post on Princess Margaret treatment days covers the downtown cancer centre.

Book your car to Sunnybrook