A car service to Toronto General Hospital drops you at the driveway on Elizabeth Street or University Avenue, or at the Gerrard Street entrance, of the hospital at 200 Elizabeth Street. It is about 3 km and 10–15 minutes from Union Station and 27 km, 25–45 minutes from Pearson. For long clinic days, an hourly chauffeur waits nearby and collects you whenever the appointment ends.
How does a car service to Toronto General Hospital actually work?
You book a black car, give the clinic name and appointment time, and the chauffeur brings you to the entrance closest to that clinic. That is the whole idea. If the day involves tests, a consult and a pharmacy stop, keep the same car through our medical appointments service and nobody has to summon a ride from a waiting room. Toronto General, part of University Health Network, sits on hospital row between College Street, University Avenue, Gerrard Street and Elizabeth Street. Drop-offs there are routine for our dispatch desk, and the routine is what makes them easy: we plan the entrance before the car leaves, not at the curb. This post covers the angles the hospital's own pages do not, from the chauffeur's side of the windscreen.
Which Toronto General entrance should the car use?
The hospital's directions page lists entrances on University Avenue just south of College, two on Elizabeth Street between College and Gerrard, and one on Gerrard Street between University and Elizabeth. The Elizabeth and University entrances have U-shaped driveways, which is what a chauffeur wants: a place to stop, open the door and unload a walker without blocking a lane. At the time of writing, UHN recommends Elizabeth Street for faster drop-offs because construction has narrowed the University Avenue approach. Tell us the building or clinic in the booking notes, and the chauffeur picks the door that saves the most walking. If you are unsure, the appointment letter usually names the wing and floor.
How far is Toronto General from where you live?
These are typical planning figures; traffic, construction and weather change them, and our trip planner gives the figure for your own address.
| Starting point | Distance to Toronto General | Typical drive time |
|---|---|---|
| Union Station / Financial District | 3 km | 10–15 min |
| Yorkville and Midtown | 3–5 km | 10–20 min |
| North York | 15 km | 25–40 min |
| Etobicoke | 18 km | 25–40 min |
| Scarborough | 25 km | 30–45 min |
| Toronto Pearson (YYZ) | 27 km | 25–45 min |
| Mississauga | 30 km | 35–50 min |
| Markham or Richmond Hill | 30–35 km | 35–55 min |
| Oakville | 40 km | 35–55 min |
| Barrie | 100 km | 75–100 min |
Morning appointments are the hardest to time. Clinics often book their first patients at the height of inbound rush hour, when the DVP, the Gardiner and the Allen Road all slow down at once.
What does a typical clinic day look like from the back seat?
Here is a pattern our chauffeurs see often, for a patient coming in from Markham for a cardiology follow-up:
- 7:15 a.m. pickup at home, with the walker folded into the trunk.
- 8:05 a.m. arrival at the Elizabeth Street driveway, twenty minutes before registration.
- 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. bloodwork and an echo; the chauffeur waits nearby.
- 10:45 a.m. consult, which starts late and ends at 11:40.
- 11:50 a.m. pickup at the same driveway after a text from the patient's daughter.
- 12:05 p.m. stop at a pharmacy to fill the new prescription.
- 1:05 p.m. home.
That is roughly six hours. Three one-way rides would have meant two anxious waits for a car. On an hourly booking the chauffeur was simply there.
Is an hourly chauffeur better than two one-way rides?
It depends on how predictable the appointment is. A single blood test or a short follow-up with a fixed end time works well as two one-way bookings, with the return set for an hour after the start. A day of tests is different. Hospital schedules slip, and a one-way return booked for 11:00 that you reach at 12:30 means extra waiting or a rebooking. The hourly chauffeur service starts at a three-hour minimum for sedans and SUVs, with extra time in 30-minute blocks, and the car stays with you between stops. For anything over three hours, or with a pharmacy or lunch stop added, hourly is usually the calmer choice. Our guide on hourly vs point-to-point walks through the trade-off.
Where does the chauffeur wait during a long appointment?
Not on the driveway. Hospital drop-off areas are for loading, and leaving a car there for two hours blocks ambulances, Wheel-Trans and other families. Our chauffeurs drop you, move off, and wait within a few minutes of the entrance, close enough to be back at the door shortly after your message. If the wait is long and parking is needed, the hospital's lots and garage, or nearby public parking, are used; UHN's parking page lists the options around its sites. Send a text when you are getting dressed or waiting for the prescription, not when you are already at the door, and the car arrives as you walk out. That small habit saves more time than anything else on a hospital day.
What about the Gerrard Street entrance and Wheel-Trans?
UHN notes that Wheel-Trans picks up and drops off at the Gerrard Street entrance, and the underground garage beneath the Peter Munk Building is reached from Gerrard as well. For our cars, Gerrard is useful when the clinic is closer to that side of the building or when the Elizabeth driveway is congested. For passengers who can transfer into a seat, the chauffeur folds and stows a wheelchair or walker; for anyone who must stay seated in a wheelchair or scooter, we have a wheelchair-accessible vehicle, available when booked in advance, and Wheel-Trans remains an alternative for eligible riders.
Can the chauffeur help a frail or anxious patient?
Yes, within sensible limits. Chauffeurs open doors, offer an arm on the way to the entrance, carry bags, coats and folders, and make sure the patient is inside before they leave. They are not nurses or personal support workers and cannot accompany a patient into a clinic or make medical decisions. Many families pair a chauffeur with a relative who comes along for the consult. If you are arranging rides for an older parent, our post on transportation for elderly parents in Toronto covers recurring bookings, call-before-arrival settings and how to keep everyone informed.
What if the patient has had sedation or a procedure?
Read your discharge instructions first. After sedation or day surgery, most hospitals require a responsible adult to escort the patient home, and a chauffeur does not count as that adult. The practical answer is a companion in the back seat with the patient, and the chauffeur doing the driving, the lifting and the door work. That arrangement also suits patients who live far from downtown and do not want a relative driving through rush hour after a long day of waiting. Our separate post on a ride home after day surgery goes into the rules and the timing in more detail.
Which vehicle suits a hospital trip?
Most patients are best served by a business sedan or, if a walker, a wheelchair and a companion are all coming, an SUV with a flat cargo area. Seat height matters more than people expect. A sedan is easier for someone who struggles to climb; an SUV is easier for someone who struggles to bend. Tell dispatch about hip or knee surgery, a cast or a drain, and we will suggest the right class. Families travelling together for a transplant consult or a big diagnosis sometimes book a larger vehicle so three or four relatives can attend without separate cars. Child seats are available at booking for young family members coming along.
What changes the fare for a hospital run?
We do not publish prices, but the structure is simple. A one-way ride is a fixed, all-in fare shown in the reservation engine before you confirm, covering the chauffeur, vehicle, fuel and gratuity, with HST shown separately. What moves it is the vehicle class, the distance and drive time, extra stops, waiting beyond the included 15 minutes on a regular pickup, and the date and time. An hourly booking is charged by the hours held, from the three-hour minimum. The engine at /book/ shows the exact fixed fare for your address and appointment before you commit, and our page on how our fares work explains each piece.
Coming from Pearson or out of town for treatment?
Some patients fly in for specialist care. Toronto General is about 27 km and 25 to 45 minutes from Pearson, and a pre-booked car from the airport can go straight to the hospital, to a hotel or to a relative's home. If you need a hotel near hospital row, the area around Yonge and Dundas is close; see our page on downtown Yonge and Eaton Centre hotels. Patients from Barrie, Kingston or Niagara often book an hourly chauffeur for the whole day, so the car that drove two hours in also drives them home. If you still need flights or a room, our travel desk can book them alongside the car.
How do weather and construction affect hospital-row timing?
University Avenue is a wide road, but it is also a construction corridor, a parade route and a frequent site of demonstrations near Queen's Park. College Street streetcars, cyclists and pedestrians crowd the surrounding blocks. In winter, snow narrows driveways and slows every loading stop. Our dispatchers check Ontario 511 and the city's road restriction notices before early morning runs and add buffer time from November to April. If you live north of the 401, assume the trip takes longer in the first hour of a snowfall than at any other time of the year.
Should you drive and park instead?
Sometimes driving yourself is fine: a short appointment, a healthy driver, an off-peak time. The hospital's surface lot and Peter Munk garage are listed on UHN's site, and the TTC serves Queen's Park station on Line 1 for anyone comfortable with transit. A car service earns its place when the patient should not drive after the appointment, when a relative would lose half a day off work to do the driving, when parking and walking are hard on the patient, or when nobody wants to circle the block hunting for a space while running late for a scan.
How do you book a ride to Toronto General?
- Open the reservation engine at /book/ or press the floating Book now button.
- Choose one-way for a short appointment, or hourly for a day of tests.
- Enter the home address and "Toronto General Hospital, 200 Elizabeth Street", plus the clinic and appointment time in the notes.
- Add mobility needs, a walker or wheelchair to stow, and a companion's mobile number.
- Confirm the fixed fare. Cancellation is free more than 72 hours before pickup; 72 hours or less is 10 %, 48 hours or less 50 % and 24 hours or less 100 %.
Our sibling posts cover the other hospitals on the avenue: SickKids family rides and Mount Sinai drop-offs.
