toronto suburbia - getting around?

[Wulfman]

hi everyone,

if I remember correctly, there are some canadians here, so hopefully someone from the toronto area as well. my gf is travelling to canada ("business"), but will stay for a few days in the toronto area later on. somewhat distant relatives have offered her to stay at their place - they live in the markham area.

communication with them is somewhat complicated, so:

how difficult is it to get around without a car there? I looked on the web, these "go trains" appear to be an option, but they appear to stop service quite early. and: 1:10 to get into town?

to put it in another way: as a tourist, would you say it's a viable option to stay there, or should one look for a more central accommodation?

thanks guys,
wulfman

[Tjalfe]

go trains only operate in the morning for people going to work, and in the evening for people going back. There are busses, which should make it possible to go downtown from Markham, but I have honestly never taken them, so I am not sure what their schedule is like.

http://www.toronto.ca/ttc/

http://www.vivayork.com/

http://www.gotransit.com/

The TTC runs most of the busses in Toronto, along with the subway, there are GO busses as well, and as of the last few years, there is VIVA busses too, just to make the confusion complete.
Our public transit is unfortunatelty severly lacking by European standards. Going from Markham to anywhere, may be possible using public tranist, but it will not necessarily be fun. Especially waiting for a bus in winter. Maybe she could rent a car, as that is much easier here.

[Wulfman]

greatly appreciated. renting a car is not an option, so we'll see where she ends up.

cheers,
wulfman