In case you weren’t aware, there is a dedicated transit service in Toronto offering regular trips from the subway to the airport at a TTC-level fare.
Not enough seem to know about the 192 Airport Rocket, which offers express bus trips from Kipling subway station to Pearson International Airport every day of the week. In an effort to boost ridership of the airport service, the TTC intends to re-brand the Rocket and market it as a low-cost, reliable option for riders looking for a route to Pearson.
"What we want people to know is it exists," said TTC spokesperson Brad Ross this week.
In mid-January, the TTC will unveil a promotional campaign with the tagline "Your journey starts here", touting 45-minute trips to the airport from downtown, which includes 30 minutes subway travel from Bloor-Yonge station and then a 15-minute trip to Pearson via the 192 Rocket. Ross said the TTC will also cover 10 Airport Rocket buses with a specially signed promotional vinyl wrapping to make the vehicles visually distinct from the rest of the TTC’s bus fleet.
Production costs for the campaign will cost $100,000 but will largely be paid for through the TTC’s ad-space contract with subway advertising company Pattison Onestop, Ross said.
In addition to the new-look buses, Ross promised to improve on outdated or unclear sign and route information, especially at the TTC’s Pearson bus stops for Terminal 1 and Terminal 3. As of last week, the ground level stop at Terminal 1 was still displaying route information for the 58 Malton service - which was discontinued at the end of March.
Ross said the TTC was working with the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, which handles Pearson’s operations, to improve the TTC signs around Pearson, which he admitted could be made more "obvious" especially for visitors to the city.
"We need to make it clear what our logo means because people from other parts of the world may not be familiar with the TTC," Ross said.
The Rocket isn’t the only TTC bus route to go the airport, but it is the only one with luggage racks, which were installed in 2013. 4,500 trips were taken on the service in 2014, and the TTC is hoping the re-branding results in a doubling of ridership.
Ross said the service was not intended to compete with Metrolinx’s premium Union Pearson (UP) Express, which recently revealed its own fare structure which includes charging almost $20 for one-way travel between Union Station and Pearson when it launches in spring 2015.
"In fact the Airport Rocket is designed to be complementary and not competitive with the UPX," he said. "It’s a totally different system with different fare bases."
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