GO Transit offers free all-night NYE travel

This year, celebrate New Year’s Eve with free service on GO Transit and UP Express, courtesy of Forty Creek Whisky and Metrolinx.

For GO Transit, both train and bus service will be free to all customers on New Year’s Eve starting at 7 p.m. Customers will not be charged a fare until 8 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2024.

Not only is GO service free - for the first time ever in GO Transit’s history, the transit agency will run GO Train service throughout the night and into the morning of New Year’s Day.

On top of some extra late evening trips running into Union Station on New Year’s Eve to help get customers downtown, there’s also a variety of special trains operating from Union Station after midnight to help get customers home safely.

• On the Lakeshore East and West GO Lines, trains will depart regularly from Union Station from 12:30 a.m. until 7:30 a.m.
• On the Kitchener Line, trains will depart Union Station regularly from 12:35 a.m. until 5:35 a.m.
• The Milton Line will have two additional trips heading westbound to Milton GO at 1:25 a.m. and 3:55 a.m.  
• On the Barrie Line, three special trains will depart between 12:55 a.m. and 4:10 a.m.
• On the Stouffville Line, three special trains will depart between 12:40 a.m. and 4:25 a.m.
• On the Richmond Hill Line, one special train will head northbound at 1:10 a.m.

There is also extra GO Bus service planned for the evening, giving you more options to travel safely into 2024. Click here to learn more and check your GO schedule.

Keep in mind UP Express service is also free after 7.p.m. The last UP Express train departs Union at 11 p.m. and 11:27 p.m. at Pearson. You can check schedules on the UP Express website.  

Customers should still tap on and off but won’t be charged. Customers will see $0 on the display.

To see full schedules, check gotransit.com when planning your evening to get the latest details.

To help customers get home early during the December holidays, there will be some changes to some GO Train trips on the Milton and Richmond Hill GO Lines on Dec. 22 and Dec. 29.

Here’s what you need to know for those two dates in December:

Milton line:

• Early homebound trains depart Union Station at 1:40 p.m. and 2:40 p.m., making all stops to Milton GO, arriving at 2:42 p.m., and 3:42 p.m.

Richmond Hill line:

• Early homebound trip departs Union Station at 2:45 p.m., making all stops to Bloomington GO, arriving at 3:50 p.m.

Did you know you can buy your GO Transit tickets online?

Make your trip as smooth as possible by purchasing a GO Transit e-ticket ahead of time. And for weekend trips, you can always buy a $10 one-day pass for unlimited travel on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, or get a group pass for as little as $30 to get unlimited travel on weekdays.

Prefer to pay with PRESTO? Instantly load funds and transit passes onto your card through the PRESTO app or tap your debit or credit card (including your mobile wallet) for contactless payments. And recently added to the list of options, PRESTO in Google Wallet - a digital version of your PRESTO card can now be used on an Android smartphone or Wear OS smartwatch.

And of course, if you’re travelling with children this holiday season, remember that kids 12 and under always ride for free.

When waiting for your train, make sure to keep yourself, loose clothing and bags well behind the yellow line.

You should also always use the sidewalks or walkways and never walk in front of a bus or across the bus driveways.

If you or somebody else is in need of assistance on a platform, train, or bus, contact our Transit Safety team 24/7 at 1-877-297-0642 or text HELP to 77777.

On behalf of everybody here at Metrolinx and GO Transit, we wish you a happy, safe, and healthy holiday season.