Happy Car Free Day!
Car free day is particularly important to VIA Rail 
because we firmly believe we can build seamless door-to-door travel experiences by linking schedules together between different types of public and private transportation carriers. At VIA, we call this our intermodal strategy. Travellers can now plan and buy trips on VIA’s website combining VIA Rail and GO Transit in Toronto, AMT in Montreal, Airport Express between Union station and Pearson Airport, and a growing number of similar connections involving airlines, motorcoach operators and car share operators across the country. All this to help you leave your car at home and help you reduce your environmental footprint.
This year, not only are we celebrating in a couple different ways, we also have a fantastic announcement that might change the way you plan your trips.
First of all, partnering with Montreal’s AMT (which runs Montreal’s commuter rail and bus services), you’ll be able to find us at the In Town Without My Car event taking place in Old Montreal, on September 22nd. You can participate in the AMT’s contest for a chance to win one of 10 VIA Rail Gift Cards at the “VIA Rail Family Rally”. There are plenty of other activities happening at the Rally, a great way to spend a Saturday without your car.
Next, we have created a beautiful infographic in honour of Car Free Day. We’ll let you explore this “visual dedication” to the cause. Just click on the image above for a full sized view.
Finally, we are pleased to announce the removal of advance purchase, on all our fares. What does that mean? Simple: tickets at all fares will be made available for purchase at any time on viarail.ca . Discounted tickets are now available right up to the day of travel, no advance booking necessary! Have a peek on our booking engine right now… you’ll find unbelievable fares that just might make you change you mind about driving on your next trip.
In case you need even more encouragement about hopping on board a VIA train, have a peek at the advantages of taking the train versus driving a car. Don’t forget to test out our comparison tool, which shows you exactly how much money and time is saved taking a train… we’re serious about productivity.
Here’s to a fantastic day, in the city without your car.