Planning a corporate roadshow day in Toronto

A roadshow day in Toronto can take in 5 or 6 meetings across the Financial District, Yorkville, North York and Mississauga. The meetings are the easy part to schedule. The driving between them is where days slip. This guide covers the order of stops, the buffers between them and how to book the car.

Order meetings by geography

Start with a map, not the calendar. Toronto's business districts sit along 2 lines. The first runs north up Yonge Street. The second runs west toward the airport on Highway 401 and the Gardiner Expressway.

• Financial District. The bank towers around King and Bay streets, a short walk from Union Station. Many towers connect through PATH, the underground walkway, so 2 meetings a few blocks apart can be quicker on foot.
• Yorkville. Around Bloor Street and Avenue Road, about 3 km north of the Financial District. It has hotels, private offices and restaurants that suit a lunch meeting.
• North York Centre. The office towers along Yonge Street between Sheppard and Finch avenues, about 15 km north of downtown.
• Mississauga. Airport Corporate Centre sits close to Toronto Pearson (YYZ), and Mississauga City Centre surrounds Square One.

Travel outward, in the same direction all day. Pair meetings that are close together, then move on. A day that runs Financial District, Yorkville, North York, then Mississauga crosses the city once. A day that runs Financial District, Mississauga, Yorkville, then North York crosses it twice and spends the afternoon on the 401.

Meetings in Vaughan or Markham follow the same logic. North York sits between them and downtown, so pair them with North York.

Then anchor the day on the fixed points: the flight, the hotel and the meeting that can't move. Put the meeting furthest from downtown next to the airport leg. Flying out of Pearson in the evening? End in Mississauga. Landing in the morning? Start there.

A sample day, ending with an evening flight:

• 8:30 a.m. Breakfast meeting, Financial District
• 10 a.m. Second meeting, Financial District
• 11:45 a.m. Meeting and lunch, Yorkville
• 2:30 p.m. Meeting, North York Centre
• 4:45 p.m. Meeting, Airport Corporate Centre
• 6:15 p.m. Drop-off at Pearson

The gaps look generous on paper. The next section explains why they aren't.

Build in realistic buffers

A map app shows the drive at the moment you check it, not at 4 p.m. on a Thursday. Plan around the traffic you'll meet on the day.

Weekday rush hours run from about 7 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and from about 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. In the morning, traffic heads into downtown on the Gardiner Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway. In the evening it reverses. Highway 401 is busy in both directions for most of the day.

Approximate drive times outside rush hour:

• Financial District to Yorkville: about 10 to 20 minutes
• Downtown to North York Centre: about 25 to 40 minutes
• North York Centre to Airport Corporate Centre: about 30 to 40 minutes
• Mississauga to Pearson: about 15 to 25 minutes

In rush hour, a drive on the 401 or the Gardiner can take twice as long. That's why the sample day leaves more than an hour between North York and Mississauga.

Time in the car is only part of it. Leave about 10 minutes at each end of a meeting to get down from a high floor, sign out at security and reach the car. Meetings also run over. A 15-minute margin before each drive keeps 1 late finish from moving the rest of the day.

Watch for these slowdowns:

• King Street. Between Bathurst and Jarvis streets, King is a transit priority corridor, and cars can't drive straight through most intersections. If a meeting is on King, a pickup from the side street is often quicker. Put the building entrance in your notes.
• Evening events. Games and concerts at Scotiabank Arena and the Rogers Centre slow downtown streets before and after. Check the schedule if your day ends downtown.
• Winter. Snow slows every route. From December to March, add more room between meetings.

Hourly or separate trips?

You can book the day in 2 ways, or combine them.

Hourly. The same car and chauffeur stay with you from the first pickup until you're done. Your chauffeur waits with the car during each meeting. You don't book each leg or wait for a car when a meeting ends early. Bags, coats and presentation materials stay in the car all day. Hourly suits a run of meetings with short gaps and days where end times are hard to predict. Hourly bookings have a minimum number of hours, shown when you choose Hourly in the booking form.

Separate trips. Each leg is its own request with its own pickup time. This suits days with long gaps: a morning meeting downtown, an afternoon working from the hotel, then dinner in Yorkville.

A mix. Some days combine both: an airport pickup in the morning, an hourly block for the meetings and a separate trip to dinner.

You don't need to settle this before you book. Put the outline of the day in your notes: addresses, meeting times and any flight. The dispatcher reads it, suggests what suits the day on the call and quotes it. If the outline doesn't fit in the notes, send the main points and we'll take the rest on the call.

If your team splits up for part of the day, say so in the notes as well. We'll plan the vehicles with you on the call and quote the whole day at once.

Booking for your executive

Roadshow days are often booked by an assistant. The booking form is built for that.

• Your details. Add your own name, mobile and email. We call you with the quote, and the confirmation and trip sheet go to your email.
• The passenger. Choose "I'm booking for someone else" and add your executive's name and mobile. Both go on the trip sheet for the chauffeur on the day.
• Notes for dispatch. Add the schedule, building entrances, a security desk sign-in or anything else the chauffeur should know.

We confirm the quote with you, not your executive. Once you accept it, your executive gets a car at the door without another message from you.

A few details prevent calls on the day:

• Use the mobile your executive will carry that day. For a visitor from abroad, check that roaming is on. International numbers are fine.
• Give your executive the reference and the dispatch number, 416-555-0142. Either of you can call or WhatsApp with the reference if a meeting moves.
• On an hourly day that runs long, your executive can tell the chauffeur, or you can call dispatch, and we'll confirm the extra time.

For a visiting client, book the airport pickup and the meeting day as separate requests. Book the departure once the flight is set.

Airport at the start or end of the day

A roadshow often starts or ends at an airport. Which end it falls at shapes the order of the day.

Starting with a flight in. Book the airport pickup with the flight number and we plan around the actual landing. Leave room before the first meeting, since an international arrival takes longer to clear than a domestic one. From Pearson, the Financial District is about 25 to 40 minutes outside rush hour. From Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (YTZ), it's about 5 to 15 minutes.

A morning landing at Pearson is a good moment to see Mississauga first, while traffic into downtown is at its heaviest. Head downtown once the morning rush eases. If you'd like the same car from the airport through the meetings, say so in your notes and we'll plan it on the call.

Ending with a flight out. Work back from the departure time. Check your airline's recommended arrival time, then add the drive and a buffer for the afternoon rush. Passengers on US flights from Pearson clear US preclearance before boarding, so allow extra time for those.

Checking out of the hotel that morning? Tell us the bag count when you book, so the vehicle fits the luggage.

Ending at Billy Bishop. Flying to Ottawa, Montreal or a US city? Billy Bishop is a practical last stop after a downtown meeting. Cars stop on the mainland side at the foot of Bathurst Street, and you reach the terminal through the pedestrian tunnel or by ferry. Our guide to Billy Bishop or Pearson compares the 2 airports in more detail.

Send the day as you have it. You can book up to 12 months ahead, and a dispatcher calls you with a quote before anything is booked. For a pickup in the next 2 hours, call 416-555-0142.