Is the GO Train or Highway 404 the better commute from Markham to downtown Toronto?

Markham's Four GO Stations

The City of Markham is served by four GO Transit stations on the Stouffville line, plus Milliken GO immediately across the Toronto border. Home buyers searching for a commuter friendly detached home, semi detached home or townhome in Markham should know which station serves which community.

Unionville GO is the anchor. It carries the largest parking lot in Markham, connects directly to Viva Purple bus rapid transit on Highway 7, and sits within walking distance of Downtown Markham. Mount Joy GO is the family park and ride station, serving Wismer Commons, Greensborough, Cornell and eastern Berczy Village.

What the GO Train Actually Costs in 2026

GO Transit does not sell a monthly pass. It applies an automatic loyalty discount inside each calendar month on a single payment card.

• Trips 1 through 35: approximately 15.7 percent off the adult single fare with PRESTO
• Trips 36 through 40: 88.3 percent off
• Trips 41 and beyond: free

A five day per week commuter from Unionville GO makes roughly 40 to 44 trips per month. At a fare near $7 each way, that produces a realistic monthly cost of about $250 to $280, with the final trips of the month heavily discounted or free.

Two more cost factors favour the train. Customer parking at all Markham GO stations is free, on a first come basis, with a 48 hour limit. Reserved parking, if a commuter wants a guaranteed space, is $98 per month including HST with a six month minimum. And the One Fare program, launched in February 2024 and extended by the Province through 2027, removes the double fare between GO and the TTC, which means the subway or streetcar leg from Union Station is effectively covered.

What Driving Highway 404 Actually Costs

Central Markham to downtown Toronto is roughly 30 to 35 kilometres via Highway 404 and the Don Valley Parkway. In free flowing conditions that is a 30 to 35 minute drive. Free flowing conditions are not what a commuter experiences.

The TomTom Traffic Index for 2025 put Toronto's morning rush hour at 29 minutes and 8 seconds per 10 kilometres, and the afternoon rush at 34 minutes and 5 seconds per 10 kilometres, with average rush hour speeds between 17.6 and 18.9 kilometres per hour. Toronto drivers lost an average of 100 hours to congestion in 2025, nearly four hours more than in 2024. Toronto ranks as the second most congested city in Canada.

Applied to a Markham commute, that produces a realistic morning drive of 55 to 80 minutes on the 404 and DVP, and 60 to 85 minutes on the return. The Don Valley Parkway is the binding constraint. Every Markham driver headed to the core funnels through it.

The monthly cost of driving

• Fuel: a 70 kilometre round trip over 21 working days is about 1,470 kilometres per month. At 9 litres per 100 kilometres and roughly $1.78 per litre, that is close to $235 per month.
• Downtown parking: monthly rates in the downtown core have moved past $350, with a realistic Financial District range of $300 to $450 per month.
• Wear, insurance and depreciation: real costs that most commuters leave out of the comparison.

Before insurance and depreciation, a Markham driver commuting downtown is spending roughly $535 to $685 per month. The GO Train commuter is spending roughly $250 to $280.

Where Highway 407 ETR Fits

The 407 is a bypass, not a route downtown. It runs east to west well north of the core, so it helps a Markham commuter travelling to Mississauga, Vaughan, Brampton or Pearson far more than one travelling to Bay Street.

The 2026 rate schedule, effective January 1, prices light vehicles between roughly 65 cents and 108.8 cents per kilometre in peak periods, with an off peak floor near 50.5 cents. Add a $1.00 trip toll charge per trip and a transponder lease of $31.50 per year, or $5.00 per month. Without a transponder, a $5.30 video charge applies per trip plus a $5.00 monthly account fee.

A daily Markham commuter using a 20 kilometre westbound stretch at peak rates is looking at roughly $760 to $965 per month in tolls alone. For most Markham to downtown commuters, the 407 is a tool for occasional bad traffic days, not a daily strategy.

Highway 404 Access by Markham Neighbourhood

Markham's practical 404 interchanges are Steeles Avenue, Highway 407, Highway 7 and 16th Avenue.

• Steeles Avenue: Milliken Mills, Middlefield, Armadale
• Highway 7: Unionville, Downtown Markham, Buttonville, Commerce Valley, German Mills. The busiest Markham access point to the 404.
• 16th Avenue: Berczy Village, Cachet, Angus Glen, Victoria Square, western Wismer
• Major Mackenzie Drive: Cathedraltown, north Angus Glen, Victoria Square

A useful pattern for home buyers: Markham west of Warden Avenue is oriented to Highway 404, the Don Valley Parkway and Viva Purple. Markham east of Kennedy Road is oriented to the GO rail corridor. Cornell is the outlier, sitting east of the rail line and relying on Viva Purple's Cornell Terminal or a short drive to Mount Joy GO.

A Note on GO Expansion Promises

Metrolinx has publicly targeted trains every 15 minutes or better between Union Station and Unionville GO. Real progress has been made. Unionville station upgrades finished in May 2022, Milliken upgrades finished in September 2023, and the Old Elm station has been built.

Buyers should still hold the timeline loosely. The ONxpress public private partnership contract was terminated in May 2025, and reporting on internal Metrolinx documents indicates electrification has been narrowed to the Lakeshore corridor, with the Stouffville line no longer slated for electrification in the revised plan. Michael John Lau, a REALTOR® in Markham, Ontario, advises buyers to value a home on the service that runs today, not on a service improvement that may arrive a decade later.

Disclaimer. Michael John Lau is a licensed REALTOR® serving buyers and sellers in Markham, Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area. Transit times, fares and toll rates are approximate and current to September 2026. Riders and drivers are encouraged to verify schedules, fares and rates directly with GO Transit, YRT and 407 ETR.