Navigating TIFF Part 3: Biking to Venues using BIXI

We've covered walking and driving in previous posts so now we'll cover cycling between the venues. A few years ago, a bike sharing service call BIXI started up in the Toronto area. The picture below shows how a casual user can rent a BIXI bike at one of the many stations setup in the TIFF village.

The downside to BIXI is that it requires a credit card. That isn't big deal for locals, just be aware that there may be foreign transaction fees for those of you who aren't from Canada.You also have to be comfortable riding a bike in a big city where you'll be dodging cabs, pedestrians, bikes, etc. The BIXI website has all sorts of details on how to use the system and here are some maps indicating the BIXI stations nearest the TIFF Venues.

Before you rent a bike you should check the BIXI website to make sure that BIXI dock at your location isn't full.

On the maps below the venue is marked with this indicator:

The BIXI docks look like this:

We'll start with the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema located at: 506 Bloor Street West

Isabel Bader Theater: 93 Charles Street West

Jackman Hall, Art Gallery of Ontario: 317 Dundas Street West

The Princess of Wales Theater: 300 King Street West

Roy Thompson Hall: 60 Simcoe Street

Ryerson Theater: 43 Gerrard Street East

Scotiabank Theater: 259 Richmond Street West

TIFF Bell Lightbox: 350 King Street West

Elgin & Winter Garden Theater: 189 Yonge Street

Navigating The Festival Village

Showing 300+ films to thousands of people in 10 days takes a lot of theaters covering a bunch of real estate. Thankfully the blog is here to help you figure out the various ways to navigate around it.

On foot:  Most of the theaters are within a 20-30 minute walk of one another. This post has a matrix showing foot travel time and distance between each venue.

TTC:  Instead of driving downtown consider parking at a TTC lot outside downtown and taking the subway. Click here for a list of TTC stations that offer parking. Parking at these stations is ~$5 a day and free on weekends. Taking the TTC anywhere is only $3 so find the metro stop closest to your venue. 

Streetcars  also service downtown. The main north south streetcar is on Spadina and it will come in handy considering there is construction on Spadina which plays havoc with vehicle traffic.

TTC subways and streetcars shutdown at 2:00 am. Remember that when making your plans for Midnight Madness.

BIXI: BIXI bike rental stations are all over the festival village. If you need to get from the Ryerson to Lightbox quickly you can scan your credit card at the automatic bike rack, ride the bike to the rental station closest to Lightbox, park the bike and be done with the entire transaction. Click here for their website which includes  more detailed map, pricing, and rental instructions.

Cabs: Cabs have a minimum fare of $4.25 to start, with an additional $0.25 for every additional 0.143 km (about two blocks) or for every 29 seconds waiting/non-moving time. They’re all over the festival village and easy to hail (just stick out your hand!)

Drive: Make sure to avoid the construction on Spadina. There are several parking decks downtown with most charging ~$5 per hour. Click here for the Toronto Parking Authority website which shows locations and prices of  lots in the area.