Money, Border Crossing, & the Subway in Toronto

[Peter Rowley]

(1) The official exchange rate is now about US$1 = Cdn$1.23; you'll get between
    $1.15 and $1.20 for your US$1 at commercial establishments (e.g. $1.15
    from the subway system) and just over $1.20 at a bank.  A great many places
    will take US money, but it certainly is best to exchange money at a bank.
    VISA and Mastercharge are widely accepted, and I believe the exchange rate
    one gets is reasonable.  BTW, sales tax here is 7% for most things,
    including meals, and 0% on books and most groceries.

(2) According to the brochure for SIGGRAPH '83, a computer graphics conf.
    being held in Detroit this July, US citizens need a birth certificate,
    baptism certificate, passport, or military or voter's registration card
    to cross the border either way.  I have heard stories about Cdn customs
    not letting "commercial materials" (slides, in the case I heard) in without
    a bond being posted.

(3) The subway/bus system is known as the "TTC" (Toronto Transit Comm.) and
    is indeed clean and safe.  Ask for a "Ride Guide" from a ticket taker;
    apart from being a good guide to the TTC, it's a good (free) map of the
    city, esp. downtown, with points of interest marked.

   peter rowley, U. Toronto CSRG
or {cornell,watmath,ihnp4,floyd,allegra,utzoo,uw-beaver}!utcsrgv!peterr
or {cwruecmp,duke,linus,lsuc,research}!utzoo!utcsrgv!peterr   (UUCP)