peterr@utcsrgv.UUCP (Peter Rowley) (06/23/83)
(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)