How to get a tow fast, the right way
TowXpress handles roadside help: boosts, lockouts, flat tires and fuel. In Ontario only a certified tow operator may offer or arrange a tow, so for a tow, call one directly. Here is how to pick one and what to check.
In a live lane, in danger, or anyone hurt? Call 911.
On the 400-series highways or the QEW, call 511
Seventeen stretches of the GTA's provincial highways, ramps included, are restricted towing zones. Only the company the province has contracted for that stretch may tow or give roadside help there, so no one else can be sent to you.
The 17 restricted towing zones (both directions, ramps included)
- Highway 401 from Highway 400 to Highway 404
- Highway 401 from Highway 404 to Morningside Avenue
- Highway 404 from Highway 401 to Major Mackenzie Drive
- Highway 401 from Morningside Avenue to Highway 412
- Highway 401 from Dixie Road to James Snow Parkway
- Highway 401 from James Snow Parkway to Highway 6 South
- Highway 410 from Highway 401 to Hurontario Street
- Highway 403 from the QEW to Highway 401
- Highway 400 from Highway 401 to Highway 9
- Highway 401 from Dixie Road to Islington Avenue
- Highway 401 from Islington Avenue to Highway 400
- Highway 409 from Highway 427 to Highway 401
- Highway 427 from Highway 409 to the QEW
- Highway 427 from Highway 409 to Major Mackenzie Drive
- QEW from Highway 427 to Third Line
- Highway 403 from Third Line to Highway 6 North
- QEW from Highway 403 to Fifty Road
Source: O. Reg. 217/25 (Restricted Towing Zones) · Ontario: Tow Zone Program
Everywhere else: call a certified tow operator
- Check their certificate and their maximum rates on the province's public registry before they come, or ask for the certificate number on the phone.
- Before you consent, they must give you a statement of your rights and their rate schedule.
- Read the consent form: it must show their certificate numbers and where your car is going.
- Pay after the tow and the invoice. They must take credit, debit, tap-to-pay and cash.
Source: MTO public registry of tow operators and their rates · Ontario: know your rights when getting a tow
Many breakdowns are a battery or a tire
If the car clicks and won't start, or a tire is flat, roadside help may get you moving without a tow. Request it and an operator will tell you honestly if it needs more. A tow is then between you and a certified tow operator.
