GO Transit and Toronton Transit Commission (TTC) signage are displayed outside of Union Station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2011.

Want to spend a day exploring Toronto during the Pan Am Games? Or do you want to go to Ajax but have no intention of seeing an event? Well, depending on how far you’re going, it’s cheaper to buy a ticket to the Pan Am Games and reap the rewards of the free transit than pay the regular fares.

A ticket to a Pan Am event gets you a free ride on most public transit around the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area (with the exception of the Union-Pearson Express).

But let’s say you’re from Hamilton and want to spend the day frolicking around Toronto with friends. A GO Transit day pass to get you there and back costs $23.

Assuming you buy two TTC tokens as well, the total cost comes to $29.

Or you can buy a ticket to the Pan Am Games which start at $20 – but with a service fee, come out to roughly $25. So $4 saved (but a Pan Am ticket will also allow you unlimited TTC rides that day).

Even coming from Milton, you save money, though only $1.50.

The amount of savings increases the farther you go. GO Transit fares are based on how far you travel, with longer distances costing more.

But it’s not always worth it. A ticket to the weightlifting medal rounds in Ajax will cost you $50 while a GO Transit day pass from Hamilton to Ajax is $32.50.

And your ticket won’t get you on the Union-Pearson Express, potentially the most expensive of Ontario’s public transit options.

Pan Am officials  did not respond to requests for comment on this story.

The Games are far from sold out, but tickets have been selling at a steady pace and picking up as the Games get underway.  A spokesperson for the Pan Am Games told Global News Monday morning that ticket sales are “set to eclipse 900,000.”