Learn Phrases Using Public Transport

If you are lost in the city and need to find your way to the nearest bus stop, train station, or metro, then ask for directions with the sentence pattern Where is the nearest + PLACE ?. Alternatively, you could also use the sentence pattern Is there a + PLACE + nearby?. For example: ⁠Is there a metro station nearby?. There are many ways that somebody could answer a question like this. For example: ⁠If you go down the next street on your right then you'll find a subway station.

To find out how often a train, bus, or tram comes to a station or stop, ask questions using the sentence pattern How frequently do + MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION + stop here?. Another example demonstrating this pattern is: ⁠How frequently do trains stop here?. Somebody might respond to a question like this with something like: ⁠A new one stops here every ten minutes or so.

Questions like this are very important to know if you are unsure when the last subway, bus, train, etc leaves. If you miss the last one, you'll be stuck and either have to walk home or get a taxi! A response to a question like this would look like: ⁠The last subway is at midnight.

Another way to ask this question is: ⁠Is there a group price?. If you are taking public transportation with more than one person, it's usually a good idea to check if there are group tickets or a group rate. It's normally a lot cheaper to buy one group ticket than to buy several single tickets for everyone. There's a lot of different ways somebody could respond to this question. For example like this: ⁠Yes, there is a group ticket that is valid for a group of five.

Whenever you buy a ticket to use public transportation, you should always be sure that you are buying the correct one. The two most common types of tickets are one-way tickets and round trip tickets. A one-way ticket is valid for a single ride to your destination. So, you'll have to buy another one if you want to come back. A round trip ticket will take you to your destination and back. If you tell an employee in a subway station that you need a one-way ticket, they will most likely tell you the price or where you can get a ticket. For example, like this: ⁠You can purchase tickets over at the ticket counter.