How to Use Spanish on a Bus

Getting from one place to another is made simpler in many Hispanic countries by the well-used and ample system of public transportation. But the bus ride can be easier if you know some Spanish. Following are some simple phrases you can use, followed by phonetic spelling, in parentheses, to help you approximate accurate Spanish sounds. Where the phonetic spelling is in capital letters, that indicates where you should stress the word more as you say it.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Find out how much the ticket will cost. Keep in mind that different countries may use different words for "ticket." In Spain, for example, a bus ticket can be a "billete" (bee-YAY-tay) or un "bono" (BOH-noh). In Mexico, they may say "boleto" (boh-LAY-toh) instead, though either word should be understood in context no matter where you are. Ask how much the ticket costs by saying "¿Cuánto cuesta un billete?" (KWAHN-toh KWAY-stah oon bee-YAY-tay).

2. Determine if children have to pay. In some places they have discounts or free rides for kids under a certain age. You can ask if a child has to pay by saying "¿Los niños pagan?" (lohs NEE-nyos PAH-gahn).

3. Ask if you can sit in a certain seat by saying "¿Puedo sentarme aquí?" (PWAY-doh sehn-TAHR-may ah-KEE). You can tell someone, for example an older person or someone loaded with bags or packages, to "please sit here" by saying "Por favor, siéntese aquí" (pour fah-VOR see-EHN-tay-say ah-KEE).

4. Show your ticket to a conductor-type person, if necessary. If asked, you can hand it to her without comment, but if you want to take more of a stroll in the world of Spanish, you can say "Here is my ticket" by saying "Aquí tiene mi billete" (ah-KEE tee-EH-nay mee bee-YAY-tay). If you know some Spanish already, you'll note that they literally say "Here you have my ticket" in Spanish. That's a much more common way to express that idea.

5. Get on the right bus! You can ask "Is this the bus for (city)?" by saying "¿Es éste el autobús para (city)?" (ehs EH-stay ehl out-oh-BOOS PAH-rah … ).

6. Have the bus driver to put on the air conditioning if it gets too warm. You can do this by saying "¿Puede poner el aire acondicionado?" (PWAY-day poh-NAIR ehl AY-ray ah-cone-dee-see-oh-NAH-doh). Practice that one a few times before you have to say it in real life; it can be a mouthful. If it's too cold, you can ask the driver to put on the heat by substituting "calefacción" (kah-lay-fahk-see-OWN) in place of air conditioning.

7. Ascertain what the next stop is. Do this as often as you need to in order not to miss your stop. You can ask this by saying "¿Cuál es la próxima parada?" (kwahl ehs lah PROH-ksee-mah pah-RA-dah).

Tips & Warnings

• As here, sometimes the buses can get crowded and the drivers encourage travelers to move to the back. If you hear the word "atrás" (ah-TRAHS) yelled out a few times, the driver may be encouraging everyone to move as far back as they can.
• As in public transportation here, you may have to stand for some or most of the ride. Be ready to hang on to the overhead bars, or to move around as needed to make room for those entering and leaving.
• When you know your stop is coming up, get yourself in a position to leave quickly, as the bus drivers are on a schedule and sometimes try to rush people on or off.

Resources

• A comprehensive site for travel vocabulary
• A great site for learning and improving your Spanish