Transport and Getting Around

Moving around a country in English needs a small set of nouns and one preposition rule that is worth getting right permanently.

by, on or in?

by + transport — no article, for the general method:

I go to work by bus / by train / by car / by bike / by plane. Exception: on foot (not by foot).

on / in + a specific vehicle:

I'm on the bus. · She's on the train. (things you can walk about in) He's in the car. · We're in a taxi. (things you sit inside)

Rough rule: large public vehicles take on, small private ones take in.

Getting on and off

Matching the preposition:

get on / get off the bus, the train, the plane get in / get out of the car, the taxi

The vocabulary

Rail: platform, ticket, single, return, timetable, change (at), delay, carriage Road: bus stop, coach (long-distance bus), traffic, rush hour, petrol (US: gas), motorway Air: gate, boarding pass, check-in, luggage, hand luggage, departures, arrivals, delayed, cancelled

Buying a ticket

• A single to York, please. (one way)
• A return, please. (there and back)
• What time's the next train?
• Which platform is it?
• Do I have to change? — Yes, change at Reading.

Taxis

• Could you take me to this address?
• How much will it cost?
• Can you drop me here?
• Keep the change.

Problems

• The train is delayed by twenty minutes.
• The flight has been cancelled.
• I've missed my connection.
• Is there a later one?

Test yourself

The quiz below is mostly the preposition rule.