Everyday Dialogues

Taking the Bus

In this lesson, you will learn useful vocabulary
and expressions for talking to a bus driver or another
passenger at a bus stop. Have your bus fare ready,
and remember to say hello and thank you to the driver.

Pre-Reading
A. Warm-Up Questions

1. How often do you take a city bus?

2. W
 hat is the bus fare for students in
major cities in your native country?

3. W
 hy do students and seniors
often receive a reduced fare?

B. Vocabulary Preview

Match the words on the left with the correct meanings on the right.

1. fare a) the amount of money you pay to ride public transportation

2. ID b) a place where you wait for or get off the bus
3. bus stop c) direct, without regular stops
4. depot d) closed to passengers
5. express e) the person who rides in the vehicle
6. out of service f) identification
7. route g) the path the vehicle takes
8. driver h) a central place where buses meet
9. passenger i) the person who operates the vehicle

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 Taking the Bus
Everyday Dialogues

Dialogue Reading
Read the dialogue with your partner a few times. Take turns
being each character. Practice your intonation and pronunciation.
Circle any new words or phrases that you need to practice.

Passenger: Good morning. Is this the bus I take to get to the university?

Bus Driver: No. This is an express bus to the shopping center.

Passenger: Oh, sorry. Which bus will get me to the downtown campus?

Bus Driver: You can take route #3 or #8. Bus #3 is express to the university.

Passenger: Okay, thank you. How often does it come?

Bus Driver: Bus #8 arrives at the depot on the hour. Bus #3 comes every 15 minutes.

Okay, thanks. Bus #8 will be here soon, then.

Passenger:
How long does it take to get to the school?

Bus Driver: It makes a lot of stops. It takes at least 50 minutes.

Passenger: Fifteen minutes? That’s quick!

Bus Driver: No, 50, as in five-oh. You’re better off to wait for the express.

Passenger: Oh, okay. And what’s the fare?

Bus Driver: Two dollars for students. You’ll have to show your student ID.

Passenger: Thank you for your help!

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 Taking the Bus
Everyday Dialogues

Practice
Work with your partner. Role-play the dialogue on page 2,
substituting the different expressions below. Then switch roles.

1. Is this the bus I take to get to the university? 5. Bus #8 arrives at the depot on the hour.

• Does this bus go down Main Street? • The downtown bus comes every 15 minutes.
• Does this bus go downtown? • It comes at twenty past the hour.
• This bus stops at the airport, right? • A new bus comes every few minutes.

2. This is the express bus to the shopping center. 6. How long does it take to get to the school?

• This bus is not in service. • How far is it to the downtown core?

• This bus is full. • When will it reach the campus?
• This bus doesn’t take bikes. • How long is the ride to the city center?
• This is the airport bus.
• This bus goes downtown. 7. And what’s the fare?

• How much does it cost?

3. Which bus will get me to the downtown campus?
• What’s the student fare?
• Which bus goes to the mall? • How much is it for a child?
• Which bus will take me to Smythe Street?
8. You’ll have to show your student ID.
4. How often does it come?
• Have your student card ready.
• Does it come every 15 minutes? • You’ll need to show a student card.
• How often does it stop here? • They’ll need to see your discount card.

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 Taking the Bus
Everyday Dialogues

Listening Practice
Listen to the recording of the dialogue from page 2. Fill in the missing
words as you listen. Listen again. Now look back at page 2 and check your
work. Did you fill in the correct words? Did you spell everything correctly?

Passenger: Is this the bus I take to get to the             ?

Bus Driver: No. This is an             bus to the shopping center.

Passenger: Oh, sorry. Which bus will get me to the downtown campus?

Bus Driver: You can take route #3 or #8. Bus #3 is express to the university.

Passenger: Okay, thank you.             does it come?

Bus #8 arrives at the             on the hour.

Bus Driver:
Bus #3 comes every 15 minutes.

Okay, thanks. Bus #8 will be here soon, then.

Passenger:
How             to get to the school?

Bus Driver: It makes a lot of stops. It takes at least 50 minutes.

Passenger: Fifteen minutes? That’s quick!

Bus Driver: No, 50, as in five-oh.             to wait for the express.

Passenger: Oh, okay. And what’s the             ?

Bus Driver: Two dollars for students. You’ll have to show your             .

Passenger: Thank you for your help.

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 Taking the Bus
Everyday Dialogues

Write Your Own Dialogue

Write a dialogue with a partner using phrases from page 3.
One of you will be a bus driver and one of you will be a passenger.
Practice and present the dialogue to your class.

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 Taking the Bus
Everyday Dialogues

Review
Task 1

LISTEN & ANSWER

Listen to the conversation and answer the questions.

Your teacher will tell you if you have to write or say the answers.

1. Where does the passenger need to go?

2. What options does the passenger have?

3. How long does the non-express bus take to get to her destination?

4. How much do students pay to take the bus?

5. What does the passenger need to show the bus driver to get the lower fare?

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 Taking the Bus
Everyday Dialogues

Review cont.
Task 2

QUESTION FORMATION

A. Questions

Write five questions you might ask a bus driver.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

B. Answers

Write five possible answers to your questions.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Task 3

ROLE-PLAY

Find a partner. Imagine that you are the passenger and your partner
is the bus driver. Use your questions to do a role-play for your teacher.

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 Taking the Bus
Everyday Dialogues

Answer Key
LESSON DESCRIPTION: LEVEL: Low Int

In this lesson, students practice asking a bus driver questions. TIME: 1.5 hours
They learn and practice useful vocabulary and expressions for
TAGS:  dialogues, bus, bus transit, bus driver,
traveling on public transit in an English-speaking country.
public transit, transportation

Pre-Reading Listening Practice

A. WARM-UP QUESTIONS Have students complete the dialogue by listening

to the recording or by having two students read
Discuss as a class or in small groups. Answers will vary.
the completed dialogue from page 2.

B. VOCABULARY PREVIEW
Write Your Own Dialogue
1. a 3. b 5. c 7. g 9. e
2. f 4. h 6. d 8. i Encourage your students to use vocabulary from the model.

Dialogue Reading (continued on the next page...)

Give your students time to read the dialogue in pairs.

Practice

Have your students read the dialogue again and

practice subbing in some of the different expressions.

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 Taking the Bus
Everyday Dialogues

Answer Key cont.

Review (Assessment Tasks) SPELLING NOTES:

This lesson shows the American spelling of the words

The following tasks can be used for assessment purposes
and/or review practice. You can save all of the tasks until
the end or assess your students throughout the lesson.
TASK 1
Center and Practice. Most other English-speaking countries
spell these words this way: Centre and Practise (when used
as a verb; Practice when used as a noun). Make it a challenge
for your students to find these words in the lesson and
see if they know the alternate spellings.

Play the audio from this lesson. Then assign the questions. You Also note that Public Transportation or Public Transit
can decide if you want your students to say or write the answers. are preferred in North American English, while

1. T he student needs to get to the Public Transport is preferred in British English.

downtown campus of the university.

2. T he passenger can take bus #3 (the express) or bus #8.
3. T he non-express bus takes 50 minutes.
4. The student fare is $2.00.
5. T he passenger has to show her student ID.

TASK 2

Answers will vary. Assess your students’ understanding of

how to talk to a bus driver by having them write common
questions and answers that they learned in this lesson.
Check for proper question formation.

TASK 3

Assess two students at a time as they role-play the scenario.

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 Taking the Bus
Everyday Dialogues

Copyright 2016, Red River Press Inc. For use by ESL Library members only. ( LO W I N T / V E R S I O N 4 . 0) 10