Basic Transportation Vocabulary List for ESL Students [100 Essential Words]

While navigating in a foreign country, it is extremely important to actively and effectively participate in conversations such as using public transportation and making travel plans.

As an ESL teacher, you realize how important it is for your students to learn useful words and phrases they can use daily in those conversations. That’s why teaching transportation vocabulary is so helpful—it helps them talk about getting around in English.

This guide is here to make teaching transportation vocabulary easy and fun for you and your students. Inside, you’ll find simple words about buses, trains, taxis, and more. Each word in the list has its pronunciation in IPA symbols and an example sentence.

By learning these words, your students will feel more confident talking about how they travel and asking for help when they need it. Plus, they’ll have fun practicing with each other!

So, let’s get started! Help your students become better at talking about transportation in English.

Modes of Public Transportation

Sl. No.	Words	Pronunciation (IPA)	Example Sentence
1	Bus	bʌs	I take the bus to work every day.
2	Train	treɪn	The train is arriving on platform 2.
3	Taxi	ˈtæksi	I hailed a taxi to get to the airport.
4	Bicycle	ˈbaɪsɪkəl	I ride my bicycle to school.
5	Car	kɑr	We’re going on a road trip by car.
6	Subway	ˈsʌbˌweɪ	I take the subway to downtown.
7	Tram	træm	The tram takes us through the city center.
8	Ferry	ˈfɛri	We took a ferry to the nearby island.
9	Walking	ˈwɔkɪŋ	Walking is good exercise.
10	Motorcycle	ˈmoʊtərsaɪkəl	He rides his motorcycle to work.

Public Transportation Facilities

Sl. No.	Words	Pronunciation (IPA)	Example Sentence
1	Bus stop	bʌs stɑp	The bus stop is just around the corner.
2	Train station	treɪn ˈsteɪʃən	We’re meeting at the train station.
3	Ticket booth	ˈtɪkɪt buθ	You can buy tickets at the ticket booth.
4	Platform	ˈplætfɔrm	Wait for the train on the platform.
5	Waiting area	ˈweɪtɪŋ ˈɛriə	Let’s wait in the waiting area.
6	Taxi stand	ˈtæksi stænd	Taxis wait for passengers at the taxi stand.
7	Bicycle rack	ˈbaɪsɪkəl ræk	You can park your bike at the bicycle rack.
8	Bus shelter	bʌs ˈʃɛltər	Let’s stand under the bus shelter.
9	Information desk	ˌɪnfɚˈmeɪʃən dɛsk	You can ask for help at the information desk.
10	Restroom	ˈrɛstrum	The restroom is near the ticket counter.

Tickets and Fares

Sl. No.	Words	Pronunciation (IPA)	Example Sentence
1	Ticket	ˈtɪkɪt	Don’t forget to buy a ticket before boarding.
2	Fare	fɛr	What’s the fare to downtown?
3	Pass	pæs	I have a monthly pass for the subway.
4	Ticket machine	ˈtɪkɪt məˌʃin	You can purchase tickets from the ticket machine.
5	Money	ˈmʌni	Do you have exact change for the fare?
6	Discount	ˈdɪskaʊnt	Students get a discount on bus fares.
7	Fare card	fɛr kɑrd	I reload my fare card every month.
8	Cash	kæʃ	They only accept cash for tickets.
9	Concession	kənˈsɛʃən	Senior citizens get a concession on fares.
10	Payment	ˈpeɪmənt	Payment is due upon boarding the bus.

Directions and Routes

Sl. No.	Words	Pronunciation (IPA)	Example Sentence
1	Map	mæp	Let me check the map for directions.
2	Stop	stɑp	Our stop is the next one.
3	Go	ɡoʊ	When the light turns green, we can go.
4	Left	lɛft	Turn left at the intersection.
5	Right	raɪt	The store is on the right side.
6	Straight	streɪt	Keep going straight ahead.
7	Turn	tɜrn	Turn right at the next street.
8	Route	rut	This bus follows a different route.
9	Destination	ˌdɛstəˈneɪʃən	Our destination is the airport.
10	Origin	ˈɔrɪdʒɪn	The train departs from its origin at 8 AM.

Travel Etiquette and Safety

Sl. No.	Words	Pronunciation (IPA)	Example Sentence
1	Seat	sit	Please offer your seat to the elderly.
2	Stand clear	stænd klɪr	Stand clear of the closing doors.
3	Hold on	hoʊld ɒn	Hold on to the railing for safety.
4	No smoking	noʊ ˈsmoʊkɪŋ	Smoking is prohibited on public transport.
5	Watch out	wɑtʃ aʊt	Watch out for pickpockets in crowded places.
6	Priority seating	praɪˈɔrəti ˈsitɪŋ	Priority seating is reserved for disabled passengers.
7	Emergency exit	ɪˈmɜrdʒənsi ˈɛksɪt	In case of emergency, use the emergency exit.
8	Keep aisles clear	kip aɪlz klɪr	Please keep the aisles clear for other passengers.
9	Report	rɪˈpɔrt	Report any suspicious activity to the authorities.
10	Security	sɪˈkjʊrəti	There’s heightened security at the station today.

Common Phrases and Questions

Sl. No.	Words	Pronunciation (IPA)	Example Sentence
1	How much?	haʊ mʌtʃ	How much does the ticket cost?
2	Where?	wɛr	Where is the nearest bus stop?
3	When?	wɛn	When does the next train arrive?
4	How long?	haʊ lɔŋ	How long does the journey take?
5	Excuse me	ɪkˈskjuz mi	Excuse me, is this seat taken?
6	Can you help me?	kæn ju hɛlp mi	Can you help me find my way to downtown?
7	Is this the right bus/train?	ɪz ðɪs ðə raɪt bʌs/treɪn	Is this the bus/train to Central Station?
8	Do you accept credit cards?	du ju ækˈsɛpt krɛdɪt kɑrdz	Do you accept credit cards for payment?
9	How many stops to…?	haʊ ˈmɛni stɑps tu	How many stops to the city center?
10	Thank you	θæŋk ju	Thank you for your assistance.

Public Transportation Vehicles

Sl. No.	Words	Pronunciation (IPA)	Example Sentence
1	Bus	bʌs	I missed the bus to work today.
2	Train	treɪn	We’re taking the train to the city.
3	Taxi	ˈtæksi	Let’s hail a taxi to the airport.
4	Bicycle	ˈbaɪsɪkəl	I ride my bicycle to school every day.
5	Car	kɑr	We’re going on a road trip by car.
6	Van	væn	We rented a van for our family vacation.
7	Boat	boʊt	We took a boat tour along the river.
8	Motorbike	ˈmoʊtərˌbaɪk	He commutes to work on his motorbike.
9	Trolleybus	ˈtrɑliˌbʌs	The trolleybus runs through the city center.
10	Cable car	ˈkeɪbəl kɑr	We rode the cable car up the mountain.

People Involved in Public Transportation

Sl. No.	Words	Pronunciation (IPA)	Example Sentence
1	Driver	ˈdraɪvər	The bus driver greeted us with a smile.
2	Passenger	ˈpæsɪndʒər	There were many passengers on the train.
3	Commuter	kəˈmjutər	I’m a daily commuter to the city.
4	Tourist	ˈtʊrɪst	The tourists admired the city skyline.
5	Ticket seller	ˈtɪkɪt ˈsɛlər	The ticket seller was friendly and helpful.
6	Conductor	kənˈdʌktər	The conductor checked our tickets.
7	Inspector	ɪnˈspɛktər	The inspector validated our passes.
8	Dispatcher	dɪˈspætʃər	The dispatcher coordinated the buses.
9	Attendant	əˈtɛndənt	The station attendant provided assistance.
10	Security guard	sɪˈkjʊrəti ɡɑrd	The security guard patrols the station.

Public Transportation Infrastructure

Sl. No.	Words	Pronunciation (IPA)	Example Sentence
1	Road	roʊd	The bus travels on the road.
2	Track	træk	The train runs on the track.
3	Bridge	brɪdʒ	We crossed the bridge over the river.
4	Stop sign	stɑp saɪn	Look for the stop sign at intersections.
5	Traffic light	ˈtræfɪk laɪt	Wait for the green light at the traffic light.
6	Lane	leɪn	Stay in your lane while driving.
7	Tunnel	ˈtʌnəl	The train passes through the tunnel.
8	Intersection	ˌɪntərˈsɛkʃən	There’s heavy traffic at the intersection.
9	Curb	kɜrb	The bus stopped at the curb to pick up passengers.
10	Crosswalk	ˈkrɔswɔk	Pedestrians should use the crosswalk.

Public Transportation Systems

Sl. No.	Words	Pronunciation (IPA)	Example Sentence
1	Metro	ˈmɛtroʊ	The metro is the fastest way to travel downtown.
2	Bus route	bʌs rut	This bus route goes to the shopping mall.
3	Train line	treɪn laɪn	The train line connects the suburbs to the city.
4	Taxi service	ˈtæksi ˈsɜrvɪs	We used a taxi service to get to the airport.
5	Bicycle lane	ˈbaɪsɪkəl leɪn	Stay in the bicycle lane for safety.
6	Ferry route	ˈfɛri rut	The ferry route crosses the bay.
7	Tram line	træm laɪn	The tram line runs through the city center.
8	Shuttle service	ˈʃʌtl ˈsɜrvɪs	The hotel offers a shuttle service to the airport.
9	Airport shuttle	ˈɛrˌpɔrt ˈʃʌtl	We took the airport shuttle to the rental car area.
10	Rapid transit	ˈræpɪd ˈtrænsɪt	Rapid transit is convenient for daily commuters.

Conclusion

Congratulations on completing this transportation vocabulary teaching guide! By introducing your students to these essential words and phrases, you’ve provided them with valuable language skills that will serve them well in their everyday lives.

As you continue incorporating these words into your lessons and activities, encourage your students to practice using them in different contexts. Whether through role-plays, games, or real-life scenarios, the more they engage with the vocabulary, the more confident they’ll become in using it fluently.

Check out our post on 20 Fun ESL Vocabulary Activities for Better Engagement for more engaging ESL vocabulary activities.

Additionally, if you’re interested in teaching vocabulary to adult learners, explore our post on Teaching Vocabulary to Adult Learners: A Complete ESL Teacher’s Guide.

For a handy reference of essential vocabulary for ESL students, don’t forget to bookmark our post on Basic Vocabulary List for ESL Students [750 Essential Words].

Happy teaching!