Public Transport: Metro, Bus and Taxi Like a Local
Catch the metro with coger (carefully), buy the right ticket, survive rush hour like a sardine, and give a taxi driver an address without blinking.
Key phrases
Voy a coger el metro, es más rápido que el bus.
I'm going to take the metro, it's faster than the bus.
Dos billetes de ida y vuelta a Toledo, por favor.
Two return tickets to Toledo, please.
Perdone, ¿este autobús para en la Plaza de España?
Excuse me, does this bus stop at Plaza de España?
Tienes que hacer transbordo en Sol y coger la línea dos.
You have to change at Sol and take line two.
¿Cuántas paradas faltan? — Faltan tres.
How many stops are left? — Three to go.
¿Bajas en la próxima?
Are you getting off at the next one?
Perdona, ¿me dejas pasar? Me bajo aquí.
Excuse me, can you let me through? I get off here.
El tren con destino a Sevilla sale del andén dos.
The train to Seville leaves from platform two.
El Cercanías va con retraso otra vez.
The commuter train is delayed again.
En hora punta el metro va petado; vamos como sardinas en lata.
At rush hour the metro is rammed; we travel like sardines in a can.
¿Está libre? A la calle Mayor, cincuenta, por favor.
Are you free? To fifty Calle Mayor, please.
¿Se puede pagar con tarjeta? Y ¿me da un recibo, por favor?
Can I pay by card? And could you give me a receipt, please?
Déjeme aquí en la esquina, por favor.
Drop me here on the corner, please.
The Verb That Comes With a Warning Label
In Spain, you don’t take the metro — you catch it: coger. Cogí el metro a las nueve (I caught the metro at nine) is what everyone says, all day, everywhere. The warning: across most of Latin America coger means “to fuck,” so on that side of the Atlantic swap it for tomar or agarrar — agarré el colectivo in Buenos Aires, tomé el camión in Mexico City. Same journey, very different verb.
Tickets Without Tears
A ticket is un billete in Spain, un boleto in much of Latin America. Buy it at la taquilla (ticket office) or una máquina, ask for ida (one-way) or ida y vuelta (return), and skip the noun like a local: Ida y vuelta a Málaga, por favor. In the metro you’ll picar el billete (validate it) and pasar por el torniquete (go through the turnstile). Staying a while? A rechargeable travel card — el abono or la tarjeta de transporte — pays for itself within days.
Metro and Bus, Decoded
- andén — platform, for trains, metros, trams and bus bays alike
- parada — stop; la próxima parada is the next one
- hacer transbordo — to change lines
- hora punta — rush hour, when the carriage está petado (rammed)
- subir a / bajar de — to get on / off
- retraso — delay; el bus va con retraso
- impares / pares — odd and even street numbers, used to label metro exits
And the essential question verb: faltar. ¿Cuántas paradas faltan? (how many stops left?), ¿falta mucho? (are we nearly there?).
Talking to Drivers and Fellow Sardines
On buses you often pay the conductor directly, so confirm as you board: ¿Este autobús para en la catedral? In a packed metro, the ritual question is ¿bajas? — “are you getting off?” — asked by anyone stuck behind you near the doors. Getting off yourself? Perdona, ¿me dejas pasar? clears a path. Regional ear-training: the humble bus is el colectivo or bondi in Argentina, el camión in Mexico and la guagua in the Canaries and the Caribbean — see the phrase entry for colectivo.
Taxis: The Two-Minute Masterclass
Hailing one on the street is parar un taxi; if the light is ambiguous, ask ¿está libre? Give the address street-first: a la calle Catalunya, 50. Before setting off, cover your bases with ¿cuánto costará? and ¿se puede pagar con tarjeta? To finish: pare aquí, por favor (stop here), déjeme en la esquina (drop me on the corner), and for the expense report, ¿me da un recibo? Note the polite usted forms throughout — standard with drivers. The same phrases work when you pides un Uber o un Cabify.
Pro Tip
For intercity trains, learn the RENFE family: the high-speed AVE, mid-range Media Distancia, and local Cercanías. Book the coche en silencio (quiet carriage) on the AVE and you’ll dodge every speakerphone conversation in Spain — arguably the best-value upgrade in the country, and it’s free.
This is one line of a much bigger network — the full transport chapter awaits in Daily Life and Culture, part of our Speak Spanish Like a Native book series.