How to Pay for Transit in Toronto – English Language Bits

Match these words with their meanings below.

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Check your answers by clicking Submit at the end.

fare – load – transit – tap – cash – ride – entrance – pharmacy

Example:

touch something lightly and quickly – tap

A place where you go through to come in (enter somewhere) –

to put a lot of something somewhere –

the price you pay to travel by bus, train, or plane –

to travel in a bus or car that you are not driving –

a store or part of a store where they sell medicines –

money as bills and coins, not cards or cheques –

moving people or things from one place to another –

Fill in the missing words in the text. You can type them or copy & paste them. Check your answers by clicking Submit at the end.

fare – load – transit – tap – cash – ride – entrance – pharmacies

Yuliya: So, Ampi, would you mind telling me, how can we pay for transit in Toronto?

Ampi: Well, there are a few ways in which you can pay for to travel within the city. The first way is going to a subway station and going to a machine that is called vending machine, that is in all TTC [Toronto Transit Commision] subway stations, and you can buy a card and load it with this machine. The card has a cost of $6 and you can put some money on the card and it has to be a minimum of five [dollars].

And this card, you can it, which means you put the card next to the of a subway or you can use it on buses or streetcars. So this is one way.

You can also buy this card, which is called Presto, at most pharmacies that are called Shoppers Drug Mart. We have many of these Shoppers Drug Mart around Toronto, they are very popular. So you could buy a Presto card at one of these pharmacies, and you can also put money in it, which we usually call loading, so you can your card.

So, as I said, the Presto card itself, you only buy it one time and it costs 6 dollars and then you can load it with any amount of money. The first time should be a minimum of 5 dollars.

You can also buy a Presto Pass, which is a single , which means you are going somewhere one way, and you can also buy it at any TTC subway station, and they usually take , which are mostly bills and coins, such as $1 or $2, or you can pay it with your credit card.

Yuliya: Yeah, I really like it in Toronto that you can go anywhere you want and only pay once during the two hours, for any kind of public transportation – subway, buses, or streetcars. So when I go somewhere by TTC, I remember the time when I tap my Presto card first and I will try to get on my bus or subway to get home before the two hours pass. It saves a lot of money…

But for those who use public transit a lot, a monthly pass can be a good idea.

Discussion Questions:

These questions are for you if you want to practice speaking or writing.

About the audio:

How can we pay for public transit in Toronto and other Ontario cities?

Where can we get this card?

How can we pay for it?

How can we add money to it?

How long can you use TTC after paying for one trip?

Can you go back without paying more money?

What about you?

How do they pay for transit in your home city or other cities you have been to?

How expensive is it?

Is the fare only for a one-way trip?

Do you always need to pay again for your trip back?

Is the price the same for a few stops and for a long ride?

How do people pay the fare? Do they use cash? Tickets? Tokens?

Where can you buy tickets or tokens?

How do you prefer to pay? Why?

Can drivers take cash for transit? (In Toronto, Ontario, they can NOT).

How often do you use public transit?

How do you like it?

Why don’t you like it?

Find the best sentence for each of these words. You can type the words or copy & paste them. Check your answers by clicking Submit at the end.

fare – load – transit – tap – cash – ride – entrance – pharmacy

Let’s meet near the subway .

I need to my transit card first, I don’t have any money on it right now.

If you need any medicine, I can get it for you. I am going to the after work today to pick up my mom’s prescription anyway.

I don’t have any , only a credit card. Do they take cards at the farmers’ market?

Mom, could you give me a to school tomorrow morning? We have band practice at 7 am.

Large European cities have excellent public . You don’t need to have a car.

You don’t need to swipe your card to make a payment, you can just it.