Дневной пропуск дорогой, а почасовой тариф низкий.

The day pass is expensive, but the hourly rate is low.

Breakdown of Дневной пропуск дорогой, а почасовой тариф низкий.

• дорогой: expensive
• а: and
• низкий: low
• дневной пропуск: the day pass

Questions & Answers about Дневной пропуск дорогой, а почасовой тариф низкий.

Why is there no word for is in this sentence?

In Russian, the verb to be is usually omitted in the present tense.

So:

• Дневной пропуск дорогой = The day pass is expensive
• Почасовой тариф низкий = The hourly rate is low

Russian speakers understand the present-tense is automatically from the sentence structure.

If you wanted the past or future, a form of to be would appear more explicitly:

• Дневной пропуск был дорогим. = The day pass was expensive.
• Дневной пропуск будет дорогим. = The day pass will be expensive.

What does а mean here, and why isn’t it но?

Both а and но can often be translated as but, but they are not always used in the same way.

In this sentence, а is very natural because it sets up a contrast between two parallel facts:

• Дневной пропуск дорогой, а почасовой тариф низкий.

This feels like:

• The day pass is expensive, whereas the hourly rate is low.

By contrast, но often sounds more like a stronger contradiction or unexpected obstacle:

• Он хотел прийти, но не смог. = He wanted to come, but he couldn’t.

So here а is preferred because the sentence compares two pricing options side by side.