Breakdown of El autobús es barato; en cambio, el pasaje del tren costará más.
ser
to be
barato
cheap
costar
to cost
del
from the / of the
Questions & Answers about El autobús es barato; en cambio, el pasaje del tren costará más.
How is en cambio different from just using pero here?
En cambio translates best to "on the other hand" or "whereas." While pero (but) simply links two opposing ideas, en cambio specifically highlights a direct contrast or comparison between two things—in this case, the price of the bus versus the train. It is the perfect connector when you are weighing options.
Why use pasaje for the train ticket instead of boleto?
In Latin America, pasaje is widely used to refer to the fare or the cost of a trip on public transport. Boleto is also perfectly correct and usually refers to the physical or digital ticket itself. Just avoid billete here—while it means "ticket" in Spain, in Latin America it almost always means a paper bank note!
Why does the first half use the present tense (es) and the second half use the future tense (costará)?
This happens a lot when weighing future plans! The speaker states a general, ongoing fact in the present (el autobús es barato), and then thinks ahead to the specific action they are considering: the train fare will cost more when they actually go to buy it. Using the present tense for both sides (cuesta más) would also be perfectly correct.
Is the semicolon before en cambio required?