MassDOT BusPlus vs CTrail eTix
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MassDOT BusPlus
Purchase and use intercity and commuter bus tickets directly from your phone. Plan your trip, select tickets, create an account, and activate your ticket to show the driver. An internet connection is needed for purchase, but tickets can be used offline.
- Purchase bus tickets
- Use tickets offline
- Plan trips
- Secure payments
- Account creation
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The official mobile ticketing app of BusPlus – a program of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. The BusPlus app lets you purchase and use intercity and commuter bus tickets instantly on your phone. Here’s how it works: 1. Plan a trip by selecting an origin, destination, and schedule 2. Choose the type of ticket and quantity 3. Create an account and link your credit/debit card to complete checkout 4. Activate your ticket and show it to the bus driver An internet connection is required to purchase tickets, but you can use your ticket(s) offline. All personal information and payments are securely transmitted and stored. Please contact support@bytemark.co for customer service assistance. Any comments or suggestions you may have are welcome. We are aware of problems with the scanning feature while adding new credit cards, and are working to correct this issue.
CTrail eTix
Purchase mobile rail tickets for Hartford Line and Shore Line East customers directly from your smartphone. Avoid lines and cash transactions by buying daily parking and various ticket types, including monthly bus add-ons for CTtransit users.
- Purchase mobile rail tickets
- Buy daily parking
- Save tickets for later
- Receive email receipts
- Add CTtransit bus passes
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Traveling on CTrail just got easier! No more waiting in line to purchase a paper ticket, swiping your credit card, or carrying around cash. Connecticut DOT’s CTrail eTix app allows Hartford Line and Shore Line East customers to buy mobile rail tickets using their smartphone. Daily parking at Wallingford and Berlin stations is also available for purchase using CTrail eTix. With CTrail eTix, One-Way, Weekly, Monthly, and Ten-Trip mobile tickets are available for purchase. For customers that also use CTtransit, a CTtransit Monthly (Local) Bus add-on is available for purchase with your monthly rail ticket. Pay on the go, and use your mobile tickets immediately or save them for later. Keeping track of expenses is easy with CTrail eTix receipts provided via e-mail. Get started right away by downloading CTrail eTix and creating your account.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: MassDOT BusPlus at 59% against CTrail eTix's 6%. MassDOT BusPlus also leads on rating (4.4 vs 1.6). CTrail eTix's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.6). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
MassDOT BusPlus holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 1.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 259 and 173 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 59% of MassDOT BusPlus's written reviews are positive against 6% of CTrail eTix's.
MassDOT BusPlus ships an update every 9 months, CTrail eTix every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and September 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | MassDOT BusPlus | CTrail eTix |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (259 ratings) — better | 1.6 (173 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 59.3% of reviews — better | 6.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 259 — better | 173 |
| Update frequency | Every 9 months | Every 6 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 108 MB | 63 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Bytemark, Inc. | CTrail Connecticut Department of Transportation |
Customer experience
MassDOT BusPlus
CTrail eTix
User reviews
MassDOT BusPlus
From 259 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Very convenient for bus passes
- 👍 Easy to use for many
- 👍 Saves time and hassle
- 👍 Good for disabled users
- 👍 Works as advertised
Room to improve
- 🐛 Tickets disappear after first day
- 🐛 App glitches and logs out
- 🐛 Cannot log in or create account
- 🐛 QR codes do not work
- 🐛 Payment issues and lost money
CTrail eTix
From 173 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Functional for ticket purchase
- 👍 Easy to download
- 👍 Straightforward and accessible design (rare)
- 👍 Text is big and does the job (rare)
- 👍 Large buttons are useful (rare)
Room to improve
- 👎 Atrocious UI/UX
- 👎 Outdated interface/looks from another decade
- 👎 Unusable/broken app
- 👎 Impossible to create account
- 👎 Password reset issues
Bugs and requests
MassDOT BusPlus
Reported bugs
10 issues- Purchased tickets disappear after first day
- App glitches and logs out users
- Login and account creation errors
- QR codes for tickets not working
- Lost money due to voided tickets
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Inability to display passes after first day
- Autocomplete for location searching is broken
- Time zone error preventing login
- Purchased passes disappear from history
- Weekly passes only display on activation day
Requested features
6 requests- Discount bus pass for days remaining before free bus
- Post more information on the application
- Allow adding TAP card for reduced fare
- Add Apple Wallet support for passes
- Improve trip planner functionality
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Make app more intuitive/easier to learn
CTrail eTix
Reported bugs
35 issues- Cannot create an account
- Password reset functionality broken
- Email already in use error when creating account, but no account found for password reset
- App crashes frequently
- Purchased tickets disappear from the app
Show 30 moreShow fewer
- Login errors/connection errors
- App reverts to old keyboard and screen size
- Apple Pay not working reliably
- Time change detected errors when accessing tickets
- App closes when selecting a destination/station
- App immediately crashes after an update
- No confirmation email received
- Cannot log in
- App doesn't let me select a destination
- App doesn't work at all
- Tickets disappear multiple times
- App crashes on first install
- App requires camera access unnecessarily
- App doesn't load over HTTPS reliably
- Payment form hosted on a different service
- App doesn't support larger screens/newer phones
- App doesn't allow copy/paste of passwords
- App doesn't interact with password managers
- App crashes when trying to start
- App doesn't let me purchase a ticket
- App doesn't allow me to select a destination
- App closes out when entering a station
- App keeps crashing
- App is incredibly buggy
- App requires camera access to verify tickets
- App displays browser windows within itself
- App requires constant logging in
- App is formatted for much older phones and does not display correctly
- App keeps telling me to confirm email with no way to do so
- App lacks proper support for newer phones
Requested features
18 requests- Modernize the app's UI/UX
- Add train schedules to the app
- Improve password management (copy/paste, password managers)
- Add Apple Wallet support
- Add Dynamic Island support
Show 13 moreShow fewer
- Add Live Updates
- Allow round trip ticket purchases
- Add trip planning ability
- Improve payment options (Apple Pay, security)
- Add a way to confirm email
- Fix app crashing issues
- Coordinate with Amtrak and Metro North apps
- Add a schedule page
- Add a reservation system
- Increase time window for ticket confirmation
- Improve security of backend and payment forms
- Add Dark Mode option
- Add an interactive schedule like the website
In-app purchases
MassDOT BusPlus
No in-app purchases
CTrail eTix
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is MassDOT BusPlus free?
Is CTrail eTix free?
Which has better reviews, MassDOT BusPlus or CTrail eTix?
Do MassDOT BusPlus or CTrail eTix have ads?
Which is updated more often, MassDOT BusPlus or CTrail eTix?
Other comparisons
