Comparison

Bus Panda vs Great Rides

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Bus Panda

Get real-time Wellington bus departure information, timetables, and local weather. Save favorite bus stops for quick access and sync across your Apple devices. Includes an Apple Watch app for condensed views.

Highlights
  • Real-time bus departures
  • Bus timetables
  • Favorite bus stops
  • Local weather updates
  • iCloud sync across devices
  • Apple Watch app
Features
Read full description

Do you live in Wellington, New Zealand and use the bus often? If so, you need Bus Panda! The information you want, when you want it, with minimum fuss and distraction. Store as many favourite bus stops as you want by adding them from a map or by stop ID. Very quickly access realtime departure information along with timetables and see local Wellington weather from a variety of weather providers. Bus Panda uses iCloud to sync stop information between your iOS and macOS devices, should you choose to install it on more than one under the same iCloujd account and the bundled Apple Watch application shows a condensed view of the full iPhone application.

About

Great Rides

Discover and navigate New Zealand's Great Rides with this comprehensive guide. Track your position offline using GPS, view trail details with elevation profiles, and find essential bike services. Explore points of interest with photos and descriptions for a complete cycling adventure.

Highlights
  • Offline trail maps
  • GPS position tracking
  • Trail section details
  • Elevation profiles
  • Bike service identification
  • Points of interest information
Features
Read full description

New Zealand's best guide and tracking app for the NZ Great Rides a partner of the NZ Cycle Trail Once a trail is downloaded it can work offline: • To track your position along the trail using your phone's GPS. • Showing key stops on the trail with photos and descriptions. • Providing information about trail sections with elevation profiles. • Identifying bike-related services to help you along your ride. • As a guide with trail information all packaged into one app. All the trail data has been carefully collected on-site then compiled with relevant trail side attractions and points of interest. Key sites can be found on the map screen and selected to provide more information, photos, and links.

Screenshots

Bus Panda4 screens
Great Rides4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Bus Panda at 100% against Great Rides's 67%. Bus Panda also leads on device support (5 vs 3). Great Rides's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 8 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bus Panda ships an update every 8 months, Great Rides every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Bus Panda versus Great Rides: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBus PandaGreat Rides
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 8 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB141 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMR A D HODGKINSONGary Patterson

Customer experience

Bus Panda

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Great Rides

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral16.7%
Negative16.7%

In-app purchases

None

Bus Panda

No in-app purchases

None

Great Rides

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Bus Panda free?
Bus Panda is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Great Rides free?
Great Rides is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Bus Panda or Great Rides have ads?
Neither Bus Panda nor Great Rides shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bus Panda or Great Rides?
Bus Panda ships an update every 8 months, and Great Rides every 2 months. Most recently, Bus Panda was updated on November 2, 2026 and Great Rides on November 6, 2026.

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