Comparison

OurBus vs RIPTA Wave

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

Head to head
About

OurBus

Book affordable, comfortable, and safe bus tickets to over 350 destinations across America. Enjoy a seamless booking process, live tracking, and convenient amenities like free WiFi and charging ports. Travel green and save with exclusive deals.

Highlights
  • Affordable bus ticket booking
  • 350+ destinations
  • Live bus tracking
  • Free WiFi and charging ports
  • Free cancellations up to 30 mins before departure
  • Exclusive deals and promotions
Features
Read full description

Find cheap bus travel with OurBus, the convenient bus app for booking intercity trips across the United States. Search routes, compare schedules, book bus tickets online, manage your trip, and keep your boarding pass right on your phone. BOOK BUS TICKETS WITH EASE Looking for bus tickets for your next city-to-city trip? OurBus makes bus booking simple from start to finish. Choose your origin and destination, select your travel date, find your preferred departure, and book your seat in just a few taps. With digital tickets and mobile boarding passes, your bus travel is paperless and convenient. FIND CHEAP BUS TICKETS & GREAT VALUE Find affordable fares for popular routes across the United States. OurBus helps you discover cheap bus tickets and convenient departure options without the hassle of driving, parking, or managing a complicated itinerary. Plus, you can save $15 on every ride you book using the SuperSaver Pass. Check available trips, choose the option that works for you, and book bus tickets directly in the app. LIVE BUS TRACKING & TRIP UPDATES Stay informed before and during your trip with live bus tracking. See the location of your bus when tracking is available, and receive important updates about delays, schedule changes, or stop information through app notifications and text messages. With OurBus, the information you need for your journey stays in one place. COMFORTABLE INTERCITY BUS TRAVEL Travel between cities with comfortable onboard amenities designed to make your journey easier. Depending on the service, amenities can include reclining seats, free Wi-Fi, charging ports, bottled water, and restrooms. POPULAR BUS ROUTES OurBus connects travelers across hundreds of routes and more than 100 bus stops. Popular travel corridors include: • New York to Boston • New York to Philadelphia • New York to Washington, DC • New York to Baltimore • New York to Binghamton • New York to State College • Chicago to Madison • New York to Ithaca • New York to Buffalo • Syracuse to New York • New York to Atlantic City • Boston to New York • Boston to Albany • Boston to Ithaca • Washington, DC to New York • Philadelphia to New York Route availability, schedules, stops, and service can vary by date and demand. MANAGE YOUR TRIP ON THE GO Your OurBus account makes it easy to access upcoming trips, view your booking details, manage reservations, and keep your digital boarding pass available while you travel. Check your trip information whenever you need it, directly from the bus app. MADE FOR STUDENTS AND WEEKEND TRIPS Heading home for the break, visiting family, or escaping the city for a few days? Our campus routes connect university towns like Ithaca, State College, Blacksburg, Ann Arbor and College Station to major hubs, so an affordable seat is never far away. Book bus tickets online in advance for holiday weekends, when the best departures fill up first. WHY TRAVEL WITH OURBUS? • Book bus tickets online in a few simple steps • Find affordable fares across hundreds of routes • Keep your digital boarding pass on your phone • Use live bus tracking when available • Get important trip and stop updates • Travel with convenient onboard amenities • Manage your booking from your phone • Explore popular destinations across the United States Whether you are commuting between cities, visiting family, planning a weekend getaway, or taking a longer trip, OurBus makes intercity bus travel easier from booking to arrival. Download OurBus and make your next bus trip simple, comfortable, and connected.

About

RIPTA Wave

Purchase and manage public transit fares directly from your smartphone. Load money onto your account and use your phone as your ticket to ride, with options for one-way, day, and monthly passes. Your fare balance is always accessible and transferable.

Highlights
  • Secure fare purchasing
  • Smartphone as ticket
  • Earn As You Go fare system
  • Transferable fare balance
  • One-way, Day, and Monthly passes
Features
Read full description

With the new RIPTA Wave App, you can securely purchase RIPTA fares in seconds. Purchasing fares is easy: enter your payment card information, load money onto your Wave account, and your smartphone is your ticket to ride! RIPTA also offers one-way, Day and Monthly passes for use on all services. When ready to board the bus, open the app, and scan it under the validator. Never lose your fare product again! Once you load money into your Wave account, it will always be available to use. Need to replace your phone? No problem -- we can easily transfer your balance. 
Features: • Earn As You Go – You no longer have to purchase a Day Pass or Monthly Pass upfront. Each time you ride, gets you closer to earning a Day or Monthly Pass. • Secure ticket purchasing with your credit or debit card • Your smartphone is your ticket to ride • Never lose your fare – account balance and passes can be easily transferred if your phone is lost or stolen

Screenshots

OurBus4 screens
RIPTA Wave4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: OurBus at 4.7 against RIPTA Wave's 1.5. OurBus also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months) and review sentiment (35% vs 5%). RIPTA Wave's advantage is iOS requirement (10.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

OurBus holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 1.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: OurBus has 6K ratings behind it against 250, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 35% of OurBus's written reviews are positive against 5% of RIPTA Wave's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

OurBus ships an update weekly, RIPTA Wave every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
OurBus versus RIPTA Wave: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOurBusRIPTA Wave
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (6K ratings) — better1.5 (250 ratings)
Positive reviews35.0% of reviews — better5.2% of reviews
Number of ratings6K — better250
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.010.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size72 MB91 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOurBusBytemark, Inc.

Customer experience

OurBus

All ratings5,966 ratings
Positive91.3%
Neutral1.8%
Negative6.9%
Written reviews200 reviews
Positive35.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative61.0%

RIPTA Wave

All ratings216 ratings
Positive10.2%
Neutral3.2%
Negative86.6%
Written reviews96 reviews
Positive5.2%
Neutral2.1%
Negative92.7%

User reviews

OurBus

From 6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Comfortable ride
  • 🚀 Affordable prices
  • 👍 Convenient route options
  • 👍 Easy booking process
  • 👍 Friendly drivers

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Unreliable bus service
  • 🐛 Poor customer service
  • 🐛 Buses arriving late or not showing up
  • 🐛 Misleading information about amenities
  • 🐛 Difficult to get refunds or compensation

RIPTA Wave

From 250 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ✅ Convenient contactless payment option
  • 🎯 Ride-to-earn feature allows flexible payment
  • 📱 No need to carry physical cards
  • 🎨 Aesthetically pleasing interface design
  • ⚙️ Auto-purchase functionality available

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezing
  • 💸 Minimum $5-$6 charge requirement (fare is only $2)
  • 🔐 Constant login and authentication issues
  • 💰 Money disappears or fails to load on virtual cards
  • ❌ QR code scanner doesn't work reliably

Bugs and requests

OurBus

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App login issues
  • Inaccurate bus tracking information
  • Difficulty using digital tickets and passes

Requested features

5 requests
  • More transparent pricing and fees
  • Better communication about delays and cancellations
  • Improved app functionality and reliability
  • Ability to easily track bus locations in real-time
  • More flexible rescheduling and cancellation policies

RIPTA Wave

Reported bugs

16 issues
  • App crashes on startup and during payment
  • QR code scanner fails to read barcodes
  • Random logout without user action
  • Payment verification fails despite successful charge
  • Virtual cards created unexpectedly
Show 11 more
  • Funds load to wrong virtual card
  • Balance shows as zero despite loaded funds
  • Day passes and transfers fail to register
  • App freezes when attempting to sign in
  • Card information cannot be edited
  • API errors throughout application
  • App doesn't open after updates
  • Scanning issues on newer iPhone models
  • Inaccessible funds after reinstalling app
  • Monthly pass unlinks after app downtime
  • Slow performance and connection issues

Requested features

11 requests
  • Integration with Apple Wallet and Apple Pay
  • Support for Samsung devices
  • One-way ticket option instead of only day/monthly passes
  • Transfer pass availability in app (currently bus-only)
  • Credit card payment option
Show 6 more
  • Ability to remove or consolidate virtual cards
  • Web-based payment alternative when app fails
  • Better scanning with brightness adjustment assistance
  • Automatic physical card fallback for app failures
  • Integration with existing Transit app instead of separate app
  • Reduced minimum charge amount

In-app purchases

None

OurBus

No in-app purchases

None

RIPTA Wave

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is OurBus free?
OurBus is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is RIPTA Wave free?
RIPTA Wave is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, OurBus or RIPTA Wave?
OurBus is rated higher. OurBus averages 4.7 out of 5 from 6K ratings, while RIPTA Wave averages 1.5 from 250 ratings.
Do OurBus or RIPTA Wave have ads?
Neither OurBus nor RIPTA Wave shows ads.
Which is updated more often, OurBus or RIPTA Wave?
OurBus ships an update weekly, and RIPTA Wave every 2 months. Most recently, OurBus was updated on November 1, 2026 and RIPTA Wave on October 24, 2026.

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