MTA TrainTime vs NY Subway
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MTA TrainTime
This app allows railroad customers to buy and use tickets, plan journeys, and track trains in real-time. It offers features like split payments, multi-station trip planning, and real-time GPS tracking for a seamless travel experience.
- Buy and use railroad tickets
- Plan trips with departure times
- Real-time GPS train tracking
- View train car layouts and crowding
- Split ticket payments
- Share trip details
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The TrainTime app provides a one-stop shop for Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad customers, where riders can buy and use tickets, plan their trips, track their trains, and more. • Buy tickets with Apple Pay or credit/debit card. Split payment between two cards. • Plan trips with departure times and transfer details before you travel. You can also search for two origin and/or two destination stations at once. • Save your frequent trains for easy access • Share trips with family and friends so they know when to expect you • Follow your trip with real-time GPS tracking, updated every few seconds • See the layout of your train and how crowded each car is • Chat with a customer service representative for either LIRR or Metro-North within the app
NY Subway
Access real-time MTA subway maps and status updates for New York City. View day and night maps with an intuitive interface, and stay informed about delays and breaking news via Twitter integration.
- MTA subway maps
- Real-time status updates
- Delay notifications
- Day and night map views
- Twitter integration for breaking news
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Quick access to MTA NYC subway maps, status updates, & delays. See day and night time maps in an easy to use UI. See portal into MTA's delays and breaking updates on Twitter.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: NY Subway at 100% against MTA TrainTime's 53%. NY Subway also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 9 days) and iOS requirement (11.1 vs 16.4). MTA TrainTime's advantage is rating (4.9 vs 4.2) and ratings volume (211K vs 12). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
MTA TrainTime holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MTA TrainTime has 211K ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 53% of MTA TrainTime's written reviews are positive against 100% of NY Subway's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
MTA TrainTime ships an update every 9 days, NY Subway every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and August 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | MTA TrainTime | NY Subway |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (211K ratings) — better | 4.2 (12 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 52.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 211K — better | 12 |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #12 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | 11.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 129 MB | 43 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Metropolitan Transportation Authority | Joseph Furlott |
Customer experience
MTA TrainTime
NY Subway
Bugs and requests
MTA TrainTime
Reported bugs
3 issues- Ticket purchase failures
- Device blocked from purchasing tickets
- Incorrect track information displayed
Requested features
4 requests- Apple Watch support
- Ability to plan trips for future dates
- More detailed crowding/capacity information
- Improved search and filtering options
NY Subway
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
MTA TrainTime
No in-app purchases
NY Subway
No in-app purchases
