MTA TrainTime vs NYC Transit
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
NYC Transit
Get real-time transit updates for NYC buses and subways, including Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North. Plan your trips, find nearby stops, and favorite your routes for quick access across devices.
- Real-time vehicle updates
- Cross-platform favorite stops
- Nearby stop finder
- Trip planner
- Interactive map with routes
- Auto-refreshing schedules
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Providing transit information from MTA agency for - NYC Transit Bus & Subway, Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island, Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad, Bus Company. Features: - Favourite your transit stops once and access them across multiple devices. Cross platform favourite stops feature. - Receive real-time updates on transit vehicles schedule & position. - Find stops nearby you in just one click. - Search your transit by stop name, stop number, or vehicle route number. - Our schedule auto refreshes every 30 seconds so that you don't miss your ride. - Interact with transit stops directly from the map itself. - Maps are resizable to give you more control over the view. - Transit routes are available on the map along with the transit vehicle driving direction. - Plan your trips (city or inter-cities) using trip planner. - See all the stops between stops when using trip planner.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: MTA TrainTime at 53% against NYC Transit's 0%. MTA TrainTime also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.2) and ads (none vs shown). NYC Transit's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.4). On price, 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
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 155, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 53% of MTA TrainTime's written reviews are positive against 0% of NYC Transit's.
MTA TrainTime ships an update every 9 days, NYC Transit every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | MTA TrainTime | NYC Transit |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (211K ratings) — better | 4.2 (155 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 52.7% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 211K — better | 155 |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days — better | Every 6 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #14 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 129 MB | 18 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Metropolitan Transportation Authority | Bhanu Munjal |
Customer experience
MTA TrainTime
NYC Transit
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
NYC Transit
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
MTA TrainTime
No in-app purchases
NYC Transit
No in-app purchases








