Stagecoach Bus vs Bee Network
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Stagecoach Bus
Plan your bus journeys, track buses in real-time, and purchase mobile tickets securely. Features an interactive map to view services and stops, with options to save favorite routes.
- Interactive route map
- Real-time bus tracking
- Find nearest stops
- Save favorite journeys
- Secure mobile ticket purchase
- Instant ticket delivery
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Use the app to see bus information on your mobile, plan your journey, check when your bus will arrive, search for the right mobile ticket and buy securely on your phone all in one place. App Features: *Interactive map* We’ve made it easier to travel on our buses with a new interactive map, showing all of our services and stops – simply tap on a bus or stop to find your journey information. *Latest bus information* Check when your bus will arrive and how far away from you it is. *Find the right stop for you* View your nearest bus services and stops wherever you are, which buses stop there and what routes they take. *Favourites* Save your favourite journeys, bus services and stops to make journey planning even easier. *Mobile tickets:* Buy mobile tickets safely and securely and your tickets will appear instantly on your phone ready to use. Simply activate your ticket when you're ready to board and show it to the driver. Stagecoach buses run in the following areas: Aberdeenshire Alton and Petersfield Alyth Blairgowrie and Coupar Angus Andover and Salisbury Arbroath Montrose and the Mearns Coast Ashford Aviemore Ayrshire and Arran Barnsley Barrow and Furness Basingstoke Bedfordshire Blackwater Valley Caithness Cambridgeshire Canterbury Cardiff Carlisle Penrith and Wigton Cheltenham Cheshire Chesterfield Chichester and Bognor Regis Cirencester Clackmannanshire Falkirk and Stirling Doncaster Dover Dronfield Dumfries and Galloway Dundee Dunfermline and West Fife Eastbourne East Devon Edinburgh Folkestone Forest of Dean Forfar and Brechin Fort William Gainsborough Glasgow Glenrothes Leven and Kirkcaldy Gloucester Greater Exeter Grimsby Cleethorpes Guildford and South Surrey Gwent Hartlepool Hastings Herefordshire Highland Perthshire Hull Inverness Kendal and The Lakes Lancashire Leicestershire Lincoln Manchester Mansfield Merseyside Merthyr Tydfil Milton Keynes Moray Morecambe and Lancaster Newark Newcastle upon Tyne Norfolk Northamptonshire North Cornwall North Devon Orkney Oxfordshire Perth Peterborough Plymouth Portsmouth and Havant Powys Retford Rhondda Cynon Taf Rotherham Salford Scunthorpe Sheffield Skegness Skye Somerset South Hams South Perthshire South Shields Staffordshire St Andrews Cupar and the East Neuk Stockport Stroud Sunderland Swindon Tameside Teesside Teignbridge Tewkesbury Thanet Torbay Wakefield Warwickshire and Coventry West Cumbria West Devon West Perthshire Wigan Winchester Worcestershire Worksop Worthing and Brighton
Bee Network
Plan your public transport journeys, track buses in real-time, and purchase tram and bus tickets. Find nearby stops, get live departure times, and save your favorite locations for quick access. Rate your travel experience to help shape future services.
- Live bus tracking
- Nearest stop finder
- Live departure times
- Journey planning
- Buy tram and bus tickets
- View active tickets
- Rate your journey
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Say yellow to the Bee Network app, brought to you by Transport for Greater Manchester. You can find your nearest stop, get live departure times, track your bus, plan a journey and buy and use tram tickets. Use the Bee Network app to: • Track bus live locations • Find your nearest stops and departure times, save your favourites for quick access • Plan your journey on public transport or by active travel • Buy and display tram, bus and multi modal tickets • View active, purchased and expired tickets • Rate your journey BUS TRACKING View the live locations of buses on a map and track them along the route to your stop. You can also see the locations of subsequent buses and where they are currently are on the route. LIVE TRAVEL UPDATES Get live departure times for bus, tram and train. Find your nearest stop, select it as a ‘favourite’ and stay updated. JOURNEY PLANNING You can plan public transport journeys on buses, trams and trains as well as active travel via cycling, cycle hire and walking. Filter results by travel mode or step-free access. Park and ride options are provided when available. We will let you know the right ticket for your journey and either give you the option to buy it in the app or provide you with pricing information and instructions for other retail channels. BUY, SAVE AND DISPLAY TICKETS FROM THE APP You can buy selected bus and tram tickets on the Bee Network app, including our new Bee AnyBus+Tram tickets and use the app to display or scan your ticket when boarding or for inspection. You can now pay easily with Apple Pay and Google Pay as well as the option to save your payment details, to make it quicker and easier when you’re buying your tickets. RATE YOUR JOURNEY Let us know about your bus and tram journeys in Greater Manchester. We will use your feedback to shape the Bee Network. For further information go to beenetwork.com Please note that you must have a valid ticket to travel on public transport otherwise you are liable for a Penalty Fare. If you are using the app to buy and display tickets for travel, make sure your phone has enough battery to display your ticket for the duration of your journey. Bee Network: Powered by Transport for Greater Manchester. Every journey. Every day.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: Stagecoach Bus at free against Bee Network's free with in-app purchases. Bee Network's advantage is review sentiment (19% vs 10%). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Stagecoach Bus against 4.7 for Bee Network. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 806 and 2.2K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 10% of Stagecoach Bus's written reviews are positive against 19% of Bee Network's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly monthly. Both last shipped on October 15, 2026.
| Parameter | Stagecoach Bus | Bee Network |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (806 ratings) | 4.7 (2.2K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 10.4% of reviews | 18.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 806 | 2.2K — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 67 MB | 80 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Stagecoach Group plc | Transport for Greater Manchester |
Customer experience
Stagecoach Bus
Bee Network
User reviews
Stagecoach Bus
From 806 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Easy to use
- 🚀 Convenient ticket purchase
- 👍 Good for frequent travelers
Room to improve
- 🐛 Apple Pay not working
- 🐛 Unreliable bus tracking
- 🐛 Inaccurate timetables
- 🐛 Glitchy app performance
- 🐛 Difficult to navigate
Bee Network
From 2.2K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Easy to use
- 👍 Convenient information in one place
- 🚀 Great journey planning
- 👍 Improved over time
Room to improve
- 🐛 Inaccurate bus/tram times
- 🐛 Unreliable live tracking
- 🐛 Frequent glitches and crashes
- 🐛 Logging out issues
- 🐛 Missing key features like timetables and route search
Bugs and requests
Stagecoach Bus
Reported bugs
3 issues- Routes disappearing from app
- Ticket purchases failing
- Inability to purchase youth/student tickets
Requested features
3 requests- More regional voice announcers
- Improved bus cancellation notifications
- Better integration with mobile payment options
Bee Network
Reported bugs
3 issues- Buses disappearing from the app
- Incorrect ticket validation leading to fines
- App unable to load tickets or log in at times
Requested features
4 requests- Add offline mode for tickets
- Integrate with Apple Wallet
- Improve journey planning and route search
- Provide more detailed service disruption information
In-app purchases
Stagecoach Bus
No in-app purchases
Bee Network
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Stagecoach Bus free?
Is Bee Network free?
Which has better reviews, Stagecoach Bus or Bee Network?
Do Stagecoach Bus or Bee Network have ads?
Which is updated more often, Stagecoach Bus or Bee Network?
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