Comparison

Metro Transit vs Park Duluth

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

Head to head
About

Metro Transit

Plan your transit trips, view real-time departure information for buses and trains, and purchase mobile tickets directly from your smartphone. This app simplifies navigating public transportation in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area.

Highlights
  • Trip Planner
  • Real-time departure information (NexTrip)
  • Mobile ticket purchasing
  • Store multiple tickets
  • Secure payment options
Read full description

Make transit trips in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area as mobile as you are with the official Metro Transit app. Now you can plan your trip, see departure information for buses and trains, and buy transit tickets all on the go! Just download the free app, create an account with your method of payment, and get moving. The Metro Transit app is a tool to make riding the bus, METRO system and Northstar in the Twin Cities a little bit easier. After you’ve identified your desired trip and transit departure time, you can buy and use Metro Transit mobile tickets right from your smartphone – it’s like having a ticket machine right in your pocket! KEY FEATURES: Find the right bus, light rail, or train for you through the Trip Planner. See the next available bus, light rail, or train for your desired trip with NexTrip. Pay a single fare or multiple fares for a group of riders, and store multiple tickets on your phone for future use. Simply create an account and enter your credit/debit card information in our secure system. If you’re looking to pay with cash, you can use a pre-paid debit card or pre-paid gift card. HOW IT WORKS: 1. SELECT RIDER TYPE: Adult, Senior/Youth/Medicare, Mobility, Family 2. SELECT SERVICE: Local Bus/METRO, Express Bus, or Northstar 3. SELECT: Station for Northstar or time-based fare for Bus/METRO 4. CHECKOUT: Pay with Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, pre-paid debit or gift card, or Apple Pay COMMON QUESTIONS: Do I need to be connected? An internet connection is required create an account, sign-in and purchase and activate tickets. What if my battery dies? Just like with paper tickets, you're responsible for making sure you have a valid fare at all times, so be sure to plan ahead! IMPORTANT REMINDERS: • Activate your ticket when you see your bus or train approaching. Your ticket must be activated before boarding a vehicle. • Watch your battery level... Just like with paper tickets, you're responsible for making sure you have a valid fare at all times.

About

Park Duluth

Easily pay for and manage your parking sessions in Duluth and UMD. Avoid feeding meters by using your smartphone to start, extend, and track your parking time. Receive notifications before your session ends and view future rate changes.

Highlights
  • Find parking with map
  • Pay for parking via smartphone
  • Extend parking sessions remotely
  • Receive parking session alerts
  • View future parking rates
  • Manage parking history
  • Receive email receipts
Features
Read full description

No more digging for coins. This is how parking should be. Pay, extend, and manage your parking session with Duluth & UMD's official parking app. It’s easy! FIND PARKING Use the map to search for parking, then pay quickly with your smartphone. - Time's precious, stop wasting it feeding a meter. - Forget refilling the meter in the rain or braving the cold. NO PRICE SURPRISES See when parking rates will change in the future – even when there’s free parking! - Receive email receipts at the end of your parking session. - Expenses made easy, manage your parking history through the mobile app. STRESS-FREE PARKING Get alerts when your parking session is about to end. - Stop worrying about how much time is left on the meter, we have you covered. NO NEED TO RUSH Add time to your parking session directly from your phone.* - Your plans change, your parking spot shouldn't. Simply extend your parking session via our app. -------- GET STARTED TODAY 1. Download the Park Duluth app. 2. Park where you see Park Duluth app signs. 3. Pay for your parking session from your phone. 4. Relax, welcome to parking as it should be. -------- COMING SOON The Park Duluth app is not done yet! We're constantly updating the app based on your feedback. -------- APP PERMISSIONS - Location Services (optional): Used to quickly provide nearby parking zones. * where applicable

Screenshots

Metro Transit3 screens
Park Duluth4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Park Duluth at 4.4 against Metro Transit's 1.6. Park Duluth also leads on review sentiment (39% vs 14%). Metro Transit's advantage is update cadence (every 3 months vs every 10 months) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.6). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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

Park Duluth holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 1.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 333 and 289 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 14% of Metro Transit's written reviews are positive against 39% of Park Duluth's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Metro Transit ships an update every 3 months, Park Duluth every 10 months. The most recent releases landed on September 18, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Metro Transit versus Park Duluth: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMetro TransitPark Duluth
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.6 (333 ratings)4.4 (289 ratings) — better
Positive reviews13.9% of reviews39.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings333 — better289
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 10 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size40 MB108 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMetropolitan CouncilUniversity of Minnesota Duluth

Customer experience

Metro Transit

All ratings333 ratings
Positive12.3%
Neutral2.4%
Negative85.3%
Written reviews122 reviews
Positive13.9%
Neutral3.3%
Negative82.8%

Park Duluth

All ratings281 ratings
Positive88.6%
Neutral1.1%
Negative10.3%
Written reviews38 reviews
Positive39.5%
Neutral5.3%
Negative55.3%

User reviews

Metro Transit

From 333 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Works great
  • ✨ Convenient for visiting
  • 💳 Supports Apple Pay

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and unreliable
  • 🤔 Confusing and unintuitive UI
  • 🚫 Can't purchase tickets
  • 🔄 Constant login issues
  • 🔍 Lacks key features like trip planning

Park Duluth

From 289 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Convenient parking payment
  • 💡 Ability to extend parking time
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 👍 No need for coins
  • 👍 Reminders for expiring time

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App frequently freezes
  • 🐛 App crashes often
  • 🐛 App won't open
  • 🐛 App down issues
  • 🐛 Login issues

Bugs and requests

Metro Transit

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Payment buttons not functioning
  • App crashing or getting stuck on loading screens
  • Login issues and account problems
  • Incompatibility with older devices or OS versions

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add prompt for first-time users to buy tickets
  • Integrate trip planning and schedules into the app
  • Allow purchasing multiple tickets at once
  • Improve payment flow and reliability

Park Duluth

Reported bugs

18 issues
  • App won't verify on phone
  • App freezes and causes payment issues
  • App crashes
  • App won't load
  • App won't open
Show 13 more
  • App down leads to parking tickets
  • App says credit card on file but won't log in
  • App doesn't recognize existing meter time
  • App cannot handle VPN
  • Contact us feature leads to errors
  • New update limits meter extension to 5 PM
  • Login loop, PIN issues
  • App wants PIN but doesn't allow creation
  • App won't let me reset PIN
  • App won't let me create an account
  • App doesn't work correctly with seasonal meters
  • App asks for PIN repeatedly
  • Cannot add card through the app due to formatting issues

Requested features

7 requests
  • Option to pay for entire stay at once
  • Allow extending meter time for shorter durations
  • Prevent 2 AM parking reminders
  • Improve zone visibility
  • Allow card payment at meters
Show 2 more
  • Better support for seasonal meters
  • Fix credit card input formatting

In-app purchases

None

Metro Transit

No in-app purchases

None

Park Duluth

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Metro Transit free?
Metro Transit is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Park Duluth free?
Park Duluth is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Metro Transit or Park Duluth?
Park Duluth is rated higher. Metro Transit averages 1.6 out of 5 from 333 ratings, while Park Duluth averages 4.4 from 289 ratings.
Do Metro Transit or Park Duluth have ads?
Neither Metro Transit nor Park Duluth shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Metro Transit or Park Duluth?
Metro Transit ships an update every 3 months, and Park Duluth every 10 months. Most recently, Metro Transit was updated on September 18, 2026 and Park Duluth on September 19, 2026.

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