Borders Buses vs McGill’s Buses
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Borders Buses
Plan your bus journeys, view live departures, and purchase mobile tickets securely. Access timetables, save favorites, and stay updated on service disruptions.
- Mobile ticket purchase
- Live departure times
- Route planning
- Digital timetables
- Favorite stops and routes
- Service disruption alerts
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Our new app has everything you need to get around with Borders Buses. It’s packed full of everything you’ll need to get mobile on the bus. Mobile Tickets: Purchase mobile tickets securely with Apple Pay or a debit/credit card and scan when boarding - no more searching for cash! Live Departures: Browse and view bus stops on the map, explore upcoming departures, or check out the routes from a stop to see where you could travel next. Journey Planning: Plan your commute, trip to the shops or night out with friends. It’s now even easier to plan ahead with Borders Buses. Timetables: We’ve squeezed all of our routes and timetables into the palm of your hand. Favourites: You can quickly save your favourite Departure Boards, Timetables and Journeys, with quick access from one convenient menu. Disruptions: You’ll be able to keep up to date with service changes directly from our Twitter feeds inside the app. As always, we welcome your feedback. You can send it to us via the app.
McGill’s Buses
Purchase and use mobile tickets directly from your device, eliminating the need for paper tickets. Track your bus in real-time, plan your journeys, and find nearby stops. Access timetables and save favorite routes for convenient travel.
- Mobile ticketing
- Real-time bus tracking
- Journey planning
- Find nearest stops
- User-friendly timetables
- Save favorite services
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McGill’s new and improved m-ticket and real-time app allows you to buy your tickets within the app and use your mobile device as your ticket as well as view real-time information, meaning you can check exactly where your bus is, at any given time – all in the once place! With other added features including- planning my journey, find my nearest stop, user friendly timetable information and saving your favourite services, this will make McGill’s bus travel even easier, with everything you need fitting into your pocket. With M-Ticketing you can buy and load your tickets to your phone and use them whenever suits you; including saving your tickets for later! No more searching for change and for use on any McGill’s bus across our extensive network of services, with payment accepted via PayPal, credit or debit card. There are over half a million journeys on a McGill’s bus every week. Our app makes it even easier to get on-board and track your bus right to your stop! McGill’s operates over 120 routes across Inverclyde, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, North Lanarkshire and Glasgow city. Once you have downloaded the app, create an account and you’re ready! With adult, student, child and family offers available, we have a ticket to suit you. We look forward to welcoming you on board!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: Borders Buses at free against McGill’s Buses's free with in-app purchases. Borders Buses also leads on review sentiment (56% vs 42%). McGill’s Buses's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.8). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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.
McGill’s Buses holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 18 and 11 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 56% of Borders Buses's written reviews are positive against 42% of McGill’s Buses's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Borders Buses | McGill’s Buses |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (18 ratings) | 5.0 (11 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 56.0% of reviews — better | 42.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 18 — better | 11 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 41 MB | 41 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | West Coast Motors | McGill's Buses |
Customer experience
Borders Buses
McGill’s Buses
Bugs and requests
Borders Buses
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
McGill’s Buses
Reported bugs
22 issues- App signs users out
- Account termination threats
- App causes iPhone to overheat
- App crashes when tracking transport
- App doesn't show any bus times
Show 17 moreShow fewer
- App doesn't update in real-time
- App is slow to load
- Live bus locations cause app to crash
- App turns brightness down on phone
- App doesn't show bus times anymore
- App removed ability to know bus capacity
- Website doesn't update in real-time
- App is more expensive than cash
- Tickets expire in 15 minutes
- No live tracking available
- Ticket activation expires after 10 minutes
- App freezes when trying to buy tickets
- Discount codes cannot be applied
- Tickets not transferring from old app
- Payment system flags as fraud
- Real-time tracking is inaccurate
- App doesn't work on quick page on new iPhone update
Requested features
6 requests- Add screen for next stop
- Fix the 66 bus route
- More 66 buses
- Add ability to know when bus is full/moderate/empty
- Add ticket gifting speed
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Improve real-time tracking accuracy
In-app purchases
Borders Buses
No in-app purchases
McGill’s Buses
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Borders Buses free?
Is McGill’s Buses free?
Which has better reviews, Borders Buses or McGill’s Buses?
Do Borders Buses or McGill’s Buses have ads?
Which is updated more often, Borders Buses or McGill’s Buses?
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