Borders Buses vs Go North East
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.
Go North East
Plan your bus journeys, purchase mobile tickets, and view live departure information. Access timetables, save favorites, and stay updated on service disruptions for easy travel.
- Mobile ticket purchasing
- Live departure boards
- Journey planning
- Route timetables
- Favorite stops and routes
- Service disruption alerts
Read full descriptionHide full description
Our new app has everything you need to get around the North East with Go North East. 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 show the driver 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 Go North East. 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 disruption feeds inside the app. As always, we welcome your feedback. You can send it to us via the app.
Screenshots
Verdict
Borders Buses and Go North East both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 56% of Borders Buses's written reviews are positive against 45% of Go North East's. Borders Buses also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.6). 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 — 4.8 for Borders Buses against 4.8 for Go North East. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 18 and 36 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 56% of Borders Buses's written reviews are positive against 45% of Go North East's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Borders Buses | Go North East |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (18 ratings) | 4.8 (36 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 56.0% of reviews — better | 45.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 18 | 36 — better |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 41 MB | 41 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | West Coast Motors | The Go-Ahead Group plc |
Customer experience
Borders Buses
Go North East
Bugs and requests
Borders Buses
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Go North East
Reported bugs
12 issues- App crashes when scrolling on maps
- Bus tracking glitches (buses jumping backwards, disappearing)
- Journey planner shows cancelled journeys
- Buses shown as 'due' then suddenly disappear from tracking
- Login failures with correct credentials
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- NFC interference with debit card pop-ups during ticket scanning
- Search function returns 'can't search right now' errors
- Apple Watch display cuts off bus times over 10 minutes
- Brightness issues after QR code scanning
- Ticket activation takes too long (up to 48 hours verification)
- Map display too zoomed out with poor street visibility
- Recent update degraded tracking accuracy and map functionality
Requested features
10 requests- Bulk ticket purchasing with discounts (e.g., 10 for price of 9)
- Shopping basket for multiple tickets
- Metro station integration on interactive map
- Longer ticket activation window (currently 10 minutes)
- Offline ticket access without WiFi/mobile data
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Seat availability details instead of vague descriptions
- Bus model/brand information display
- Notification when reaching destination stop
- Better service update communication for strikes/delays
- More frequent bus services on specific routes
In-app purchases
Borders Buses
No in-app purchases
Go North East
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Borders Buses free?
Is Go North East free?
Which has better reviews, Borders Buses or Go North East?
Do Borders Buses or Go North East have ads?
Which is updated more often, Borders Buses or Go North East?
Other comparisons
