Comparison

Borders Buses vs Carousel

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

Head to head
About

Borders Buses

Plan your bus journeys, view live departures, and purchase mobile tickets securely. Access timetables, save favorites, and stay updated on service disruptions.

Highlights
  • Mobile ticket purchase
  • Live departure times
  • Route planning
  • Digital timetables
  • Favorite stops and routes
  • Service disruption alerts
Features
Read full description

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.

About

Carousel

Plan your bus journeys and purchase tickets for High Wycombe and Buckinghamshire. View live departures, access timetables, and manage contactless journeys. Save your favorite routes for quick access.

Highlights
  • Mobile ticket purchase
  • Live departure times
  • Journey planning
  • Route timetables
  • Contactless journey history
  • Favorite routes
Features
Read full description

Our new app has everything you need to get around High Wycombe and Buckinghamshire with Carousel 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 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 Carousel Buses. Timetables: We’ve squeezed all of our routes and timetables into the palm of your hand. Contactless Journeys: View the journeys you have made using your contactless cards and a breakdown of charges and savings. 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

Borders Buses4 screens
Carousel4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Borders Buses at 56% against Carousel's 26%. Borders Buses also leads on ratings volume (18 vs 3). Carousel's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.8). On price, update cadence, 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

Carousel holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Borders Buses has 18 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 56% of Borders Buses's written reviews are positive against 26% of Carousel's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 11, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Borders Buses versus Carousel: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBorders BusesCarousel
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (18 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews56.0% of reviews — better26.1% of reviews
Number of ratings18 — better3
Update frequencyFortnightlyFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS13.013.0
Further details — not scored
Size41 MB41 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWest Coast MotorsThe Go-Ahead Group plc

Customer experience

Borders Buses

All ratings18 ratings
Positive94.4%
Neutral5.6%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews25 reviews
Positive56.0%
Neutral12.0%
Negative32.0%

Carousel

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews23 reviews
Positive26.1%
Neutral8.7%
Negative65.2%

In-app purchases

None

Borders Buses

No in-app purchases

None

Carousel

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Borders Buses free?
Borders Buses is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Carousel free?
Carousel is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Borders Buses or Carousel?
Carousel is rated higher. Borders Buses averages 4.8 out of 5 from 18 ratings, while Carousel averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Borders Buses or Carousel have ads?
Neither Borders Buses nor Carousel shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Borders Buses or Carousel?
Borders Buses ships an update fortnightly, and Carousel fortnightly. Most recently, Borders Buses was updated on September 11, 2026 and Carousel on September 25, 2026.

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