Borders Buses vs Bus & Tram
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.
Bus & Tram
Plan your bus and tram journeys in Edinburgh and the Lothians with real-time arrival information. Purchase mobile tickets directly within the app and receive live updates on delays and diversions.
- Journey planning with interactive map
- Real-time bus and tram arrival times
- Mobile ticket purchasing
- Live travel and service updates
- Customizable route suggestions
- Service notifications
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The new Lothian Buses and Edinburgh Trams app has everything you need to seamlessly travel on buses and trams in and around Edinburgh and the Lothians. Journey Planning Planning your journey around Edinburgh has never been easier. You can view your location on the interactive map and plan a route to your desired location. You can tailor the results to your travel preferences and we'll show you the most practical routes to get you where you need to be. Real-time Information Stay up to date with all the latest information regarding bus and tram arrival and departure times. The interactive map shows every bus and tram stop around you with subsequent real-time information about services at the selected location. Mobile Ticketing Passengers can now purchase a number of ticket types all on the one app. The app will learn ticket purchase behaviour and can present suggestions for frequently purchased tickets. Make use of our handy filters and find the tickets you need whether you're travelling across the region, in the city or to the Airport. Travel and Service Information The new and updated app can give you live updates about travel and service information, such as delays and diversions. If a stop is selected on the app, passengers will get the most up to date service information regarding the routes that serve the selected stop. Passengers have the opportunity to turn on notifications to get the latest service information straight to their smartphone.
Screenshots
Verdict
Borders Buses and Bus & Tram both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 56% of Borders Buses's written reviews are positive against 15% of Bus & Tram's. Borders Buses also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.0). Bus & Tram's advantage is ratings volume (219 vs 18). On price, rating, 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.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Borders Buses against 4.8 for Bus & Tram. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bus & Tram has 219 ratings behind it against 18, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 56% of Borders Buses's written reviews are positive against 15% of Bus & Tram's.
Borders Buses ships an update fortnightly, Bus & Tram every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 11, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Borders Buses | Bus & Tram |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (18 ratings) | 4.8 (219 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 56.0% of reviews — better | 14.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 18 | 219 — better |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 41 MB | 65 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | West Coast Motors | Lothian Buses plc |
Customer experience
Borders Buses
Bus & Tram
Bugs and requests
Borders Buses
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Bus & Tram
Reported bugs
2 issues- App refreshes when switching away
- Address search returns irrelevant results
Requested features
4 requests- Bring back 'take me home' button
- Allow saving of favorite stops without login
- Integrate live departure times with route planning
- Improve map view to show bus locations
In-app purchases
Borders Buses
No in-app purchases
Bus & Tram
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Borders Buses free?
Is Bus & Tram free?
Which has better reviews, Borders Buses or Bus & Tram?
Do Borders Buses or Bus & Tram have ads?
Which is updated more often, Borders Buses or Bus & Tram?
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