Comparison

UIUC Bus vs M

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

Head to head
About

UIUC Bus

This app provides real-time transit information for the Champaign-Urbana area, including live bus locations, departure times, and route details. It helps users navigate campus and the city efficiently by offering up-to-date information beyond scheduled times.

Highlights
  • Real-time bus departure times
  • Live bus location tracking
  • Nearby bus stop identification
  • Bus route information
  • Map of all CUMTD stops
  • Favorite stop selection
Features
Read full description

Get around the UIUC campus and the Champaign-Urbana area easily and efficiently with UIUC Bus! UIUC Bus provides real-time information about bus stops, routes, and departures and gives you access to the following information for the CUMTD bus service: - Stops near you - Up-to-date bus departure times - Live bus location - Bus route - A map of all CUMTD stops AND a lot more! While Google Maps gives you scheduled bus departure times, UIUC Bus is always up to date with real-time expected departure timings, so you'll always know when a bus is a couple of minutes early or a few minutes late. UIUC Bus also lets you select your favorite stops so you can have fast and easy access to information about the stops you use all the time! Download UIUC Bus today and stay on top of bus timings to get where you need to go reliably!

About

M

See the real-time location of University of Michigan buses and their estimated arrival times. Get directions to nearby stops, customize displayed routes, and save your favorite stops for quick access.

Highlights
  • Live bus tracking
  • Bus arrival times
  • Map view with bus stops
  • Directions to bus stops
  • Favorite bus stops
  • Route customization
Features
Read full description

Track University of Michigan buses live and view bus arrival times quickly and easily using the M-Bus app. - Live tracking of University of Michigan buses - View your location on the map in relation to buses and bus stops - Get directions to bus stops near you - Quickly view incoming buses at your bus stop - Save frequently used bus stops to the favorites section to quickly view stop times - Pick and choose which bus routes you would like for to be displayed - Built natively for mobile featuring responsive and smooth elements The M-Bus app was developed by a student at the University of Michigan (me!) and is not an official University of Michigan app.

Screenshots

UIUC Bus4 screens
M4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: M at 84% against UIUC Bus's 28%. M also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.2) and ads (none vs shown). UIUC Bus's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs every 6 weeks) and ratings volume (1.3K vs 242). On price, in-app purchases and device support 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

M holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: UIUC Bus has 1.3K ratings behind it against 242, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 28% of UIUC Bus's written reviews are positive against 84% of M's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

UIUC Bus ships an update every 10 days, M every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
UIUC Bus versus M: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterUIUC BusM
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (1.3K ratings)4.7 (242 ratings) — better
Positive reviews28.4% of reviews84.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.3K — better242
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationAd-supportedFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.613.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size18 MB34 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRishi MasandEfe Akinci

Customer experience

UIUC Bus

All ratings1,304 ratings
Positive78.5%
Neutral5.4%
Negative16.2%
Written reviews74 reviews
Positive28.4%
Neutral9.5%
Negative62.2%

M

All ratings242 ratings
Positive90.9%
Neutral1.7%
Negative7.4%
Written reviews38 reviews
Positive84.2%
Neutral2.6%
Negative13.2%

User reviews

UIUC Bus

From 1.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Accurate bus information
  • 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
  • ✨ Great design and organization

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🔄 Lack of refresh functionality
  • 🗺️ Inaccurate location tracking and bus routes
  • 💔 Removal of key features in latest update

M

From 242 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use and navigate
  • 👍 Accurate bus tracking
  • 👍 Better than official app
  • 👍 Live updates
  • 👍 Helpful for students

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App no longer works
  • 🐛 Keeps saying 'check internet connection'
  • 🐛 Buses don't show up in app
  • 🐛 App constantly wrong about arrival times
  • 🐛 No direction arrows on routes

Bugs and requests

UIUC Bus

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes when selecting bus stops
  • Incorrect bus arrival times
  • Disappearing bus icons and routes

Requested features

4 requests
  • Bring back manual refresh option
  • Show bus stops on map
  • Display user location on map
  • Restore favorited stops

M

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • App not working, showing 'check internet connection'
  • Buses not appearing in the app when they are present
  • Inaccurate bus arrival times
  • Lack of direction arrows on routes
  • Incorrect time predictions
Show 1 more
  • Janky commuter south route

Requested features

1 request
  • Have “favourite” bus stops shown in a different colour on the main map

In-app purchases

None

UIUC Bus

No in-app purchases

None

M

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is UIUC Bus free?
UIUC Bus is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is M free?
M is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, UIUC Bus or M?
M is rated higher. UIUC Bus averages 4.2 out of 5 from 1.3K ratings, while M averages 4.7 from 242 ratings.
Do UIUC Bus or M have ads?
UIUC Bus shows ads; M does not.
Which is updated more often, UIUC Bus or M?
UIUC Bus ships an update every 10 days, and M every 6 weeks. Most recently, UIUC Bus was updated on September 21, 2026 and M on September 23, 2026.

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