Chicago CTA Bus Tracker vs Arrive Chicago Transit
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Chicago CTA Bus Tracker
Track Chicago CTA buses in real-time. Select your route, direction, and stop to view upcoming bus arrivals. Save favorite stops for quick access to arrival times.
- Live bus tracking
- Route and direction selection
- Stop arrival predictions
- Save favorite stops
- Fast and easy to use
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Live bus tracker for Chicago CTA buses. Simply select a route, direction and stop to see the next bus arrivals. Save your favorite stops to see upcoming arrivals with a single touch. - CTA buses - Save unlimited number of favorites - Easy to use - Fast This is not an official app.
Arrive Chicago Transit
This app provides real-time tracking for all Chicago public transit, including CTA trains and buses, and Metra commuter rail. It features a unique virtual pigeon companion, safety alerts, carbon impact tracking, and a trip planner. Explore historic spots and get crowd predictions for events.
- Real-time CTA and Metra tracking
- Virtual pigeon companion with customization
- Community safety alerts
- Carbon and CO2 impact tracker
- Multi-step trip planner
- Historic Chicago spot exploration
- Crowd prediction engine
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Arrive Chicago is the only app that tracks every CTA train, every CTA bus, and every Metra commuter rail line in one beautiful, real-time map. No more juggling three apps. No more guessing when your ride shows up. Just open Arrive and go. REAL-TIME TRACKING FOR ALL CHICAGO TRANSIT Follow all 8 CTA train lines (Red, Blue, Brown, Green, Orange, Pink, Purple, Yellow), 100+ CTA bus routes, and all 11 Metra commuter rail lines on a live animated map. Tap any station for arrivals counted down to the minute. YOUR VIRTUAL PIGEON COMPANION Adopt a virtual Chicago pigeon and watch it grow from Hatchling to Station Master across 5 levels. Feed it bird seeds, keep it happy, and unlock 43 unique pigeon costumes - from Astronaut to Pizza Delivery Pigeon. Your pigeon name replaces your real name everywhere in the app, so your identity stays private. This is the Tamagotchi of transit apps. EARN BIRD SEEDS EVERYWHERE Seeds are earned by riding CTA trains and buses, taking Metra, walking (synced from Apple Health), reporting safety incidents, exploring historic spots, and even when a Chicago sports team wins. Spend seeds to feed your pigeon, buy accessories, and climb the leaderboard. COMMUNITY SAFETY ALERTS IN REAL TIME Report and receive safety incidents delivered in under 6 milliseconds via WebSocket. Add photos, videos, and comments. Upvote or verify reports from other riders. Push notifications alert you even when the app is closed, so you always know what is happening on your route. CARBON & CO2 IMPACT TRACKER Every transit ride is measured in CO2 saved versus driving. Walking steps from HealthKit count too. Set daily goals, unlock green achievements, and see exactly how your commute helps the planet. TRIP PLANNER - THE COO-MUTER The Coo-muter plans multi-step CTA and Metra trips. Just type where you want to go and it handles the rest. EXPLORE HISTORIC CHICAGO SPOTS Discover hidden landmarks, architecture, and history across every neighborhood. Each spot includes fun facts, historical context, and transit directions to get there. Earn bonus seeds for every new discovery. CROWD PREDICTION ENGINE Ticketmaster event data is mapped to nearby CTA stations so you know which platforms will be packed before a Cubs game, a concert at United Center, or a Bears tailgate at Soldier Field. Plan around the crowds, not into them. CRIME HEATMAP Official Chicago Police Department data visualized on the map so you can make informed decisions about your route and timing. LIVE CHICAGO SPORTS SCORES Follow the Bears, Cubs, Bulls, White Sox, Blackhawks, and Fire with live scores right inside the app. When Chicago wins, everybody earns bonus bird seeds. WEATHER-AWARE SMART NOTIFICATIONS Departure reminders that factor in real-time weather, crowd levels from events, and current delays. The app knows when to nudge you to leave early — and when you have time for another coffee. LIVE WEATHER ANIMATIONS Real snow falls on the map when Chicago gets a snowstorm. Rain, wind, and sun are animated too. Because weather is half the commute. EVENTS & COMMUNITY DELAYS Coordinate transit meetups with friends via shareable deep links. Report and vote on community delays so every rider benefits from real-world intel. APPLE WATCH, WIDGETS & CLOUD SYNC Glance at next arrivals from your wrist or home screen. All favorites and pigeon progress sync across devices via iCloud. LEADERBOARD COMPETITION Compete with other Chicago riders for the top spot. Earn seeds, level up your pigeon, and see how you stack up city-wide. Arrive Chicago is 100% free. No ads. No subscriptions. No in-app purchases. Just the best transit app Chicago has ever had. Download now and never miss a train again.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Arrive Chicago Transit at none against Chicago CTA Bus Tracker's shown. Arrive Chicago Transit also leads on rating (4.6 vs 4.2) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). Chicago CTA Bus Tracker's advantage is ratings volume (204 vs 5) and review sentiment (60% vs 50%). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Arrive Chicago Transit holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chicago CTA Bus Tracker has 204 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 60% of Chicago CTA Bus Tracker's written reviews are positive against 50% of Arrive Chicago Transit's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
| Parameter | Chicago CTA Bus Tracker | Arrive Chicago Transit |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (204 ratings) | 4.6 (5 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 59.6% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 204 — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Every 37 months | — |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 12 MB | 256 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Naiara Albaina | yashesh bharti |
Customer experience
Chicago CTA Bus Tracker
Arrive Chicago Transit
Bugs and requests
Chicago CTA Bus Tracker
Reported bugs
8 issues- App doesn't update
- App doesn't refresh
- Home page doesn't load
- No information available when searching
- App freezes sometimes
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- No real-time info refresh
- Doesn't load consistently
- Takes a while to upload
Requested features
6 requests- Ability to rearrange favorites
- Add a refresh button
- Improve user-friendliness on the go
- Add train tracking
- Fix discrepancy between app and website
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Allow users to refresh current input
Arrive Chicago Transit
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Chicago CTA Bus Tracker
No in-app purchases
Arrive Chicago Transit
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Chicago CTA Bus Tracker free?
Is Arrive Chicago Transit free?
Which has better reviews, Chicago CTA Bus Tracker or Arrive Chicago Transit?
Do Chicago CTA Bus Tracker or Arrive Chicago Transit have ads?
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