BART (Official) vs Gray Line
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
BART (Official)
Plan your Bay Area transit journeys with real-time train departures and official service alerts. This app offers end-to-end trip planning, step-by-step navigation, and customized notifications for a hassle-free commute.
- Real-time train departures
- End-to-end trip planner
- Step-by-step navigation
- Customized service alerts
- Contactless parking payment
- Service disruption information
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The official Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) app has arrived. It’s the easiest way to plan your trip and get accurate real time train departures with data straight from BART, along with official service alerts. The BART app offers exclusive features for hassle free travel for daily commuters, infrequent users and tourists alike: -Plan your entire end to end trip with BART’s exclusive Trip Planner giving you the fastest route from your starting point to your destination using BART and multiple modes of transportation, including connecting transit, biking, walking and driving. -Step by step navigation with personalized preferences and saved favorite stations and trips. -Real time departures and schedule timetable. -Customized in-app notifications about BART service and announcements. -Contactless in-app Daily Fee parking payment -Service disruption information linked to your trip itinerary. -Report a Biohazard that needs addressing and access our BART Watch App for reporting crimes. -Escalator and Elevator advisories. -Fleet of the Future train tracker. -Cancelled trip notices. -Easily see the last train of the evening by station when you’re planning your night out or your trip home from the airport. -Station information (including if it offers a parking lot and secured bike parking). -Seamless connection to bart.gov and BARTable for deals, events, and fun. -It’s ad free; who wants to be distracted when looking how far away your train is? BART is working on future features of the app to enhance your BART experience... Tell us about the features you want.
Gray Line
Access detailed tour information, receive real-time itinerary updates, and connect with customer support. Book future adventures and explore descriptions and photos of all tour stops.
- Detailed tour highlights
- Customer support chat
- Real-time itinerary notifications
- Descriptions and photos of stops
- Book future tours
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The Gray Line application highlights and details everything your tour has to offer - And More! • Everything you need is at your fingertips, and our attentive team is always just a tap or call away! » Chat with our customer support team. » Receive up-to-the-minute itinerary notifications. » See descriptions and photos of all stops on your route. » Book your next Gray Line tour!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ratings volume: BART (Official) at 26K against Gray Line's 7. Gray Line's advantage is rating (4.9 vs 4.6) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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.
Gray Line holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BART (Official) has 26K ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two.
BART (Official) ships an update every 2 months, Gray Line fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | BART (Official) | Gray Line |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (26K ratings) | 4.9 (7 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 29.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 26K — better | 7 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 81 MB | 67 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District | Gray Line Corporation |
Customer experience
BART (Official)
Gray Line
Bugs and requests
BART (Official)
Reported bugs
4 issues- Real-time departure times not updating accurately
- Trip planning providing incorrect/nonsensical routes
- Login and password issues causing frequent logouts
- Parking payment not working as expected
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to check Clipper card balance
- Automatic license plate recognition for parking
- Offline mode for schedules and trip planning
- Better notifications for service advisories and delays
- More customization options for favorite stations
Gray Line
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
BART (Official)
No in-app purchases
Gray Line
No in-app purchases
