TV Buses vs Carousel
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
TV Buses
Plan your journeys and purchase mobile tickets for bus travel in the Thames Valley area. View live bus times, real-time departures, and route information. Save favorite stops and journeys for quick access.
- Mobile ticket purchase
- Live bus tracking
- Real-time departures
- Journey planning
- Timetable access
- Contactless journey history
- Favorite stops and routes
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Our new app has everything you need to get around the Thames Valley area with Thames Valley 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 Buses and Real Time Departures: Browse and view buses and 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 Thames Valley 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 or email us at customerservices@thamesvalleybuses.com.
Carousel
Plan your bus journeys, purchase mobile tickets, and view live departures. Access timetables, track service disruptions, and save your favorite routes for easy access. Contactless payment options are available for your convenience.
- Mobile ticket purchasing
- Live departure information
- Journey planning
- Route timetables
- Contactless journey history
- Favorite routes
- Service disruption alerts
Read full descriptionHide 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
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: TV Buses at 59% against Carousel's 32%. Carousel's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.7). On price, ratings volume, 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.
Carousel holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 3 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 59% of TV Buses's written reviews are positive against 32% of Carousel's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | TV Buses | Carousel |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (7 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 58.8% of reviews — better | 32.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 7 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 41 MB | 41 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Thames Valley Buses | The Go-Ahead Group plc |
Customer experience
TV Buses
Carousel
In-app purchases
TV Buses
No in-app purchases
Carousel
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is TV Buses free?
Is Carousel free?
Which has better reviews, TV Buses or Carousel?
Do TV Buses or Carousel have ads?
Which is updated more often, TV Buses or Carousel?
Other comparisons
