TAP LA vs Pasadena Transit
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
TAP LA
Pay for transit fares across Los Angeles with your mobile device. This app allows you to purchase passes, manage multiple cards, and use touchless payment on numerous bus and train systems. It also offers trip planning and access to multimodal programs.
- Touchless payment
- Add TAP card to iPhone/Apple Watch
- Purchase transit passes
- Manage multiple TAP cards
- Add TAP card to Apple Wallet
- Trip planning tools
- Reduced fare support
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Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority ("LACMTA"), a government agency, is the owner and developer of this app. TAP is your ticket to ride transit in greater Los Angeles! It is accepted on 27 systems including LA Metro, providing a vast network of buses and trains. - Make your travel safe and easy with touchless payment and card management. - Add a new TAP card to your iPhone and Apple Watch and use your fare immediately. - Use your iPhone (8 and above) and Apple Watch (Series 3 and above) to tap with Apple Pay when boarding a bus or train. - Enjoy flexible payment options including credit/debit cards, account cash and Apple Pay. - Purchase a transit pass or Stored Value for any agency in Los Angeles County. - Manage multiple cards in your TAP account (iPhone 5 and above). - Add your TAP card to Apple Wallet, enable Express Transit and quickly tap and pay when you board. You don't even have to wake up your phone! - Supports reduced fares for seniors, students, persons with disabilities and low-income riders. - Transfer a TAP card in your account to your Apple Wallet and leave the plastic at home. - Access multimodal programs such as Metro Bike Share. - Use Trip Tools to plan trips, find nearby transit options, view real-time arrivals and save favorite destinations and stops. - Enjoy the benefits of a TAP account, such as Balance Protection, card management, discounts, promotions, transaction history and friendly customer service. - Accepted on 27 transit systems in LA County including: Angels Flight Railway Antelope Valley Transit Authority (AVTA) Baldwin Park Transit Beach Cities Transit Burbank Bus Carson Circuit Compton Renaissance Transit System Culver CityBus Foothill Transit Gardena GTRANS Glendale Beeline Glendora Transportation Division Huntington Park Transit Unlimited LA County Department of Public Works LADOT Transit Lawndale Beat Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) Long Beach Transit Metro Montebello Bus Lines Monterey Park Spirit Bus Norwalk Transit Palos Verdes Peninsula Transit Authority Pasadena Transit Santa Clarita Transit Santa Monica Big Blue Bus Torrance Transit
Pasadena Transit
Track buses in real-time and view estimated arrival times for your closest stop. Browse schedules, routes, and save your favorite stops for quick access.
- Real-time bus tracking
- Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA)
- Browse schedules
- View routes and stops
- Save favorite stops
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Official app for Pasadena Transit (CA) bus service. Shows your closest stop and provides Estimated Time of Arrival for buses. Also lets you browse schedules, stops, and routes, as well as, save favourites. Realtime bus positions allow you to view where the next bus servicing your stop is currently located.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Pasadena Transit at 100% against TAP LA's 12%. Pasadena Transit also leads on rating (4.5 vs 1.9) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 13). TAP LA's advantage is update cadence (every 5 months vs every 49 months) and ratings volume (854 vs 2). 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.
Pasadena Transit holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 1.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: TAP LA has 854 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 12% of TAP LA's written reviews are positive against 100% of Pasadena Transit's.
TAP LA ships an update every 5 months, Pasadena Transit every 49 months. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | TAP LA | Pasadena Transit |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.9 (854 ratings) | 4.5 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 11.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 854 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months — better | Every 49 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #208 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 13 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 84 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority | Connexionz Limited |
Customer experience
TAP LA
Pasadena Transit
Bugs and requests
TAP LA
Reported bugs
3 issues- Card registration and activation issues
- Disappearing funds and balances
- Inconsistent app performance
Requested features
4 requests- Allow multiple devices for one account
- Improve reliability of fund loading
- Provide more transparent transaction history
- Integrate with more payment methods
Pasadena Transit
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
TAP LA
No in-app purchases
Pasadena Transit
No in-app purchases
