TAP LA vs RydeMates
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
RydeMates
This app facilitates carpooling for UCLA students traveling to and from LAX. Users can create or join groups of up to four students to share rides, saving money and reducing environmental impact. Coordinate logistics and connect with fellow students for a simpler travel experience.
- Connect UCLA students for rides
- Carpooling to and from LAX
- Group creation and joining
- In-app chat for coordination
- Save money on travel
- Reduce carbon emissions
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RydeMates connects college students who need rides between their campus and LAX, making carpooling simple, safe, and rewarding. Whether you're heading to LAX or back to UCLA or USC, find a group of up to 4 students to ride with and turn every journey into an opportunity to save money, reduce emissions, and make new friends. Users can create or join carpools listed on the groups page and chat with other riders within their group to coordinate ride logistics. Download now to help the planet and your wallet!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: RydeMates at 100% against TAP LA's 12%. RydeMates also leads on rating (4.8 vs 1.9) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 5 months). TAP LA's advantage is ratings volume (850 vs 4) and chart position (#178 vs unranked). 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.
RydeMates holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 1.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: TAP LA has 850 ratings behind it against 4, 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 RydeMates's.
TAP LA ships an update every 5 months, RydeMates every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | TAP LA | RydeMates |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.9 (850 ratings) | 4.8 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 11.9% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 850 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #178 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 13 — better | 18.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 84 MB | 17 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority | Devon Bradley |
Customer experience
TAP LA
RydeMates
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
RydeMates
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
TAP LA
No in-app purchases
RydeMates
No in-app purchases
