Caltrain+ vs Bay Transit
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Caltrain+
Plan your Caltrain trips with ease. Get real-time schedules, find the fastest routes, and view service alerts. Perfect for commuters and occasional riders needing to navigate the Caltrain system efficiently.
- Trip planning by departure and arrival station
- View full timetables
- Access service alerts
- System map integration
- Filter by 'arrive by' time
- View scheduled stops for each train
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Caltrain+ is a Caltrain schedule and trip planning app that lets you quickly and easily figure out which train to take to get you from Station A to Station B. Additionally you can view full timetables, service alerts, and a system map all from within the app. To use Caltrain+, simply select the station you want to depart from, the station you want to arrive at, and the timetable (Weekday or Weekend), and Caltrain+ will show you a complete list of every matching train you could take along with its number, service type (i.e. Local, Limited, Express, or South County Connector), departure and arrival time, and trip duration. Optionally specify an “arrive by” time to filter the list of trains to only include those which will get you to your destination station before the specified time. You can also view the full list of scheduled stops for a particular train just by tapping on it. Transit data provided by 511.org. Icon made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com.
Bay Transit
Plan BART trips, view real-time train departures, and receive instant service alerts. This app provides multiple trip options with fare details and displays your route on an interactive map.
- Route planning with fare details
- Real-time train departure estimates
- Interactive route map
- Service disruption alerts
- Clipper, regular, and discount fare options
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Bay Transit — BART Companion Bay Transit is the smarter way to ride BART. Plan your trip, track real-time departures, and stay ahead of service alerts — all in one beautifully designed app. * Route Planning Enter your departure and arrival stations and instantly see your options. Bay Transit shows you multiple trip choices with travel times and fares — Clipper, regular, and discount rates included. Your route comes to life on an interactive map with color-coded BART lines, clearly marking every stop, transfer, and destination along the way. * Real-Time Departures See live estimated arrival times for every train at any BART station. Know exactly which platform to head to, how many cars the train has, and whether it's running on time. Trains that are arriving now show up front so you never miss your ride. * Service Alerts Active service disruptions appear the moment you open the app. When everything is running smoothly, you'll know that too.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ratings volume: Caltrain+ at 2.3K against Bay Transit's 2. Caltrain+ also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months). Bay Transit's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.8). 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.
Bay Transit holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Caltrain+ has 2.3K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Caltrain+ ships an update every 3 weeks, Bay Transit every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Caltrain+ | Bay Transit |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (2.3K ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 85.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 2.3K — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 16 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jonathan Sahoo | Ho Won Kim |
Customer experience
Caltrain+
Bay Transit
Bugs and requests
Caltrain+
Reported bugs
2 issues- App doesn't open
- Unable to process payments
Requested features
3 requests- Expand service to Gilroy
- Post more info on the app like ticketing and upcoming changes
- Add dark mode
Bay Transit
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Caltrain+
No in-app purchases
Bay Transit
No in-app purchases







