Comparison

Midland Bluebird vs ZoneCard

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Midland Bluebird

Plan your bus journeys, view live departures, and purchase mobile tickets securely. Access timetables, save favorites, and stay updated on service disruptions for seamless travel.

Highlights
  • Mobile ticket purchasing
  • Live bus departure tracking
  • Route and timetable information
  • Journey planning tools
  • Save favorite routes and stops
  • Service disruption alerts
Features
Read full description

Our new app has everything you need to get around with Midland Bluebird . 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 Midland Bluebird. Timetables: We’ve squeezed all of our routes and timetables into the palm of your hand. 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.

About

ZoneCard

This app simplifies public transport ticketing for bus, rail, and subway in West Scotland. It allows users to purchase and manage smartcards, buy tickets, and download them directly to their phone via NFC. Users can also manage their account details and view past purchases.

Highlights
  • Register and purchase smartcards
  • Associate existing transport cards
  • Buy flexible tickets
  • Download tickets via NFC
  • Manage account details
  • View purchase history
Read full description

ZoneCard is the smart ticket for bus, rail and Subway across the west of Scotland – one card to get where you’re going. With the free ZoneCard app you can register an account and purchase a new smartcard. If you already have a ScotRail, Subway, McGill’s, Stagecoach or National Entitlement Card you can simply associate that to your account. Once you have a smartcard setup in your account, you can use the ZoneCard app to buy tickets for it. There’s a flexible range of tickets to suit just what you need. Then, simply hold your smartcard to the NFC reader on your phone, and your ZoneCard ticket will download and you’re ready to travel. You can also use the app to manage your account – for example see your previous purchases or update your address details. See spt.co.uk/zonecard for more information about ZoneCard.

Screenshots

Midland Bluebird4 screens
ZoneCard4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Midland Bluebird at 47% against ZoneCard's 0%. Midland Bluebird also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 21 months) and device support. ZoneCard's advantage is iOS requirement (12.4 vs 15.6). On price, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Midland Bluebird ships an update fortnightly, ZoneCard every 21 months. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Midland Bluebird versus ZoneCard: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMidland BluebirdZoneCard
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (11 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews46.9% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings11 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 21 months
AdsNo—
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPod — better—
Requires iOS15.612.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size42 MB48 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMcGill's BusesStrathclyde Partnership for Transport

Customer experience

Midland Bluebird

All ratings11 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews32 reviews
Positive46.9%
Neutral3.1%
Negative50.0%

ZoneCard

Written reviews9 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral11.1%
Negative88.9%

In-app purchases

None

Midland Bluebird

No in-app purchases

None

ZoneCard

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Midland Bluebird free?
Midland Bluebird is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ZoneCard free?
ZoneCard is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which is updated more often, Midland Bluebird or ZoneCard?
Midland Bluebird ships an update fortnightly, and ZoneCard every 21 months. Most recently, Midland Bluebird was updated on November 3, 2026 and ZoneCard on November 4, 2026.

Other comparisons