IU Ride vs BloomingtonLink
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
IU Ride
This app provides free, safe rides home for students, faculty, and staff within Bloomington, Indiana. It operates nightly between 8 PM and 2 AM, offering a convenient transportation option for the university community.
- Free safe rides
- Student, faculty, staff service
- Nightly operation (8 PM - 2 AM)
- Within Bloomington city limits
- University-run service
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IU RIDE is a student run service at Indiana University Bloomington, providing free safe rides home between the hours of 8PM - 2AM for students, faculty, and staff. Rides are provided within Bloomington, Indiana city limits and are subject to restrictions. See the IU Ride website for more information - https://iuride.indiana.edu/
BloomingtonLink
This app offers on-demand shared rides within specific zones, pairing multiple passengers heading in the same direction. Book your trip by entering pickup and drop-off locations to be matched with a vehicle. It provides an affordable and convenient transportation option.
- On-demand shared rides
- Zone-based service
- Multiple passenger pairing
- Affordable fares
- ADA-friendly vehicles
- Reduced fares for seniors and students
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BLink provides convenient, affordable, and on-demand shared rides within certain zones in Bloomington, IN from 06:00AM to11:00PM. Blink is a shared ride service that pairs multiple passengers heading in the same direction in a single vehicle. By entering your pickup and drop-off locations in the Blink App, you will be matched with a vehicle going your way. The regular adult fare is $4.00 per ride. Seniors over the age of 60, students and those with a qualifying disability pay a reduced fare of $2.00 with a Bloomington Transit reduced fare ID. Children 5-years of age and under rider free with a fare-paying passenger age 16-years and above. BLink vehicles are ADA-friendly and seat up to 13 passengers. Children under 5-years of age and/or under 65 pounds will need to ride in a car seat provided and secured by the accompanying adult.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: BloomingtonLink at 4.7 against IU Ride's 2.2. BloomingtonLink also leads on update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 3 months). IU Ride's advantage is ratings volume (19 vs 3). 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.
BloomingtonLink holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: IU Ride has 19 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.
IU Ride ships an update every 3 months, BloomingtonLink every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 5, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | IU Ride | BloomingtonLink |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.2 (19 ratings) | 4.7 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 19 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 5 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 63 MB | 32 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Indiana University | RideCo Inc. |
Customer experience
IU Ride
BloomingtonLink
In-app purchases
IU Ride
No in-app purchases
BloomingtonLink
No in-app purchases
