NYC 311 vs Parent Link
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
NYC 311
Access New York City government services and information on the go. Report neighborhood issues, track service requests, and stay updated on city services like parking and trash collection.
- Access city government services
- Report neighborhood issues
- Track service requests
- Get updates on parking and trash
- Receive schedule change notifications
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The NYC311 App is your on-the-go, one-stop shop for New York City government services. Download the app to: - Stay in the know. Daily status of Alternate Side Parking, trash collection, and schools is always just one tap away. You can also get notifications of any updates to the normal schedule. - Report problems. See an issue in your neighborhood? You can easily file Service Requests for noise, illegal parking, dirty sidewalks, and much more. - Track Service Requests. See the latest status of your requests all in one place. - Connect with us. Get quick, easy access to services on our other channels, including NYC311 Online and Text.
Parent Link
Track your child's school bus in real-time, receiving instant updates on pickup and drop-off times. This utility ensures parents know exactly when their children will arrive and depart.
- Real-time bus location tracking
- Estimated time of arrival (ETA)
- Push notifications for alerts
- Pickup and drop-off updates
- Child safety monitoring
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Parent Link makes it easier than ever for parents to see real-time bus location, ETAs and receive real-time push alerts directly to your phone so you know exactly when your school bus will pick up and drop off your children.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: NYC 311 at 3.1 against Parent Link's 2.0. NYC 311 also leads on ratings volume (430 vs 4) and review sentiment (19% vs 0%). Parent Link's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 16.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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.
NYC 311 holds the better App Store score, 3.1 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NYC 311 has 430 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 19% of NYC 311's written reviews are positive against 0% of Parent Link's.
NYC 311 ships an update every 4 weeks, Parent Link every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | NYC 311 | Parent Link |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.1 (430 ratings) — better | 2.0 (4 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 19.4% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 430 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 102 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Department of Information Technology And Telecomm | Wireless Links Inc |
Customer experience
NYC 311
Parent Link
Bugs and requests
NYC 311
Reported bugs
5 issues- Address entry doesn't work
- App crashes or freezes
- App doesn't open after update
- Geolocation not working
- Unexpected errors
Requested features
9 requests- Add ability to report issues without address
- Add bulk export function for tickets filed
- Add option to attach photos/videos to complaints
- Add support for third-party keyboards
- Improve location identification and mapping
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- Integrate spell check
- Provide more detailed responses on closed requests
- Retain access to photos submitted with tickets
- Support video uploads for noise complaints
Parent Link
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
NYC 311
No in-app purchases
Parent Link
No in-app purchases
