OneBusAway vs Seattle METRO Bus Tracker
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
OneBusAway
Get real-time transit information for multiple regions, including Puget Sound. Plan your trips, receive departure alerts, and view live arrival times. Easily find nearby stops and save your favorite routes for quick access.
- Real-time arrival information
- Trip planning
- Departure alerts
- Map display of stops and routes
- Nearby stops search
- Favorite routes widget
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When's my bus? OneBusAway answers that question in real time, at every stop, across your whole region. Now with Live Activities: start tracking a ride and watch it approach from your Lock Screen, without opening the app. Free, open source, and built by a nonprofit in partnership with your transit agency. WHAT'S NEW - Live Activities — follow your bus, train, or ferry from the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island. - A redesigned stop view that opens right from the map, putting real-time arrivals one tap away. FEATURES - Real-time arrivals wherever your agency provides them. - Departure alarms that nudge you before your ride pulls away. - Trip planning with door-to-door directions across every agency in your region. - See where your vehicle actually is on the map — buses, trains, ferries, streetcars, even funiculars. - Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets for the routes you check most. - Bookmarks and recent stops, so your daily commute is always a tap away. - Nearby stops found automatically, or search by route, address, or stop number. - Service alerts from your agency, right where you need them. WHERE ONEBUSAWAY WORKS - Davis, CA - New York, NY - San Diego, CA - Seattle / Tacoma / Puget Sound, WA - Tampa, FL - Washington, D.C. - Adelaide, Australia ABOUT OneBusAway is free and open source, maintained by transit riders and researchers since 2008. There are no ads and no account to create. The app is published by the Open Transit Software Foundation, an IRS-registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit that has earned Silver Transparency status on Candid. Questions, feedback, or support: https://onebusaway.org/ OTSF on Candid: https://www.guidestar.org/profile/84-1786969
Seattle METRO Bus Tracker
Get real-time bus tracking for Seattle and surrounding areas. Covers multiple transit agencies, providing live updates on bus locations and arrival times. Data is sourced from OneBusAway.
- Real-time bus tracking
- Covers multiple transit agencies
- Live location updates
- Arrival time predictions
- Lightweight design
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Lightweight real-time bus tracker for Seattle and it's surrounding areas. Agencies covered are Seattle King County Metro (KCM) and Transit, Streetcar, Everett Transit, Pierce Transit, Community Transit, Sound Transit, Puget Sound, Monorail, and Intercity Transit Disclaimer: The data is provided by the OneBusAway organization and we cannot guarantee the accuracy. This is not an official app.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: OneBusAway at none against Seattle METRO Bus Tracker's shown. OneBusAway also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 31 months) and ratings volume (2.2K vs 11). Seattle METRO Bus Tracker's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 18.0). On price, rating, in-app purchases and device support 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.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for OneBusAway against 4.7 for Seattle METRO Bus Tracker. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: OneBusAway has 2.2K ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two.
OneBusAway ships an update every 2 months, Seattle METRO Bus Tracker every 31 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | OneBusAway | Seattle METRO Bus Tracker |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (2.2K ratings) — better | 4.7 (11 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 57.9% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 2.2K — better | 11 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 31 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Ad-supported |
| Best chart rank | #171 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 24 MB | 13 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Open Transit Software Foundation | Naiara Albaina |
Customer experience
OneBusAway
Seattle METRO Bus Tracker
Bugs and requests
OneBusAway
Reported bugs
4 issues- App crashing when searching for routes
- Bus stops not showing on map
- Notifications not working
- Inconsistent data between stops
Requested features
4 requests- Live bus tracking on map
- Ability to report issues with bus arrivals
- Apple Watch support
- More customization options
Seattle METRO Bus Tracker
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
OneBusAway
No in-app purchases
Seattle METRO Bus Tracker
No in-app purchases
