OneBusAway vs SAN Next Bus
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
SAN Next Bus
Find San Diego bus stops and get real-time predictions for your next bus. Navigate using your location or by searching on a map. Save your favorite stops for quick access.
- Location-based bus stop identification
- Next bus predictions
- Map navigation integration
- Route viewing
- Favorite stop saving
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SAN Next Bus shows real-time arrival predictions for San Diego's Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) — local buses, Rapid BRT, and the Trolley light rail (Blue, Orange, Green and Silver lines). Find nearby stops on the map, tap one for the next arrivals, and save your regular stops as favorites. Service alerts keep you posted on detours and delays. Rebuilt from the ground up for the latest iOS, SAN Next Bus now includes a companion Apple Watch app plus a Home Screen widget and Watch complication. Data provided by the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS).
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: OneBusAway at 58% against SAN Next Bus's 0%. OneBusAway also leads on rating (4.8 vs 1.0) and ads (none vs shown). SAN Next Bus's advantage is iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). On price, update cadence, 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.
OneBusAway holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: OneBusAway has 2.1K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 58% of OneBusAway's written reviews are positive against 0% of SAN Next Bus's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.
| Parameter | OneBusAway | SAN Next Bus |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (2.1K ratings) — better | 1.0 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 57.9% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2.1K — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #168 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 24 MB | 24 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Open Transit Software Foundation | Junebot, LLC |
Customer experience
OneBusAway
SAN Next Bus
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
SAN Next Bus
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
OneBusAway
No in-app purchases
SAN Next Bus
No in-app purchases
