Comparison

MBTA mTicket vs MassDOT BusPlus

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

Head to head
About

MBTA mTicket

Purchase Commuter Rail and Ferry tickets instantly from your smartphone. This app acts as a mobile ticket office, allowing you to buy single, round-trip, and 10-ride tickets securely. Your phone becomes your ticket, and purchased tickets are stored within the app for easy access and transfer.

Highlights
  • Secure ticket purchasing
  • Smartphone as ticket
  • Ticket transferability
  • View schedules and alerts
  • Purchase 10-ride tickets
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Buy a ticket anywhere, anytime - in seconds. The Official MBTA mTicket App is like a ticket office in your pocket. Your smartphone is your ticket! With the new MBTA mTicket App for Commuter Rail and Ferry, you can securely purchase MBTA Commuter Rail and Ferry Single Ride, Round-Trip, and 10 Ride tickets in seconds. Purchasing a ticket is easy: select your trip & ticket type, enter your payment card information and your smartphone is your ticket! Never lose your ticket again! Once you purchase your ticket, it will always stick in My Tickets. Need to replace your phone? No problem -- we can easily transfer any purchased ticket. Want to check your schedule or service updates? You can check schedules and T-Alerts right from inside the app! We are making the app better everyday! Let us know what you think at www.mbta.com/mticket Features: ● Secure ticket purchasing with your credit or debit card ● Your smartphone is your ticket ● Never worry about zones again -- just select your origin and destination to purchase ● Never lose your ticket -- tickets can be easily transferred if your phone is lost or stolen ● Check Commuter Rail schedules, maps, and service alerts ● Brand new offers from JustRide and the MBTA

About

MassDOT BusPlus

Purchase and use intercity and commuter bus tickets directly from your phone. Plan your trip, select tickets, create an account, and activate your ticket to show the driver. An internet connection is needed for purchase, but tickets can be used offline.

Highlights
  • Purchase bus tickets
  • Use tickets offline
  • Plan trips
  • Secure payments
  • Account creation
Features
Read full description

The official mobile ticketing app of BusPlus – a program of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. The BusPlus app lets you purchase and use intercity and commuter bus tickets instantly on your phone. Here’s how it works: 1. Plan a trip by selecting an origin, destination, and schedule 2. Choose the type of ticket and quantity 3. Create an account and link your credit/debit card to complete checkout 4. Activate your ticket and show it to the bus driver An internet connection is required to purchase tickets, but you can use your ticket(s) offline. All personal information and payments are securely transmitted and stored. Please contact support@bytemark.co for customer service assistance. Any comments or suggestions you may have are welcome. We are aware of problems with the scanning feature while adding new credit cards, and are working to correct this issue.

Screenshots

MBTA mTicket4 screens
MassDOT BusPlus4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: MassDOT BusPlus at 4.4 against MBTA mTicket's 2.6. MassDOT BusPlus also leads on review sentiment (59% vs 27%). MBTA mTicket's advantage is update cadence (every 3 months vs every 9 months) and chart position (#84 vs unranked). On price, ratings volume, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

MassDOT BusPlus holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 2.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 644 and 259 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 27% of MBTA mTicket's written reviews are positive against 59% of MassDOT BusPlus's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MBTA mTicket ships an update every 3 months, MassDOT BusPlus every 9 months. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
MBTA mTicket versus MassDOT BusPlus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMBTA mTicketMassDOT BusPlus
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.6 (644 ratings)4.4 (259 ratings) — better
Positive reviews27.4% of reviews59.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings644 — better259
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 9 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#84 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.6
Further details — not scored
Size79 MB108 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMassachusetts Bay Transportation AuthorityBytemark, Inc.

Customer experience

MBTA mTicket

All ratings644 ratings
Positive36.0%
Neutral8.4%
Negative55.6%
Written reviews124 reviews
Positive27.4%
Neutral10.5%
Negative62.1%

MassDOT BusPlus

All ratings259 ratings
Positive82.6%
Neutral5.0%
Negative12.4%
Written reviews59 reviews
Positive59.3%
Neutral8.5%
Negative32.2%

User reviews

MBTA mTicket

From 644 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great app and reliable
  • 👍 Clean and simple, easy to use
  • 👍 Functional and works as needed
  • 🚀 Intuitive and easy to use
  • 👍 Works fine, no issues experienced

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Glitchy at best, frequently crashes
  • 🐛 Buggy, payment processing issues
  • 🐛 Unreliable, app often doesn't work
  • 🐛 Broken features, poor UX
  • 🐛 Payments not working, app unusable

MassDOT BusPlus

From 259 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Very convenient for bus passes
  • 👍 Easy to use for many
  • 👍 Saves time and hassle
  • 👍 Good for disabled users
  • 👍 Works as advertised

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Tickets disappear after first day
  • 🐛 App glitches and logs out
  • 🐛 Cannot log in or create account
  • 🐛 QR codes do not work
  • 🐛 Payment issues and lost money

Bugs and requests

MBTA mTicket

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Login issues, unable to create account
  • Tickets disappearing, money stolen
  • Brightness settings not resetting
  • Incompatible with older devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for Apple Wallet
  • Integrate with mobile wallets
  • Improve navigation and ticket management
  • Add real-time train schedule updates
  • Allow changing account details

MassDOT BusPlus

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • Purchased tickets disappear after first day
  • App glitches and logs out users
  • Login and account creation errors
  • QR codes for tickets not working
  • Lost money due to voided tickets
Show 5 more
  • Inability to display passes after first day
  • Autocomplete for location searching is broken
  • Time zone error preventing login
  • Purchased passes disappear from history
  • Weekly passes only display on activation day

Requested features

6 requests
  • Discount bus pass for days remaining before free bus
  • Post more information on the application
  • Allow adding TAP card for reduced fare
  • Add Apple Wallet support for passes
  • Improve trip planner functionality
Show 1 more
  • Make app more intuitive/easier to learn

In-app purchases

None

MBTA mTicket

No in-app purchases

None

MassDOT BusPlus

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is MBTA mTicket free?
MBTA mTicket is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is MassDOT BusPlus free?
MassDOT BusPlus is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, MBTA mTicket or MassDOT BusPlus?
MassDOT BusPlus is rated higher. MBTA mTicket averages 2.6 out of 5 from 644 ratings, while MassDOT BusPlus averages 4.4 from 259 ratings.
Do MBTA mTicket or MassDOT BusPlus have ads?
Neither MBTA mTicket nor MassDOT BusPlus shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MBTA mTicket or MassDOT BusPlus?
MBTA mTicket ships an update every 3 months, and MassDOT BusPlus every 9 months. Most recently, MBTA mTicket was updated on October 16, 2026 and MassDOT BusPlus on October 12, 2026.

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