Comparison

MBTA mTicket vs Harvard Van

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

Harvard Van

Book on-demand shuttle rides around the Harvard University campus. Select your pickup and drop-off locations, track your van in real-time, and enjoy a safe and convenient travel experience. Matches riders going in the same direction for efficient routing.

Highlights
  • On-demand shuttle booking
  • Real-time van tracking
  • Customized and flexible routing
  • Campus-wide service area
  • Estimated pickup ETAs
  • Safe and convenient travel
Features
Read full description

The Harvard Evening Van app enables Harvard students, faculty, and administrators to book on-demand shuttle rides during the Evening Van service hours. The Harvard Evening Van app enables you to book a van to and from anywhere within the campus service area. Harvard Evening Van provides you a safe, convenient travel experience in and around the Harvard University campus. With the app you will be able to select your pick up location, tell us where you want to go, and track your van so you know when to head to the pick up location. The Harvard Evening Van is proudly operated by Harvard Transportation and powered by Via. A new way to get around the Harvard University campus The Harvard Evening Van matches customers with others going in the same direction via a customized and flexible route. Sophisticated technology coordinates your trip, picking you up from near your location or a convenient location nearby, and taking you to where you want to go within the service zone. On-demand On average, a vehicle will come in minutes, and you'll always get an estimate of your pickup ETA before booking. You can also track your van in real-time in the app. Try Harvard Evening Van, a new way to get around the Harvard University campus. Love our app? Please rate us! Questions? Email us at shuttle@harvard.edu

Screenshots

MBTA mTicket4 screens
Harvard Van4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Harvard Van at 4.7 against MBTA mTicket's 2.6. Harvard Van also leads on review sentiment (60% vs 27%) and update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 3 months). MBTA mTicket's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and chart position (#131 vs unranked). On price, ads, 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

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

Harvard Van holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 644 and 170 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 27% of MBTA mTicket's written reviews are positive against 60% of Harvard Van's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MBTA mTicket ships an update every 3 months, Harvard Van every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
MBTA mTicket versus Harvard Van: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMBTA mTicketHarvard Van
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.6 (644 ratings)4.7 (170 ratings) — better
Positive reviews27.4% of reviews60.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings644 — better170
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#131 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size79 MB134 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMBTAVia Transportation, Inc.

Customer experience

MBTA mTicket

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

Harvard Van

All ratings170 ratings
Positive93.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative6.5%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative40.0%

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

Harvard Van

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

MBTA mTicket

No in-app purchases

None

Harvard Van

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is MBTA mTicket free?
MBTA mTicket is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Harvard Van free?
Harvard Van is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, MBTA mTicket or Harvard Van?
Harvard Van is rated higher. MBTA mTicket averages 2.6 out of 5 from 644 ratings, while Harvard Van averages 4.7 from 170 ratings.
Do MBTA mTicket or Harvard Van have ads?
Neither MBTA mTicket nor Harvard Van shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MBTA mTicket or Harvard Van?
MBTA mTicket ships an update every 3 months, and Harvard Van every 5 weeks. Most recently, MBTA mTicket was updated on September 24, 2026 and Harvard Van on September 18, 2026.

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