Comparison

First Bus vs RideTandem Rider

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

Head to head
About

First Bus

Plan your bus journeys, track buses in real-time, and purchase mobile tickets. This app offers personalized tools for a convenient travel experience, including route planning, live bus tracking, and secure payment options for digital tickets.

Highlights
  • Real-time bus tracking
  • Journey planning and route finder
  • Mobile ticket purchasing and activation
  • Save favorite stops and services
  • Secure payment management
  • Departure board with filtering
Features
Read full description

Plan your journey, track your bus, and travel with confidence using the First Bus app. With real-time updates, mobile tickets, and personalised tools, getting around by bus has never been easier. Bus travellers can buy, gift, and activate digital bus tickets, manage secure payments, and save favourite locations, stops, and services for quicker access. The app also supports account management, consent management, while providing access to help and support features. Whether you’re commuting, exploring, or travelling occasionally, the app helps you stay in control from door to door. Planning your journey Find the best routes using locations, stops, or service numbers. View routes, timings, and stop information to plan trips that suit you. Live Bus tracking See your bus in real time on an interactive map and get more accurate arrival estimates. This feature helps reduce waiting uncertainty, improves journey planning, and enables users to make informed travel decisions by knowing exactly where their bus is at any moment. Departure Board Check upcoming services for either your stop or route, with clear timings and filtering (such as First Bus only) options. The time and dates can also be easily adjusted for future travel plans. Favourites Save your most-used stops, locations, and bus services for quick access every time you travel. Buying Buy, gift, and activate digital tickets directly in the app with a variety of filters. Secure payments and instant access mean no paper tickets needed. Tickets appear instantly ready to use in your account. Gifting Send tickets to friends or family quickly and easily. During the ticket buying flow, users can choose to gift a ticket instead of using it themselves, enter recipient details, and complete the purchase securely. Activating Tickets Activate your ticket in the First Bus app when you’re ready to travel. Once activated, it clearly shows its status and validity, making it quick and easy to present when boarding the bus. Account and Payments The First Bus app lets users securely manage their account and payment details in one place. Users can sign up, sign in, and reset their password if needed, as well as view and update their personal information and account settings. They can also choose to delete their account if required. Within the app, users can manage saved payment cards, set a default payment method, and remove cards at any time. All payment information is handled securely, helping ensure a smooth, safe, and convenient ticket purchasing experience. Preferences Choose your region, set walking distance preferences, and manage consent and notifications. Help and support Access FAQs , contacts and support resources in our dedicated help centre.

About

RideTandem Rider

Book, track, and manage your work commute. View live vehicle locations, route maps, and receive instant notifications for delays. Offers 24/7 customer support and is available in 11 languages.

Highlights
  • Book one-way or return trips
  • View route map and stops
  • Live vehicle location tracking
  • Instant delay notifications
  • 24/7 customer support
  • 11 language options
Features
Read full description

RideTandem’s Rider App lets you book, track, and manage your trips. Depending on the routes your employer or organisation has set up you can: • Choose from 11 languages • Book a one-way or return trip • View the route map and stops • See a live view of your assigned vehicle location, registration, and model • Access 24/7 customer support • Get instant notifications about delays or changes on your route Available languages: Bulgarian, English, German, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese (Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Ukrainian.

Screenshots

First Bus4 screens
RideTandem Rider4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: RideTandem Rider at 90% against First Bus's 23%. RideTandem Rider also leads on ads (none vs shown) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). First Bus's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 4 months) and ratings volume (2.2K vs 1). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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

RideTandem Rider holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: First Bus has 2.2K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 23% of First Bus's written reviews are positive against 90% of RideTandem Rider's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

First Bus ships an update every 9 days, RideTandem Rider every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
First Bus versus RideTandem Rider: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFirst BusRideTandem Rider
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (2.2K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews22.5% of reviews90.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.2K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 4 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationAd-supportedFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS16.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size143 MB76 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFirstGroup PlcRide Tandem

Customer experience

First Bus

All ratings2,221 ratings
Positive94.1%
Neutral3.5%
Negative2.3%
Written reviews906 reviews
Positive22.5%
Neutral11.7%
Negative65.8%

RideTandem Rider

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive90.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative10.0%

Bugs and requests

First Bus

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App pausing music playback
  • Inconsistent bus tracking and location data
  • Inability to purchase certain ticket types

Requested features

4 requests
  • Offline ticket access
  • Improved journey planning with timetables
  • Service change notifications
  • Simpler and more user-friendly interface

RideTandem Rider

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

First Bus

No in-app purchases

None

RideTandem Rider

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is First Bus free?
First Bus is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is RideTandem Rider free?
RideTandem Rider is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, First Bus or RideTandem Rider?
RideTandem Rider is rated higher. First Bus averages 4.7 out of 5 from 2.2K ratings, while RideTandem Rider averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do First Bus or RideTandem Rider have ads?
First Bus shows ads; RideTandem Rider does not.
Which is updated more often, First Bus or RideTandem Rider?
First Bus ships an update every 9 days, and RideTandem Rider every 4 months. Most recently, First Bus was updated on November 10, 2026 and RideTandem Rider on November 11, 2026.

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