First Bus vs Preston Bus
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
First Bus
Plan your bus journeys, track buses in real-time, and purchase digital tickets. Save favorite routes and stops for quick access. Manage your account and payments securely for a convenient travel experience.
- Journey planning
- Live bus tracking
- Digital ticket purchasing
- Save favorite stops
- Departure board
- Gifting tickets
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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.
Preston Bus
Plan your bus journeys and access real-time information on your smartphone. Purchase mobile tickets, track your bus for on-time arrivals, and find nearby stops. Manage your account and get instant service updates.
- Mobile ticket purchasing
- Real-time bus tracking
- Journey planner
- Next stop notifications
- Service timetables
- Service updates
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Now you can get even more connected. Access all the information and tools you need to get around on our services, right in the palm of your hand. It allows you to track your bus and plan your journey. You can use your smartphone as your bus ticket when you buy M-tickets. Simply purchase tickets on the app, activate them and present your phone screen to the ticket reader on our buses. Features include: Buy tickets and passes. Find your nearest bus stops and services. Track your bus and check if it’s on-time. Plan a journey Get next stop notifications on your phone, when travelling. Manage your tickets account quickly and easily. Check service timetables. Get the latest service updates through our Twitter feed. Create a list of favourite services. We look forward to welcoming you on board.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Preston Bus at none against First Bus's shown. Preston Bus also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). First Bus's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.3) and update cadence (every 9 days vs every 2 months). On price, review sentiment, 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.
First Bus holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: First Bus has 2.2K ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 23% of First Bus's written reviews are positive against 29% of Preston Bus's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
First Bus ships an update every 9 days, Preston Bus every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | First Bus | Preston Bus |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (2.2K ratings) — better | 4.3 (6 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 22.8% of reviews | 29.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2.2K — better | 6 |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 149 MB | 143 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | FirstGroup Plc | Rise Digital Media Limited |
Customer experience
First Bus
Preston Bus
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
Preston Bus
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
First Bus
No in-app purchases
Preston Bus
No in-app purchases







