Comparison

First Bus vs GoPass

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 digital tickets. Save favorite routes and stops for quick access. Manage your account and payments securely for a convenient travel experience.

Highlights
  • Journey planning
  • Live bus tracking
  • Digital ticket purchasing
  • Save favorite stops
  • Departure board
  • Gifting tickets
Features
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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.

About

GoPass

This app simplifies public transit by allowing users to purchase and store mobile tickets for multiple transit agencies. It offers real-time trip planning, navigation, and a digital wallet for convenient payments.

Highlights
  • Mobile ticketing
  • Real-time trip planning
  • Digital GoPass Wallet
  • Cash to mobile option
  • Save favorite routes
Features
Currently charting
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A better way to pay and ride. GoPass is the all-in-one travel tool that is like having a travel-sized tour guide at your side. GoPass is the easy way to buy transit passes for DART, Trinity Metro, Tulsa Transit, Star Transit, CitiBus, DCTA and CCRTA – right on your phone! GoPass is so easy to setup and use – you’ll never buy a paper ticket again! Features include: - Mobile ticketing which allows you to purchase passes and store them for up to 60 days. - Real-time trip planning with step-by-step navigation. - Digital GoPass Wallet allowing you to store multiple credit cards or utilize Apple Pay for convenient purchasing. - Cash to mobile option allowing you to load cash to your GoPass Wallet at retail locations. - Personalize the app by saving your favorite routes, stops and pass types. - Ability to send feedback directly from the app.

Screenshots

First Bus4 screens
GoPass4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: GoPass at none against First Bus's shown. GoPass also leads on review sentiment (50% vs 23%) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). First Bus's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months). On price, rating, 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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for First Bus against 4.8 for GoPass. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: GoPass has 87K ratings behind it against 2.2K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 23% of First Bus's written reviews are positive against 50% of GoPass's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

First Bus ships an update weekly, GoPass every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
First Bus versus GoPass: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFirst BusGoPass
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (2.2K ratings)4.8 (87K ratings) — better
Positive reviews22.8% of reviews50.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.2K87K — better
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 3 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank—#173 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.0 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size154 MB122 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFirstGroup PlcDART/The T/DCTA

Customer experience

First Bus

All ratings2,180 ratings
Positive94.1%
Neutral3.6%
Negative2.2%
Written reviews864 reviews
Positive22.8%
Neutral11.5%
Negative65.7%

GoPass

All ratings87,407 ratings
Positive95.7%
Neutral1.9%
Negative2.4%
Written reviews349 reviews
Positive50.1%
Neutral11.5%
Negative38.4%

User reviews

First Bus

From 2.2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Helpful for planning journeys
  • 🚀 Accurate live bus tracking
  • 💡 Ability to save favorite stops
  • 👍 Convenient ticket purchasing

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Unreliable bus arrival times
  • 🐛 Buses disappearing from the app
  • 🐛 Technical issues and app crashes
  • 🤔 Confusing and unintuitive interface
  • 🤔 Lack of service updates and notifications

GoPass

From 87K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Convenient ticket purchasing
  • 👍 User-friendly app
  • 🚀 Seamless trip planning
  • 🚀 Reliable service
  • 👍 Great customer service

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Inconsistent ride times
  • 🐛 Unreliable route information
  • 🐛 Buggy app performance
  • 🔋 High battery consumption
  • 💰 Expensive fares

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

GoPass

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Login/registration issues
  • Disappearing user profiles
  • Inaccurate route planning
  • Unreliable fare activation

Requested features

5 requests
  • Live bus/train tracking
  • Ability to save favorite routes
  • Integration with Apple Wallet
  • Notifications for delays or service changes
  • Printable ticket receipts

In-app purchases

None

First Bus

No in-app purchases

None

GoPass

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is First Bus free?
First Bus is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is GoPass free?
GoPass is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, First Bus or GoPass?
GoPass is rated higher. First Bus averages 4.7 out of 5 from 2.2K ratings, while GoPass averages 4.8 from 87K ratings.
Do First Bus or GoPass have ads?
First Bus shows ads; GoPass does not.
Which is updated more often, First Bus or GoPass?
First Bus ships an update weekly, and GoPass every 3 months. Most recently, First Bus was updated on September 26, 2026 and GoPass on September 27, 2026.

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