NJ TRANSIT vs CTrail eTix
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
NJ TRANSIT
Plan your trips across New Jersey, New York, and Philadelphia with real-time transit information. Purchase and display mobile tickets and passes securely. Receive instant alerts for rail, bus, and light rail services.
- Mobile ticketing and passes
- Real-time arrival/departure info
- Trip planning for rail, bus, light rail
- Push notifications for travel alerts
- Secure mobile wallet for cash value
- Station-to-station schedule lookup
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All of NJ TRANSIT. One place. The NJ TRANSIT Mobile App makes it easy to get where you need to go—whether you're commuting daily or traveling occasionally. Plan trips, purchase tickets, and stay informed with real-time updates across bus, rail, and light rail. • Plan Your Trip with Confidence - Get where you're going faster with easy trip planning across all NJ TRANSIT services. Find the best routes, connections, and schedules in seconds. • Real-Time Travel Information - Stay informed every step of the way with live schedules, arrival times, and service updates so you can plan ahead and adjust as needed. • Buy & Manage Tickets Easily - Purchase tickets securely and store them right in the app. Manage your tickets anytime without waiting in line. • Activate When You’re Ready to Ride - Quickly activate your tickets just before boarding for a smooth, contactless experience. • Track Your Ride - See live arrival times and track your trip so you always know when your ride is approaching. • Stay Informed with Alerts - Receive notifications about delays, service changes, and important travel updates to keep your commute on track. Whether you're heading into New York City, traveling across New Jersey, or exploring along the way, the NJ TRANSIT Mobile App gives you everything you need for a smarter, more convenient ride. Download today and take control of your commute.
CTrail eTix
Purchase mobile rail tickets for Hartford Line and Shore Line East customers directly from your smartphone. Avoid lines and cash transactions by buying daily parking and various ticket types, including monthly bus add-ons for CTtransit users.
- Purchase mobile rail tickets
- Buy daily parking
- Save tickets for later
- Receive email receipts
- Add CTtransit bus passes
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Traveling on CTrail just got easier! No more waiting in line to purchase a paper ticket, swiping your credit card, or carrying around cash. Connecticut DOT’s CTrail eTix app allows Hartford Line and Shore Line East customers to buy mobile rail tickets using their smartphone. Daily parking at Wallingford and Berlin stations is also available for purchase using CTrail eTix. With CTrail eTix, One-Way, Weekly, Monthly, and Ten-Trip mobile tickets are available for purchase. For customers that also use CTtransit, a CTtransit Monthly (Local) Bus add-on is available for purchase with your monthly rail ticket. Pay on the go, and use your mobile tickets immediately or save them for later. Keeping track of expenses is easy with CTrail eTix receipts provided via e-mail. Get started right away by downloading CTrail eTix and creating your account.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: NJ TRANSIT at 4.8 against CTrail eTix's 1.6. NJ TRANSIT also leads on ratings volume (270K vs 184) and update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 6 months). CTrail eTix's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.4). On price, review sentiment, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
NJ TRANSIT holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 1.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NJ TRANSIT has 270K ratings behind it against 184, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 10% of NJ TRANSIT's written reviews are positive against 6% of CTrail eTix's.
NJ TRANSIT ships an update every 6 weeks, CTrail eTix every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | NJ TRANSIT | CTrail eTix |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (270K ratings) — better | 1.6 (184 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 10.0% of reviews — better | 5.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 270K — better | 184 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks — better | Every 6 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #77 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 90 MB | 63 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | NEW JERSEY TRANSIT CORPORATION | CTrail Connecticut Department of Transportation |
Customer experience
NJ TRANSIT
CTrail eTix
User reviews
NJ TRANSIT
From 270K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Easy to use
- 👍 User-friendly
- 🚀 Convenient ticket purchase
- 👍 Helpful features like Departure Vision
Room to improve
- 🐛 Unreliable app performance
- 🐛 Frequent app crashes
- 🐛 Inaccurate schedule information
- 🐛 Inconsistent ticket activation
- 👎 Poor customer service
CTrail eTix
From 184 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Functional for ticket purchase
- 👍 Easy to download
- 👍 Straightforward and accessible design (rare)
- 👍 Text is big and does the job (rare)
- 👍 Large buttons are useful (rare)
Room to improve
- 👎 Atrocious UI/UX
- 👎 Outdated interface/looks from another decade
- 👎 Unusable/broken app
- 👎 Impossible to create account
- 👎 Password reset issues
Bugs and requests
NJ TRANSIT
Reported bugs
4 issues- Login issues due to expired verification codes
- Inability to save trip plans or favorite stops
- Ticket purchases not always reflected in app
- App logging users out unexpectedly
Requested features
5 requests- Integrate with mobile wallet
- Add live bus/train tracking
- Improve service disruption notifications
- Simplify ticket purchase and activation
- Provide interactive station/route maps
CTrail eTix
Reported bugs
35 issues- Cannot create an account
- Password reset functionality broken
- Email already in use error when creating account, but no account found for password reset
- App crashes frequently
- Purchased tickets disappear from the app
Show 30 moreShow fewer
- Login errors/connection errors
- App reverts to old keyboard and screen size
- Apple Pay not working reliably
- Time change detected errors when accessing tickets
- App closes when selecting a destination/station
- App immediately crashes after an update
- No confirmation email received
- Cannot log in
- App doesn't let me select a destination
- App doesn't work at all
- Tickets disappear multiple times
- App crashes on first install
- App requires camera access unnecessarily
- App doesn't load over HTTPS reliably
- Payment form hosted on a different service
- App doesn't support larger screens/newer phones
- App doesn't allow copy/paste of passwords
- App doesn't interact with password managers
- App crashes when trying to start
- App doesn't let me purchase a ticket
- App doesn't allow me to select a destination
- App closes out when entering a station
- App keeps crashing
- App is incredibly buggy
- App requires camera access to verify tickets
- App displays browser windows within itself
- App requires constant logging in
- App is formatted for much older phones and does not display correctly
- App keeps telling me to confirm email with no way to do so
- App lacks proper support for newer phones
Requested features
18 requests- Modernize the app's UI/UX
- Add train schedules to the app
- Improve password management (copy/paste, password managers)
- Add Apple Wallet support
- Add Dynamic Island support
Show 13 moreShow fewer
- Add Live Updates
- Allow round trip ticket purchases
- Add trip planning ability
- Improve payment options (Apple Pay, security)
- Add a way to confirm email
- Fix app crashing issues
- Coordinate with Amtrak and Metro North apps
- Add a schedule page
- Add a reservation system
- Increase time window for ticket confirmation
- Improve security of backend and payment forms
- Add Dark Mode option
- Add an interactive schedule like the website
In-app purchases
NJ TRANSIT
No in-app purchases
CTrail eTix
No in-app purchases
