Social Bicycles vs Wave by OCTA
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Social Bicycles
Locate, reserve, and ride shared bicycles using your smartphone. This app allows you to find available bikes on a map, manage your account, and pay for rides. Return bikes to designated hubs or public racks.
- Find bicycles using map
- Create account and pay
- Reserve bicycles wirelessly
- Manage your account
- Contact customer support
- Sync with Health app
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Social Bicycles (SoBi) provides innovative bike share technology to municipal, university and private programs around the world. Find, reserve, ride, and return bicycles with ease. Our bikes are GPS enabled and can be rented with your smartphone. You can return bicycles to hub locations or lock them to public bike racks for a small fee. Use our mobile app to: - Find bicycles using map - Create an account and pay through the app - Reserve bicycles wirelessly - Manage your account - Contact customer support Public programs powered by Social Bicycles: - SoBi Hamilton, Hamilton, ON, CA - SoBi Long Beach, NY - Coast Bike Share, Tampa, FL - GRID Bike Share, Phoenix, AZ - Juice Bike Share, Orlando, FL - Topeka Metro Bikes, Topeka, KS - Boise GreenBike, Boise, ID - University of Virginia UBike, Charlottesville, VA - Mountain Rides Bike Share, Ketchum, ID - Reddy Bike Share, Buffalo, NY - Breeze Bike Share, Santa Monica, CA - VeloGo, Ottawa, ON, CA - Share-A-Bull Bikes, University of South Florida, FL - Monash University, VIC, AU - Curtin University, VIC, AU - Bay Bike, San Mateo, CA - Long Beach Bike Share, Long Beach CA - Beverly Hills Bike Share, Beverly Hills, CA - WeHo Pedals, West Hollywood - BIKETOWN, Portland, OR - UHBikes, Cleveland, OH - Relay Bike Share, Atlanta, GA - Velonet, Czech Republic - Bruin Bike Share UCLA, CA - Bike Share Connect, Los Angeles, CA Social Bicycles (SoBi) integrates with the Health app to sync your bicycle trips. Enable integration in the Account tab.
Wave by OCTA
This app simplifies public transit by allowing users to pay for rides and manage their transit cards. It automatically caps fares to ensure the best price and offers real-time bus information for trip planning. Users can easily add value, manage multiple cards, and utilize features like autopay and virtual cards for seamless travel.
- Automatic fare capping
- Pay as you ride
- Real-time bus information
- Virtual card creation
- Add value with cash
- Autopay for reloads
- Manage multiple cards
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The Wave by OCTA app makes riding OC Bus easier, faster, and smarter. With Wave, your payments are automatically capped, so you’ll never overpay, and you’ll always get the best fare. No more pre-paying for a daily or monthly pass, just load value and pay as you go. New features include card management, allowing you to add value to your Wave cards directly in the mobile app or at participating retailers using cash; real-time bus information so you can plan your trip; and apply your reduced fare status to your Wave card. Why the Wave app makes riding easier: 1. Pay as you ride. No need to pay upfront for passes. 2. Daily and monthly fares are automatically capped, so you always pay less. 3. Get a free virtual card; no need to purchase a separate Wave card. 4. Set up autopay to reload value when your balance is low. 5. Load value with cash at participating retailers. 6. Real-time reloads and account management. 7. Manages up to 8 reusable Wave cards in your account. 8. Virtual card displays a large QR code for quicker boarding. 9. Wave cards include a free two-hour transfer for paid rides. 10. Connects to the Transit App for trip planning. To get started, download Wave by OCTA to register your account. Create a virtual Wave card or link your physical card. Add funds and you’re ready to ride. It’s that simple.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Social Bicycles at 4.4 against Wave by OCTA's 1.7. Social Bicycles also leads on ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, update cadence 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.
Social Bicycles holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 1.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Social Bicycles has 6.8K ratings behind it against 216, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 27% of Social Bicycles's written reviews are positive against 9% of Wave by OCTA's.
Social Bicycles ships an update every 4 weeks, Wave by OCTA monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Social Bicycles | Wave by OCTA |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (6.8K ratings) — better | 1.7 (216 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 27.5% of reviews — better | 9.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 6.8K — better | 216 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 49 MB | 24 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | MobilityCloud Inc | Orange County Transportation Authority |
Customer experience
Social Bicycles
Wave by OCTA
User reviews
Social Bicycles
From 6.8K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Convenient bike access
- 👍 Easy to use app
- 💡 Great bike sharing community
- 🚲 Comfortable bikes
Room to improve
- 🐛 App crashes and glitches
- ⚠️ Unreliable bike availability
- 💳 Confusing payment system
- 🔑 Difficult bike unlocking process
- 🏪 Uneven bike distribution
Wave by OCTA
From 216 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use
- 💡 Needs NFC support
Room to improve
- 🐛 Can't sign in
- 🐛 Not working
- 🐛 Totally unable to sign in
- 🐛 No free virtual on update
- 🐛 Where's the free 15th-31st rides?
Bugs and requests
Social Bicycles
Reported bugs
4 issues- Account login issues
- Incorrect bike charges
- Broken bike sensors
- Unresponsive bike keypads
Requested features
4 requests- Improved app navigation
- Better bike status information
- Streamlined payment options
- Expanded service area
Wave by OCTA
Reported bugs
5 issues- Can't sign in
- Not working
- Totally unable to sign in
- No free virtual on update
- Where's the free 15th-31st rides?
Requested features
2 requests- Free bus pass option
- Easier college pass transfer
In-app purchases
Social Bicycles
No in-app purchases
Wave by OCTA
No in-app purchases








