# Bus & Tram vs ZoneCard

The clearest difference is update cadence: Bus & Tram at monthly against ZoneCard's every 21 months. Bus & Tram also leads on review sentiment (15% vs 0%). ZoneCard's advantage is iOS requirement (12.4 vs 16.0). On price, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Bus & Tram ships an update monthly, ZoneCard every 21 months. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Bus & Tram | ZoneCard |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (233 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bus-and-tram/id6468092588/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **233** | — |
| Positive reviews | **15.1% of reviews** | 0.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | — |
| Update frequency | **Monthly** | Every 21 months |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 65 MB | 48 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **12.4** |
| Devices | **iPhone** | — |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Lothian Buses plc](https://appshunter.io/developer/548308171) | [Strathclyde Partnership for Transport](https://appshunter.io/developer/1732686168) |

## What reviewers say

### Bus & Tram

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bus-and-tram/id6468092588)

Plan your bus and tram journeys in Edinburgh and the Lothians with real-time arrival information. Purchase mobile tickets directly within the app and receive live updates on delays and diversions.

**Highlights:** Journey planning with interactive map, Real-time bus and tram arrival times, Mobile ticket purchasing, Live travel and service updates, Customizable route suggestions, Service notifications

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Wallet, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Improved layout and UI
- 💡 Ability to purchase tickets in-app

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🙁 Worse than previous app
- 🤔 Confusing and unintuitive navigation
- 🔍 Harder to find bus schedules and routes
- 🕰️ Live departure times not accurate
- 🗺️ Poor map integration and functionality

**Reported bugs**

- App refreshes when switching away
- Address search returns irrelevant results

**Requested features**

- Bring back 'take me home' button
- Allow saving of favorite stops without login
- Integrate live departure times with route planning
- Improve map view to show bus locations


### ZoneCard

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/zonecard/id6478397216)

This app simplifies public transport ticketing for bus, rail, and subway in West Scotland. It allows users to purchase and manage smartcards, buy tickets, and download them directly to their phone via NFC. Users can also manage their account details and view past purchases.

**Highlights:** Register and purchase smartcards, Associate existing transport cards, Buy flexible tickets, Download tickets via NFC, Manage account details, View purchase history

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Bus & Tram free?

Bus & Tram is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is ZoneCard free?

ZoneCard is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which is updated more often, Bus & Tram or ZoneCard?

Bus & Tram ships an update monthly, and ZoneCard every 21 months. Most recently, Bus & Tram was updated on October 31, 2026 and ZoneCard on October 21, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*