Translink Planner vs Belfast Bus Tracker
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Translink Planner
Plan bus, coach, and rail journeys across Northern Ireland and border regions. Get real-time travel updates, view departure boards, and purchase tickets for specific rail services. Features include interactive planning, ticket storage, and personalized alerts.
- Interactive journey planning
- Purchase NI Railways tickets
- In-app ticket wallet
- Real-time departure boards
- Personalized travel updates
- Accessible planning options
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Plan Northern Ireland and cross border bus, coach and rail journeys with the Translink Journey Planner. Plan from any stop, station or address, see your next departures and get the latest travel updates from Metro, Glider, Ulsterbus, Goldline, NI Railways and Enterprise services. You can also buy single, day return and 3 day select tickets for NI Railways journeys. Features include: - Fully interactive journey planning - Buy single, day return and 3 day Select tickets for NI Railways services - Store purchased tickets within the app wallet - ‘Next Service’ departure board - Plan with Park and ride and bike journeys - Personalised travel updates - Accessible planning - Interactive map planning with real-time Metro and Glider location and a tracking feature - Quick planning using your current location, favourite stops and recent searches - CO2 journey saving calculation
Belfast Bus Tracker
Get real-time bus information for Belfast. Find nearby stops, save favorites, and receive alerts as you approach your destination. View live bus locations and departure times on a map.
- Real-time bus information
- Find nearby bus stops
- Save favorite stops
- Set stop arrival alerts
- Live map of bus and stop locations
- View departure lists
- Route maps with predicted times
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The Belfast Bus Tracker travel application gives you immediate access to real time information about bus services throughout Belfast, using the inbuilt GPS features of your smart phone to work out where you are and deliver live visual public transport information. You can: - Find stops near to where you are and see services that use each stop - Save favourite stops so that you can find them quickly whenever you need them - Save home and work stops so that you can see buses running on services for those stops at a glance - Set an alert that sounds when you approach a stop - See a map showing bus and stop locations - Show a list of departures from a selected stop - See a route map showing scheduled and predicted departure times at each stop
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Belfast Bus Tracker at 5.0 against Translink Planner's 4.4. Belfast Bus Tracker also leads on review sentiment (50% vs 19%) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). Translink Planner's advantage is ratings volume (215 vs 1). On price, update cadence, 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.
Belfast Bus Tracker holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Translink Planner has 215 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 19% of Translink Planner's written reviews are positive against 50% of Belfast Bus Tracker's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Translink Planner | Belfast Bus Tracker |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (215 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 18.5% of reviews | 50.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 215 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 6 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 10.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 111 MB | 10 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ulsterbus Ltd | Vix Technology (UK) Ltd |
Customer experience
Translink Planner
Belfast Bus Tracker
Bugs and requests
Translink Planner
Reported bugs
17 issues- App crashes on iPhone during ticket purchase
- Password reset emails not received
- Unable to renew or change passwords
- Journey planner adds unnecessary stops and complications
- Bus stops disappear when zooming in on map
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- Location loading blocks text input
- App doesn't refresh automatically without returning to start page
- Tickets purchased not visible in app
- Cannot book tickets for multiple passengers
- Concession tickets unavailable on mobile
- Inconsistent journey suggestions vs actual timetables
- Bus times don't match timetable posters at stops
- Cancelled buses don't show as cancelled, just disappear
- App shows buses arriving but they never show up
- Incorrect fare calculations and pricing display
- Unable to access certain routes (e.g., Kilkeel from bus centre)
- Timetable PDFs show 'page not found' error
Requested features
18 requests- Unified app for journey planning AND ticket purchasing
- Live bus tracking with real-time location updates
- Ability to view actual departure times instead of countdown minutes
- Show actual time alongside minutes remaining
- Complaint/feedback option for late or cancelled services
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- Simple timetable view without complex journey planning
- Live delay and cancellation notifications
- Apple Watch compatibility
- Exclude walking time option in journey results
- Direct access to timetables from home page
- Show platform/stop information for transfers
- One-click bus tracking from schedule view
- Ability to book tickets for groups over 10 people
- Support for concession tickets on mobile devices
- Better accessibility for tourists and non-locals
- Contactless card payment on vehicles
- Extended booking window beyond 3 weeks
- Proper ticket visibility after purchase
Belfast Bus Tracker
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Translink Planner
No in-app purchases
Belfast Bus Tracker
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Translink Planner free?
Is Belfast Bus Tracker free?
Which has better reviews, Translink Planner or Belfast Bus Tracker?
Do Translink Planner or Belfast Bus Tracker have ads?
Which is updated more often, Translink Planner or Belfast Bus Tracker?
Other comparisons
