Comparison

Transit.Tracker vs Madison Bus Tracker

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Transit.Tracker

Plan your journeys and track public transit in real-time. Find nearby stations, view departure times, and get turn-by-turn navigation. Supports numerous transit agencies across multiple metro areas.

Highlights
  • Real-time vehicle tracking
  • Scheduled departure times
  • Nearest station finder
  • Built-in trip planner
  • Multi-metro area support
  • Today Widget and Watch App integration
Features
Read full description

Transit Tracker puts public transit schedules, nearby departures, route stops, and trip plans on your device. Download the schedules for the cities you ride in, and Transit Tracker stores them on your iPhone. Once a city is downloaded, nearby stops, scheduled departures, route and stop search, and trip planning all work from the data on your device. Real-time predictions are added when the transit agency publishes them and you are online. Use Transit Tracker to: - Download the transit schedules you need from the Downloads screen, and update or delete them at any time - Download more than one city and see stops near you across all of them in one view - Find nearby bus, subway, light rail, commuter rail, ferry, and other transit stops - View scheduled departures, with real-time estimates where the agency provides them - Search routes and stops and see a route's stops and path on the map - Plan trips with the built-in trip planner, then tap any stop to see its departures - Save stops, and save trip plans exactly as they were planned - Use Apple Watch and widget support where available - Choose light, dark, or custom app themes Schedules come from the transit agencies and are stored on your device. Each download is a one-time transfer of the agency's published schedule; Wi-Fi is recommended for larger cities. Schedule data is replaced when you update a city, and the app tells you when a downloaded schedule is about to end. Coverage and feature availability vary by region. Schedules, routes, and real-time predictions depend on the data each transit agency publishes. Optional in-app purchases remove ads. You can also watch a short video to remove ads for an hour.

About

Madison Bus Tracker

Get real-time bus arrival predictions and explore route maps for Madison Metro Transit. Save your favorite stops and routes for quick access, and receive service alerts. An optional Pro version offers advanced features and an ad-free experience.

Highlights
  • Live bus arrival predictions
  • Nearby stop finder
  • Interactive route maps
  • Save favorite stops and routes
  • Service alerts
  • Pro version with advanced features
Features
Read full description

Check Madison bus arrivals, find nearby Metro Transit stops and explore route maps. See upcoming departures, choose your direction and keep your everyday stops close at hand. NEARBY STOPS & ARRIVALS Find nearby bus stops on the map and see upcoming arrivals for the routes serving each stop. Know whether a departure is a live prediction or a scheduled time. Use your location to find nearby service, or explore the map around Madison. ROUTE MAPS & DIRECTIONS Search routes by number or name. Choose a direction, view the route and its stops on the map, and follow direction arrows and start/end markers to understand where it goes. AROUND MADISON & CAMPUS Explore Rapid Route A (BRT) and UW-Madison campus routes, including 80, 81, 82 and 84. Service varies by route, date and campus calendar. FAVORITES & SERVICE ALERTS Save unlimited stops and routes for quick access. Open a saved stop to check departures, and review service alerts on stop and route pages. MORE WITH MADISON BUS PRO - Live bus locations on route maps when vehicle data is available - Stop schedules for the next 7 days - Departure widgets for your Home Screen - An ad-free app experience Nearby arrivals, route maps, service alerts and unlimited favorites are free. Pro features require an in-app purchase. Prices and available plans are shown in the app. ABOUT THE DATA Live predictions and vehicle locations depend on available transit data. Scheduled times are shown when live predictions are unavailable. Arrival times and service information may change. Madison Bus Tracker is an independent app and is not affiliated with the City of Madison, Metro Transit or the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Data provided under license granted by City of Madison, WI, Metro Transit. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Transit.Tracker4 screens
Madison Bus Tracker4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Transit.Tracker at 4.5 against Madison Bus Tracker's 3.8. Transit.Tracker also leads on ratings volume (3.4K vs 28) and review sentiment (20% vs 0%). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Transit.Tracker sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Madison Bus Tracker sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Transit.Tracker holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Transit.Tracker has 3.4K ratings behind it against 28, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 20% of Transit.Tracker's written reviews are positive against 0% of Madison Bus Tracker's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Transit.Tracker ships an update monthly, Madison Bus Tracker every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Transit.Tracker versus Madison Bus Tracker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTransit.TrackerMadison Bus Tracker
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (3.4K ratings) — better3.8 (28 ratings)
Positive reviews20.3% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings3.4K — better28
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS16.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size59 MB29 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRaging Coders婧嘉 郭

Customer experience

Transit.Tracker

All ratings3,376 ratings
Positive87.1%
Neutral4.2%
Negative8.7%
Written reviews79 reviews
Positive20.3%
Neutral7.6%
Negative72.2%

Madison Bus Tracker

All ratings28 ratings
Positive67.9%
Neutral3.6%
Negative28.6%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Bugs and requests

Transit.Tracker

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App freezes or crashes frequently
  • Incorrect route and schedule data
  • Issues with restoring paid upgrades
  • Location services not working properly

Requested features

4 requests
  • Improve real-time bus/train tracking
  • Expand coverage to more cities
  • Add more customization options
  • Fix bugs and crashes

Madison Bus Tracker

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Transit.Tracker

One-time1
  • Ad Free$4.99
3 purchases

Madison Bus Tracker

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Yearly7 Days trial$17.991 Year
One-time1
  • lifetime$39.99

Questions

Is Transit.Tracker free?
Transit.Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Madison Bus Tracker free?
Madison Bus Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Transit.Tracker or Madison Bus Tracker?
Transit.Tracker is rated higher. Transit.Tracker averages 4.5 out of 5 from 3.4K ratings, while Madison Bus Tracker averages 3.8 from 28 ratings.
Do Transit.Tracker or Madison Bus Tracker have ads?
Both Transit.Tracker and Madison Bus Tracker show ads.
Which is updated more often, Transit.Tracker or Madison Bus Tracker?
Transit.Tracker ships an update monthly, and Madison Bus Tracker every 2 months. Most recently, Transit.Tracker was updated on November 6, 2026 and Madison Bus Tracker on November 8, 2026.

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