Cardiff Bus vs Stagecoach Bus
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Cardiff Bus
Plan your travel around Cardiff with real-time bus information. View live departures, plan journeys, and access timetables. Track contactless payments and save your favorite routes for easy access.
- Live departures
- Journey planning
- Timetables
- Contactless journey tracking
- Favorite stops and routes
- Disruption alerts
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Our app has everything you need to get around Cardiff. It’s packed full of everything you’ll need to get mobile on the bus. Live Departures: Browse and view bus stops on the map, explore upcoming departures, or check out the routes from a stop to see where you could travel next. Journey Planning: Plan your commute, trip to the shops or night out with friends. It’s now even easier to plan ahead with Cardiff Buses. Timetables: We’ve squeezed all of our routes and timetables into the palm of your hand. Contactless Journeys: View the journeys you have made using your contactless cards and a breakdown of charges and savings. Favourites: You can quickly save your favourite stops, Timetables and Journeys, with quick access from one convenient menu. Disruptions: You’ll be able to keep up to date with service changes directly from our disruption feeds inside the app. As always, we welcome your feedback. You can send it to us via the app.
Stagecoach Bus
Plan your bus journeys, track buses in real-time, and purchase mobile tickets securely. Features an interactive map to view services and stops, with options to save favorite routes.
- Interactive route map
- Real-time bus tracking
- Find nearest stops
- Save favorite journeys
- Secure mobile ticket purchase
- Instant ticket delivery
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Use the app to see bus information on your mobile, plan your journey, check when your bus will arrive, search for the right mobile ticket and buy securely on your phone all in one place. App Features: *Interactive map* We’ve made it easier to travel on our buses with a new interactive map, showing all of our services and stops – simply tap on a bus or stop to find your journey information. *Latest bus information* Check when your bus will arrive and how far away from you it is. *Find the right stop for you* View your nearest bus services and stops wherever you are, which buses stop there and what routes they take. *Favourites* Save your favourite journeys, bus services and stops to make journey planning even easier. *Mobile tickets:* Buy mobile tickets safely and securely and your tickets will appear instantly on your phone ready to use. Simply activate your ticket when you're ready to board and show it to the driver. Stagecoach buses run in the following areas: Aberdeenshire Alton and Petersfield Alyth Blairgowrie and Coupar Angus Andover and Salisbury Arbroath Montrose and the Mearns Coast Ashford Aviemore Ayrshire and Arran Barnsley Barrow and Furness Basingstoke Bedfordshire Blackwater Valley Caithness Cambridgeshire Canterbury Cardiff Carlisle Penrith and Wigton Cheltenham Cheshire Chesterfield Chichester and Bognor Regis Cirencester Clackmannanshire Falkirk and Stirling Doncaster Dover Dronfield Dumfries and Galloway Dundee Dunfermline and West Fife Eastbourne East Devon Edinburgh Folkestone Forest of Dean Forfar and Brechin Fort William Gainsborough Glasgow Glenrothes Leven and Kirkcaldy Gloucester Greater Exeter Grimsby Cleethorpes Guildford and South Surrey Gwent Hartlepool Hastings Herefordshire Highland Perthshire Hull Inverness Kendal and The Lakes Lancashire Leicestershire Lincoln Manchester Mansfield Merseyside Merthyr Tydfil Milton Keynes Moray Morecambe and Lancaster Newark Newcastle upon Tyne Norfolk Northamptonshire North Cornwall North Devon Orkney Oxfordshire Perth Peterborough Plymouth Portsmouth and Havant Powys Retford Rhondda Cynon Taf Rotherham Salford Scunthorpe Sheffield Skegness Skye Somerset South Hams South Perthshire South Shields Staffordshire St Andrews Cupar and the East Neuk Stockport Stroud Sunderland Swindon Tameside Teesside Teignbridge Tewkesbury Thanet Torbay Wakefield Warwickshire and Coventry West Cumbria West Devon West Perthshire Wigan Winchester Worcestershire Worksop Worthing and Brighton
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Cardiff Bus at 45% against Stagecoach Bus's 10%. Cardiff Bus also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.6). Stagecoach Bus's advantage is ratings volume (814 vs 65). 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.
Cardiff Bus holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Stagecoach Bus has 814 ratings behind it against 65, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 45% of Cardiff Bus's written reviews are positive against 10% of Stagecoach Bus's.
Cardiff Bus ships an update fortnightly, Stagecoach Bus monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Cardiff Bus | Stagecoach Bus |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (65 ratings) — better | 4.6 (814 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 45.0% of reviews — better | 10.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 65 | 814 — better |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 41 MB | 68 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Cardiff City Transport Services Ltd | Stagecoach Group plc |
Customer experience
Cardiff Bus
Stagecoach Bus
User reviews
Cardiff Bus
From 65 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use and understand
- 📍 Real-time bus tracking
- ✅ Accurate arrival/departure times
- ❤️ Useful for planning trips
- 💯 Great for disabled travelers
Room to improve
- ❌ Unreliable service
- 🐛 App crashes frequently
- ⏳ Inaccurate bus times
- 🚫 Buses not showing up
- 💸 Overcharging/double charging
Stagecoach Bus
From 814 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Easy to use
- 🚀 Convenient ticket purchase
- 👍 Good for frequent travelers
Room to improve
- 🐛 Apple Pay not working
- 🐛 Unreliable bus tracking
- 🐛 Inaccurate timetables
- 🐛 Glitchy app performance
- 🐛 Difficult to navigate
Bugs and requests
Cardiff Bus
Reported bugs
11 issues- App crashes on iOS 16.2 when zooming
- App freezes or shuts down automatically
- App not working, unable to buy tickets
- Error 504, monthly ticket not showing
- Bus tracking not working
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- App not synchronised with bus stop information
- App freezes when opening favourites
- Reset password email not sent
- Crashing when opening mobile tickets
- Journey planner is garbage, cannot input address
- Hamburger menu embedded in search box
Requested features
6 requests- Offline version of the app
- Show timetable for tomorrow morning
- Ability to refund or gift unused tickets
- Use phone's GPS for nearest stops
- Input destination address for journey planner
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Show buses moving on map
Stagecoach Bus
Reported bugs
3 issues- Routes disappearing from app
- Ticket purchases failing
- Inability to purchase youth/student tickets
Requested features
3 requests- More regional voice announcers
- Improved bus cancellation notifications
- Better integration with mobile payment options
In-app purchases
Cardiff Bus
No in-app purchases
Stagecoach Bus
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Cardiff Bus free?
Is Stagecoach Bus free?
Which has better reviews, Cardiff Bus or Stagecoach Bus?
Do Cardiff Bus or Stagecoach Bus have ads?
Which is updated more often, Cardiff Bus or Stagecoach Bus?
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