Cardiff Bus vs Reading Buses
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.
Reading Buses
Plan your bus journeys, purchase mobile tickets, and track live departures. This app provides real-time bus information, fare discovery, and contactless journey history. Save your favorite routes and stay updated on service disruptions.
- Mobile ticket purchase
- Live departure tracking
- Journey planning
- Fare discovery
- Timetable access
- Contactless journey history
- Service update notifications
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Our new app has everything you need to travel with Reading Buses. NEW! Discover your fare: Find the fare for the journeys you are planning whether you want to buy a mobile ticket in advance or pay on the bus. Mobile Tickets: Purchase mobile tickets securely with a debit/credit card and scan when boarding - no more searching for cash! 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: It’s now even easier to plan ahead with Reading Buses. Timetables: We’ve squeezed the whole timetable 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 Departure Boards, Timetables and Journeys, with quick access from one convenient menu. Service Updates: You’ll be able to keep up to date with disruption information from our Twitter feed inside the app. As always, we welcome your feedback. You can send it to us via the app.
Screenshots
Verdict
Cardiff Bus and Reading Buses both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 61% of Reading Buses's written reviews are positive against 45% of Cardiff Bus's. On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Cardiff Bus against 4.8 for Reading Buses. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 67 and 83 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 45% of Cardiff Bus's written reviews are positive against 61% of Reading Buses's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 10, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Cardiff Bus | Reading Buses |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (67 ratings) | 4.8 (83 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 45.0% of reviews | 61.2% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 67 | 83 — better |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 41 MB | 41 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Cardiff City Transport Services Ltd | Reading Buses |
Customer experience
Cardiff Bus
Reading Buses
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
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- 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
Reading Buses
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Cardiff Bus
No in-app purchases
Reading Buses
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Cardiff Bus free?
Is Reading Buses free?
Which has better reviews, Cardiff Bus or Reading Buses?
Do Cardiff Bus or Reading Buses have ads?
Which is updated more often, Cardiff Bus or Reading Buses?
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