Cardiff Bus vs bluestarbuses
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.
bluestarbuses
Plan your bus journeys and purchase tickets on your mobile device. View live departures, access timetables, and receive disruption updates for travel in Southampton, Eastleigh, Totton, and Romsey.
- Mobile ticket purchase
- Live departure tracking
- Journey planning
- Route timetables
- Favorite stops and routes
- Service disruption alerts
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Our new app has everything you need to get around Southampton, Eastleigh, Totton and Romsey with Bluestar. It’s packed full of everything you’ll need to get mobile on the bus. Mobile Tickets: Purchase mobile tickets securely with Apple Pay or a debit/credit card and show the driver 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: Plan your commute, trip to the shops or night out with friends. It’s now even easier to plan ahead with Bluestar. Timetables: We’ve squeezed all of our routes and timetables into the palm of your hand. Favourites: You can quickly save your favourite Departure Boards, 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.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ratings volume: Cardiff Bus at 65 against bluestarbuses's 17. On price, rating, review sentiment 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 bluestarbuses. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 65 and 17 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 45% of Cardiff Bus's written reviews are positive against 44% of bluestarbuses's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Cardiff Bus | bluestarbuses |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (65 ratings) — better | 4.8 (17 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 45.0% of reviews — better | 44.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 65 — better | 17 |
| 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 | 43 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Cardiff City Transport Services Ltd | The Go-Ahead Group plc |
Customer experience
Cardiff Bus
bluestarbuses
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
bluestarbuses
From 17 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Live bus tracking useful
- 👍 Handy app
- 👍 Helpful for planning journeys
- 👍 Great maps
Room to improve
- 👎 Buses disappear from map
- 👎 Inaccurate times and stops
- 👎 Overcharged and rude driver
- 👎 Missing features for driver accountability
- 👎 Unreliable service, buses missing
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
bluestarbuses
Reported bugs
10 issues- Buses disappear from live map
- App freezes randomly
- App glitches, cannot see bus
- Bus arrival list broken, times don't update
- App doesn't load bus times
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Journey planner returns 'We are unable to complete the search RETRY'
- App logs users off
- Mobile ticket system issues with Wallet opening
- Map randomly freezes after latest update
- Feedback screen goes blank
Requested features
5 requests- Allow submission of evidence for drivers embarking early
- Bring back The Key card system
- Allow planning journeys for days other than today
- Provide single journey cost information
- Watch companion app
In-app purchases
Cardiff Bus
No in-app purchases
bluestarbuses
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Cardiff Bus free?
Is bluestarbuses free?
Which has better reviews, Cardiff Bus or bluestarbuses?
Do Cardiff Bus or bluestarbuses have ads?
Which is updated more often, Cardiff Bus or bluestarbuses?
Other comparisons
