Cardiff Bus vs First Travel Solutions
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.
First Travel Solutions
This travel app provides real-time updates on bus arrivals and departures. You can purchase tickets in advance and activate them on your travel day, then simply scan a QR code for boarding, making your commute smoother.
- Real-time arrival and departure information
- Advance ticket purchasing
- QR code ticket activation and scanning
- Commute comfort and stress reduction
- Easy ticket payment
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Use our app to check real-time arrivals and departures to and from your place of work. With the power of Real-Time data is in your hands, making your commute more comfortable and less stressful. Buy your ticket So much easier than paying on the bus – buy your ticket in advance, then just activate on the day you want to travel and scan the QR code when you get on the bus
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Cardiff Bus at 45% against First Travel Solutions's 8%. Cardiff Bus also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). 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 ships an update fortnightly, First Travel Solutions every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Cardiff Bus | First Travel Solutions |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (67 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 45.0% of reviews — better | 7.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 67 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 41 MB | 142 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Cardiff City Transport Services Ltd | Rise Digital Media Limited |
Customer experience
Cardiff Bus
First Travel Solutions
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
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- Show buses moving on map
First Travel Solutions
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Cardiff Bus
No in-app purchases
First Travel Solutions
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Cardiff Bus free?
Is First Travel Solutions free?
Do Cardiff Bus or First Travel Solutions have ads?
Which is updated more often, Cardiff Bus or First Travel Solutions?
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