Cardiff Bus vs SAM Wallet
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.
SAM Wallet
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Meet SAM Wallet! Keep all your bus tickets in one place, and use your phone number to access them all. When tickets are issued to you, you can simply open the app and scan them when you get on the bus!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Cardiff Bus at fortnightly against SAM Wallet's every 2 months. Cardiff Bus also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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, SAM Wallet every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Cardiff Bus | SAM Wallet |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (66 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 45.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 66 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 41 MB | 18 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Cardiff City Transport Services Ltd | Beep Ltd |
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
SAM Wallet
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Cardiff Bus
No in-app purchases
SAM Wallet
No in-app purchases
