MARS vs Ride On Flex
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MARS
Easily book licensed taxi rides nationwide without making a phone call. See available drivers, track your ride in real-time, and pay securely through the app. Rate your driver and provide feedback to improve service.
- Book taxis nationwide
- Real-time ride tracking
- See driver ratings and vehicle models
- Secure in-app payments
- Rate drivers and provide feedback
- Book for now or later
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-- Book your taxi ride with licensed taxi cabs across the country. Save time - no phone call needed! -- Book for now or later, for a friend, or for courier delivery. -- See nearby available taxis on the map -- see driver ratings, and vehicle models. Choose one to pick you up, pick your favorite company, or let us find a driver for you. -- Track in real time as your ride arrives to pick you up -- call your driver or taxi company at the push of a button... without revealing your phone number! -- Pay in-vehicle, or pay securely with the app -- no need to bring cash or handle your credit card. -- Rate your driver and provide feedback to your taxi company.
Ride On Flex
Book on-demand rides within specific zones for convenient and affordable travel. This app offers a flexible alternative to fixed routes and schedules, providing real-time tracking and a shared vehicle experience.
- Book on-demand rides
- No fixed stops or schedules
- Real-time bus tracking
- Wheelchair accessible buses
- Free WiFi on buses
- Shared vehicle experience
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Traveling within the bounds of the Rockville or Glenmont/Wheaton Ride On Flex zone? Lucky you! Flex is a convenient new option for you at an incredible value. Download the Ride On Flex app to book your ride. No fixed stops or fixed schedules – the Flex comes when you book! Just enter your pickup and drop-off location within the zone, and you will be offered the next available time. Accept the booking and go to your pickup location—a corner near you. New 11-passenger Flex buses are wheelchair accessible and have free WiFi. Standard Ride On fare policy applies. That means your ride costs no more than $2! How does Ride On Flex work? - Ride On Flex takes multiple passengers heading in the same direction and books them into a shared vehicle. Using the Ride On Flex app, input the address and we’ll match you with a vehicle going your way. Flex picks you up at a nearby corner and drops you off within a few streets of your requested destination. Our smart algorithms provide trip times that are comparable to other ride shares and much more convenient than other modes of travel. How long will I wait? - You'll always get an accurate estimate of your pick-up time before booking. You can also track your bus in real time in the app. How many passengers will I share a vehicle with? - The number of passengers varies. Our comfortable buses can accommodate up to 11 people. Up to 6 seats can be reserved with each booking. Where can Flex take me? - Anywhere in your zone! It might be a Metro station, shopping center, office, library, other public facility—or home. You tell us. When is Flex available? - Hours of service vary by zone. Check here for details. What else do I need to know about Ride On Flex? NO BOARDING WITHOUT A BOOKED RESERVATION. The bus operator will ask for your name on boarding. Pay as you board with a SmarTrip card or cash/passes/tokens. You cannot add value to a SmarTrip card on Flex. Always have enough fare on your card or use cash/tokens/passes. Boarding is at designated corners, not fixed stops (curb-to-curb service for persons with wheelchairs). These Flex zones aren’t near me. When will it come to my neighborhood? - Ride On Flex is a pilot program of the Montgomery County Department of Transportation. We’re eager to learn how our residents use this innovative on-demand transit option and hope to bring it to more areas of the county over time. Please be patient as we experiment, listen and learn. The Ride On Flex app is guaranteed to change the way you think about traveling in the zones. We look forward to seeing you on the Flex. Just book and go! Love our app? Please rate us! Questions or suggestions? Email us at RideOn.FlexCustomerService@montgomerycountymd.gov.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Ride On Flex at 4.7 against MARS's 4.2. MARS's advantage is review sentiment (80% vs 64%) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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.
Ride On Flex holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 24 and 57 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 80% of MARS's written reviews are positive against 64% of Ride On Flex's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
MARS ships an update monthly, Ride On Flex every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | MARS | Ride On Flex |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (24 ratings) | 4.7 (57 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 80.0% of reviews — better | 63.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 24 | 57 — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 77 MB | 130 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Information Technologies Curves, Inc | Via Transportation, Inc. |
Customer experience
MARS
Ride On Flex
In-app purchases
MARS
No in-app purchases
Ride On Flex
No in-app purchases









