# NCTX Buses vs Carousel

NCTX Buses and Carousel both sit at 4.9 stars, but that hides the real split: 57% of NCTX Buses's written reviews are positive against 32% of Carousel's. NCTX Buses also leads on ratings volume (64 vs 3). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

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 — 4.9 for NCTX Buses against 5.0 for Carousel. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NCTX Buses has 64 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 57% of NCTX Buses's written reviews are positive against 32% of Carousel's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | NCTX Buses | Carousel |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.9 (64 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nctx-buses/id952687024/reviews) | **[5.0 (3 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/carousel-high-wycombe-buses/id1557701327/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **64** | 3 |
| Positive reviews | **57.4% of reviews** | 32.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Fortnightly |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 41 MB | 41 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 15.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Nottingham City Transport Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/463231931) | [The Go-Ahead Group plc](https://appshunter.io/developer/566501475) |

## What reviewers say

### NCTX Buses

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nctx-buses/id952687024)

Plan your journeys, view live bus departures, and purchase mobile tickets for NCT services. Access timetables, save favorite routes, and stay updated on service disruptions.

**Highlights:** Mobile ticket purchase, Live departure times, Journey planning, Bus timetables, Save favorite routes, Service disruption alerts

**Features:** Apple Wallet, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Real-time bus tracking
- 👍 Useful travel planning
- 👍 Convenient mobile tickets
- 👍 24-hour tickets save money
- 👍 Easy to use interface

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buses often late
- 🐛 App logs users out
- 🐛 Buses disappear from tracker
- 🐛 Mobile tickets fail to scan
- 🐛 App drains phone battery

**Reported bugs**

- App keeps logging users out
- App locks users out for extended periods
- Buses not arriving on time
- Buses disappearing from the app's tracker
- Mobile tickets failing to scan

**Requested features**

- Ability to rearrange favourites
- Setting to display time of day and minutes until next bus
- Integration with Apple Wallet/Google Pay for bus passes
- Option to display cancelled buses in real-time
- Separate timetables for different route variations (e.g., 79 and 79a)


### Carousel

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/carousel-high-wycombe-buses/id1557701327)

Plan your bus journeys, purchase mobile tickets, and view live departures. Access timetables, track service disruptions, and save your favorite routes for easy access. Contactless payment options are available for your convenience.

**Highlights:** Mobile ticket purchasing, Live departure information, Journey planning, Route timetables, Contactless journey history, Favorite routes, Service disruption alerts

**Features:** Apple Wallet, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is NCTX Buses free?

NCTX Buses is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Carousel free?

Carousel is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, NCTX Buses or Carousel?

Carousel is rated higher. NCTX Buses averages 4.9 out of 5 from 64 ratings, while Carousel averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.

### Do NCTX Buses or Carousel have ads?

Neither NCTX Buses nor Carousel shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, NCTX Buses or Carousel?

NCTX Buses ships an update fortnightly, and Carousel fortnightly. Most recently, NCTX Buses was updated on October 29, 2026 and Carousel on October 30, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*