xtBus transit browser

Don’t give money or use this app. It started as something that kind of worked, but now I believe it’s a fraud. I’ve always had the newest iphone & update. The times on this app are rarely even close to the time the bus arrives. At this point it’s arbitrary. I thought the new update would fix it. First night out same old shenanigans. I believe the developer is pulling a fast one to make money.

I switched to this app from the catch the bus app because that app isn't up to date on the bus schedules, and I am not enjoying using this app. I HATE the ads. They pop up randomly and I accidentally click them sometimes. I would've been willing to pay for the app, but that's not an option from what I've seen. The app defaults to telling you which buses are closest to your current location, which can be nice if you're just casually waiting at the bus stop and are just curious about when the bus comes, but, for me, I'd like to plan ahead, leaving my apartment earlier or later or walking faster or slower (or sometimes running :)). This app doesn't work well for that because your bus generally won't come up until you're pretty close to the stop. They do have a function for you to look at specific stops and save your favorites, but it takes a long time to find a bus route and stop (it asks you which transit system you want every time). Plus, when you save something as a favorite, it only gives you the bus stop name, not the route name, so if you are looking at multiple routes at the same stop you can't tell the difference between them. That's extremely frustrating. Unfortunately, I haven't found a better real time bus app yet. If the catch the bus developers would just update their app, I would go right back to using that one.

Nextbus has been one of the better apps I've found for public transit. I recommend it to friends as a basic reference. It's often right but greater accuracy would be helpful. On numerous occasions Nextbus has told me I missed a bus by 1-2 mins, only to discover as I head to a neighboring bus route that in fact the bus hadn't yet passed my stop. So for last minute decisions when more than one bus can get you to your destination, it can be frustrating. My other major complaint besides the slowness of launching the app, is that it doesn't cover the entire SF Bay Area. It would be nice to have a one stop app rather than switching between multiple apps and playing guessing games. If this doesn't apply to you, then it's relatively dependable and a good basic reference to facilitate your use of public transit.