9 Best Map Apps for Bus Routes of 2026

Citymapper is the most polished app here for riders in the big cities it covers. Its App Store listing describes live wait times and ETAs so you never miss a bus, train or ferry, a real-time map where you can follow your bus as it approaches, and alerts when it is time to get off. You can subscribe to a bus or subway line for automatic delay and status alerts, and save Home, Work and favorite stops for one-tap planning. Offline, it keeps official maps such as the Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens bus maps. It also compares buses with Uber, Lyft, bikeshare and scooters in one search. The catch is coverage: it names about 26 US metros plus cities abroad, so smaller towns may be missing. The app contains ads, and CLUB upgrades start at $1.49. It holds a 4.9 rating from 111,000 ratings. We compared documented features and published prices only.

Transit ranks first because it is built only for people who ride buses and trains. Its App Store listing promises live departure times and real-time vehicle tracking in 1,000+ cities, using agency data, crowdsourced data from its GO mode and an in-house ETA prediction engine. GO adds alarms that tell you when to leave, when to get off and when to transfer. Bus schedules, stop locations and the trip planner also work offline, and you can pay fares in the app in 100+ cities. The trade-off is Transit Royale: the company says looking up departure times far into the future and browsing lines farther away require a subscription, though its core next-departure features stay free and 200+ agencies now sponsor Royale for their riders. US App Store plans start at $2.99 a month. It holds a 4.6 rating from 1 million ratings. We compared documented features and published prices; we did not ride test routes.

Google Maps is the app most people already have, and for many bus trips it is enough. Google's App Store listing says you can catch the bus, train and ride-share with real-time updates, alongside directions for driving, walking and cycling. Its biggest advantage is search: it covers over 250 million businesses and places, so you can find a destination and the bus route to it in one step, then use Lens in Maps for walking directions to the stop. Offline maps help in areas with bad signal. What it lacks, compared with Transit or Citymapper, is a transit-first screen: the listing does not mention departure alarms, get-off alerts or crowd-reported ETAs. Google also notes that some features are not available in all countries or cities. It is free, holds a 4.7 rating from 7.4 million ratings and shows 10B+ downloads on Google Play. We compared documented features and published prices only.

Moovit has the broadest reach of any app on this list. Its App Store listing says it serves over 930 million users in more than 3,400 cities, covering the US and 112 other countries in 45 languages. For bus riders it lists real-time arrivals from GPS on buses and trains, live step-by-step directions that tell you how far to walk and notify you near your stop, and an augmented reality finder that helps you locate the right stop. Alerts cover service changes and delays, transit maps work offline, and tickets can be bought in the app in select cities. The newer Moovit+ tier adds AI search, personalized routes, weather-adjusted routes and tight transfer alerts, with US App Store plans from $0.99 a month. The free app contains ads. It holds a 4.6 rating from 61,000 ratings and shows 100M+ downloads on Google Play. We compared documented features and published prices only.

Apple Maps is the zero-effort option for iPhone owners. Apple's App Store listing says it gives real-time transit updates so you never miss a bus, train or ferry, and that downloaded offline maps on iPhone or Apple Watch include turn-by-turn directions for driving, walking, cycling or transit. AR walking directions can guide you to the stop, Siri can find places, and Look Around lets you check a street before you arrive. Because it ships with the phone, there is nothing to install and no ads or in-app purchases are listed. Its limits for bus riders are what it does not list: no departure alarms, no get-off alerts and no crowdsourced arrival predictions, which Transit and Citymapper document. It also works only on Apple devices. Its standalone App Store listing shows a 2.2 rating from 65,000 ratings. We compared documented features and published prices; we did not ride test routes.

OneBusAway answers one question very well: when is my bus coming. Its App Store listing says it shows real-time arrivals at every stop in your region on iPhone, iPad, the Lock Screen and Apple Watch, and that it is free, has no ads and needs no account. You can bookmark the routes you ride, ask Siri for your next bus, set a reminder to leave, and follow your ride through Live Activities. It alerts you as your stop approaches, shows agency service alerts, and lets you report a ghost bus that never arrives. It also plans trips across agencies and shows nearby bikes and scooters where supported. The limit is coverage: the listing names Davis, New York, San Diego, Seattle and Puget Sound, Tampa, Washington D.C. and Adelaide. It is published by the Open Transit Software Foundation, a nonprofit, and holds a 4.8 rating from 2,200 ratings. We compared documented features only.

HERE WeGo is a general map app with solid public transport coverage. Its App Store listing says you can take public transport in more than 1,900 cities, follow walking guidance to and from stops, or switch to turn-by-turn driving. Its best feature for travelers is offline use: you can download a map of a region, country or continent and finish a trip with no connection. Saved collections, shortcuts and waypoints make repeat trips quicker, and a recent update says HERE optimized its public transport routing. For a list about real-time buses, though, it is thinner than the apps above: the listing does not mention live vehicle tracking, arrival countdowns or get-off alerts, and bike and car-sharing are described as coming next. It is free with no in-app purchases listed, holds a 3.7 rating from 1,600 ratings and shows 10M+ downloads on Google Play. We compared documented features and published prices only.

Live Bus Countdown, listed on the US App Store as London & UK Live Bus Countdown, now covers far more than London. Mobicia's listing describes live transit times across the US, with real-time arrivals, route maps and service alerts for New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Seattle and more, plus 170+ regions in 30+ countries. Opening a stop shows only the buses coming to it, with their route and minutes away, and you can follow a bus's trip. My Routes puts every departure you care about on one screen, and widgets, Live Activities and an Apple Watch app keep times at hand. A recent update separates live and scheduled times and says when a live feed fails, which matters when you are deciding whether to wait. The free app has ads; an ad-free plan costs $1.99 a month. It holds a 4.8 rating from 1,900 ratings. We compared documented features and published prices only.

Bus Checker is a narrow tool that does one job. The US version, NYC Bus Checker, promises live times at all of New York's 15,000+ bus stops using official MTA-licensed data feeds, plus route maps for every NYC bus route so you can see exactly where a bus goes. It also plans trips by bus, subway and rail, shows real-time Citi Bike dock information and flags detours, closures and cancellations. Favorites keep regular stops one tap away. UrbanThings sells the same idea as separate apps elsewhere, including UK Bus Checker, which adds mobile tickets and shows how busy buses are across Great Britain. The downside is that fragmentation: you need a different app for each place, and the free versions carry ads, with ad removal at $8.99 in the NYC app. Recent release notes are mostly bug fixes. NYC Bus Checker holds a 4.6 rating from 3,100 ratings. We compared documented features and published prices only.