Best Apps for Seattle Transit in 2026

You need to know when the bus is coming. Or when the next light rail pulls in. Maybe you're planning something across town, or maybe you're just standing at your usual stop wondering if there's time for one more sip of coffee before you have to hustle. No shortage of apps claim to solve this problem. We also put together a guide on 3 ways to check light rail arrivals covering apps, the Sound Transit website, and dedicated displays. But here's my honest take on each app after using them all pretty heavily over the past year.

OneBusAway

The OG. OneBusAway has been around forever in Seattle years. It's open source, pulls from the same real-time data feeds as King County Metro and Sound Transit, and it does the basics really well. Nearby stops, real-time arrivals, saved favorites. A LOT of Seattle riders swear by this app, and honestly, they're right to. It was built specifically for this region and you can feel that.

Where it struggles: the interface looks like it hasn't had a real design overhaul in years. Which, fair enough, it probably hasn't. The "Schedule Only" label that shows up when a bus lacks live GPS tracking confuses people constantly, even though it's actually super useful info. (We wrote about why buses sometimes vanish in our ghost buses post.) Can be sluggish at times too. But it's free, it's reliable when real-time data exists, and it sits at a solid 4.1 stars. For Seattle-specific stop-level detail, nothing else quite matches it.

Google Maps

Probably what you're already using. Google Maps is killer for trip planning and directions. Tell it where you are and where you're going, and it figures out the rest. For one-off trips or when you're exploring a route you've never taken before, it's hard to argue with.

The weak spot is real-time reliability info. Google doesn't do a great job flagging whether those arrival times come from live GPS or just the published schedule. And for the quick "when's my bus" check at your regular stop, the app isn't really built for that workflow. You can get there, it just takes more taps than it should. Free though, and already on basically every phone in existence.

Apple Maps

If you're deep in the Apple world, Maps has gotten surprisingly good for transit. Clean interface, smooth integration with the rest of iOS. It handles Seattle bus and light rail info better than it used to, by a wide margin actually.

It's less detailed than OneBusAway for Seattle-specific stuff though. You won't get the same granular stop-level information, and the real-time versus schedule distinction is murky. For general trip planning it holds its own. Just don't expect it to replace a purpose-built transit app. Free.

Transit App

Gorgeous design, real-time data, plus a GO feature that tracks your trip live and nudges you when your stop is coming up. Transit has a dedicated fanbase in cities like Montreal and New York and it's been quietly growing in Seattle too. If you care about polish and thoughtful UX, you'll probably fall for it pretty quickly.

Worth knowing: some features, like Transit Royale, sit behind a paywall. The core app is usable without paying, and for a lot of riders the design alone makes it worth the switch from whatever they were using before.

NextStop Mini — not an app at all

This one's mine, so take it for what it's worth. NextStop Mini is a small always-on display you stick on your desk or next to your front door. It shows live arrivals for your favorite stops. Walk by, glance at the numbers, know whether to rush out or take your sweet time.

It shines for people with predictable commutes who hit the same stops day after day. If you're constantly hopping different routes or planning trips on the fly, an app is what you want. But if your routine is pretty fixed and you just want to know when to leave without even thinking about it, well, that's exactly the itch I designed this to scratch. Available in the shop for $59.99.

So which one wins?

Depends entirely on how you use transit. Google or Apple Maps if you're planning a trip somewhere new. OneBusAway for the nitty-gritty stop-level stuff, still the local favorite for a reason. Transit if you want something that feels like it was designed in this decade. And if you want something physical on your desk that you never have to open or tap or interact with at all, that's the NextStop Mini lane.

— Nikita