Urban Public Transit

For inter-city / regional rail and bus, see Train, Bus & Multi-Modal. For walking / driving navigation, see Offline Maps & Nav. For transit-aware mapping, see Maps & Geo.

Urban transit is where the Apple/Google duopoly almost won, but specialist apps still beat them in their core cities — Citymapper for London/Paris/NYC, Moovit for the long tail, Transit for North America.

Multi-city transit apps

★ Citymapper — free + paid Pro (~$40/yr); ★ for world-class metros (London, Paris, NYC, Tokyo, Berlin, etc.). Best UI for "how do I get from here to there" with live disruption data. Pro adds offline + extra features.
★ Transit — free + paid Royale (~$30/yr); ★ in North America. Real-time bus arrivals are unmatched in the US/Canada.
Moovit — free; ★ for coverage — 3,500+ cities including small ones the others ignore. Intel-owned since 2020.
★ Apple Maps Transit — free; transit coverage expanded steadily 2024–26 and is now solid in 250+ cities. Built into iOS, no install.
★ Google Maps Transit — free; default transit option in most Android phones; coverage in 1,000+ cities.

City-specific apps

These are often better than the generalists in their city — official sources for live arrivals, contactless fare, service alerts.

NYC: MTA TrainTime (subway) + Bus Time (bus); OMNY for tap-to-pay.
London: TfL Go (Transport for London); Citymapper still best for journey planning.
Paris: Bonjour RATP, SNCF Connect for regional / TGV; Île-de-France Mobilités.
Berlin / Germany: DB Navigator + the local Verkehrsbund app (BVG Fahrinfo for Berlin); €49 Deutschlandticket lives in the DB Navigator app.
Tokyo / Japan: Japan Travel by NAVITIME, Google Maps (excellent in Japan).
Singapore / SE Asia: Citymapper (Singapore) or Moovit; Grab for taxis.
Mumbai / Delhi: m-Indicator, Chalo.
São Paulo: Moovit, official SPTrans.
Mexico City: Moovito CDMX, Mi Transporte.

Tap-to-pay / contactless fare (2026)

Open-loop contactless (your normal credit/debit card) is now accepted in most major networks — London (since 2014), NYC, Sydney, Singapore, Madrid, Brussels, much of the UK, Boston (2024), and many more. Apple Pay / Google Pay both work.

Express Transit mode on iPhone (no Face ID needed) and Google Wallet's similar mode are the fastest entry.
City transit cards (Suica, Octopus, Compass, Clipper, Ventra) are increasingly available natively in Apple Wallet — provision once and tap.
Closed-loop only: Tokyo (Suica/Pasmo, but Apple Wallet works), Hong Kong (Octopus, Apple Wallet works), some smaller systems.

Lime (scooters / bikes), Bird, Voi (Europe), Tier (Europe), Bolt (also rideshare), Citi Bike / Bay Wheels / Lyft Bikes (North America), Velib (Paris), Santander Cycles (London) — mostly app + tap-and-go; check the city.
A to B Bikes, Donkey Republic — pan-European peer-to-peer.

Practical rules (2026)

Always have one transit app and Apple/Google Maps. Live arrivals fail; route knowledge doesn't.
Download offline maps for the city in your generalist app of choice — for when subway gets you above-ground in an unfamiliar neighborhood.
Test contactless on the entry gate before assuming it works — some London buses still need a tap-out (they don't), Boston's still rolling out, etc.
Avoid the airport-station ticket counters in unfamiliar cities — buy fares in-app or at TVMs to skip the line and get correct change.

Pick this if…

Default: London, Paris, NYC, Tokyo, Berlin, big metros: Citymapper.
Default: North America: Transit (the app, capital T) for buses; Apple/Google Maps for subway.
Anywhere unusual: Moovit's coverage is the widest.
Already on iOS: Apple Maps Transit + Express Transit fare.
You're staying weeks: install the official local agency app for live arrivals.