First Bus
69
Quality Score
Solid
First Bus
by FirstGroup Plc
Medium confidence
✍️ Bumetric analysis
“
First Bus is an iOS app from FirstGroup Plc in the Travel category, currently rated 4.7★ across 2,016 ratings. Initial signal reads as mostly critical sentiment so far: users flag rough edges and unmet expectations.
Quality Score is 69: Solid (established niche player). For a Travel app, that means established niche player. The full BU Investment Matrix below scores 8 dimensions including monetisation, growth, and operational risk.
Track changes month-over-month in the Performance section below: live snapshot history and revenue forecast included.
💰 Monthly revenue · now vs forecast
● Right now
$5.0K
per month
→
12-mo forecast
$5.2K – $10.8K
per month
→
24-mo forecast
$6.4K – $19.2K
per month
MID tier
💡 Grow this revenue
Free AI audit of this app’s store listing
- Title & subtitle keyword fit
- Description hook & conversion structure
- Screenshots, ratings, reviews strategy
Typical impact: +2-5× organic installs
📊 Performance Tracking LIVE
47 snapshots on record
Rating
4.7
Reviews
2,016 reviews
Forecast Revenue / mo
$5.0K
Snapshots tracked
47
since Sep 2013
🤖Also on Android
$57/mo · 146 ratings · 3.3★
View →
ONE-TIME · BUILD
💰 Estimated build cost
$200K
↳ What it cost to build · not monthly revenue
Likely range $150K – $270K
$25K · MVP floor
$100K · indie scale
$500K+ · studio build
📈
Pays back in ~3.3y at current MRR
Synthetic estimate. Inputs: category complexity, file size, screen count, monetization layer, platform reach, age × team-size proxy. Calibrated against 2024-2026 indie-agency rate surveys. Full math + source list on /methodology.
Where the money goes
| 🧱 MVP baseline (design + 1-store ship) | +$28K |
| 📱 5 unique screens × $4.5K | +$22K |
| 📦 Asset bundle (155 MB) | +$40K |
| ⚙ Travel complexity ×1.30 | +$27K |
| ⚙ 14.0y maintenance × ~1-person team | +$83K |
Total estimate
$200K
ONE-TIME · EXIT VALUE
💵 Estimated acquisition value
$100K
↳ What it would sell for · not monthly revenue
Marketplace range $75K – $125K · 21× MRR multiple
💸
~0.5× build cost (under-water)
Synthetic estimate. Multiple band derived from ad-supported + age, rating quality, category demand, and user-base maturity. Calibrated against 2024-2026 indie-app-marketplace closed-deal medians. Full math + comparable deal list on /methodology.
How the multiple was built
| 📺 Ad-supported base | 15× MRR |
| 📅 14.0y proven track record | +20% |
| ⭐ ★ rating ≥ 4.7 (premium) | +15% |
Final multiple
21× MRR
👥 Estimated audience size
155K
Lifetime downloads (US-equivalent)
Monthly active
4.3K
Daily active
640
Synthetic estimate from ratings × category benchmarks. Calibrated against 2024-2026 mobile-attribution retention + DAU/MAU reports. Numbers are US-storefront-equivalent — true global audience can be 5-10× larger for international apps. Full math + source list on /methodology.
How we sized it
| 📲 Travel engagement | ~110 installs / rating |
| 📅 14.0y of rating accumulation | -30% |
| 🔁 Travel D30 retention | 10% |
| 📍 DAU / MAU stickiness | 0.15 |
DAU / MAU
15% sticky
🛠 Estimated tech stack
🍎
Native iOS (Swift / UIKit)
Medium confidence · 60%
Also possible
React Native
Flutter
Heuristic guess from app bundle size, category, store description signals, and release-date stack era. Bumetric does not disassemble binaries — for binary-level certainty you would need an SDK intelligence tool or the manifest itself. Reasoning chain on the right. Full ruleset on /methodology.
Signals we read
| 📦 App bundle size | 155 MB |
| 🏷 Category context | Travel |
| 📦 Mid-large iOS bundle | → Likely native Swift / UIKit (pre-2020 era) |
💀 Maintenance status
Active
5%
Last shipped 2026-09-01 · 30 days ago
0 · Active
50 · At risk
100 · Abandoned
Heuristic risk score from time-since-last-update + ratings velocity proxy + Editor's Choice / curated featuring signals. Calibrated against 2024-2025 app-store ranking decay reports. Not a guarantee — a quiet app with a healthy codebase looks the same as an abandoned one until something breaks. Full math on /methodology.
Risk signals
| 📅 30 days since last update | Active development |
Verdict
Active
🔬
How we forecast this revenue
MEDIUM CONFIDENCEBaseline
$5.0K/mo · ML-estimated from 234 triggers
Growth rate
+4.0% MoM · MID tier baseline (compound monthly)
6 months
$4.7K – $7.9K
12 months
$5.2K – $10.8K
24 months
$6.4K – $19.2K
Compound growth at +4.0% MoM (tier baseline for MID). Range widens with horizon — typical noise band ±25% at 6mo.. Ranges widen with horizon — distant futures carry more uncertainty.
📊
BU Investment Matrix
Below median · 47/100MID TIERunderperforming peersGrowth Velocity
5.0
Founder Strength
3.0
Product Quality
8.5
Revenue Strength
3.7
Monetization Maturity
1.0
Defensibility
4.5
Market Position
2.0
Operational Safety
10.0
- 💰 Revenue: Modest — $3K - $7K/mo · MID tier · medium confidence, trajectory unclear.
- ⭐ Quality: 4.72★ across 2,016 reviews — strong (top 10%).
- 📍 Market: Not yet charting in any of the 9 monitored markets.
- 📈 Growth: Insufficient signal to assess trajectory.
- ⚠️ Risk: Low — no material risk signals detected.
🎯 For competitors: Mixed picture. Worth competing if you have a clear UX or pricing edge — otherwise crowded segment.
💵 For acquirers: Estimated asking range 18-32× monthly = $90K-$160K.
Composite of 8 dimensions computed deterministically from public signals — no LLM, every score traces back to a measurable input. Default weights shown; "compete" / "acquire" / "invest" lenses re-weight without re-fetching.
Range:
💰 Forecast Revenue / mo
MODELRevenue forecast computed from BU's 234 trigger model on each snapshot. Calibrated against ground-truth from 58 verified-revenue apps.
🔬Forecast Breakdown — Why This Estimate?Top 8 of 8 triggers
Our ML model uses 200+ signals from public data. These are the most influential for this app:
| Excellent rating (4.7★)METRIC | +$2,200 | |
| bugsREVIEW | −$1,800 | |
| 5 starREVIEW | +$1,800 | |
| Low install base (2,016 ratings)METRIC | +$1,500 | |
| Mature app (13y old)METRIC | +$1,500 | |
| slowREVIEW | −$1,200 | |
| Ad-supported / freemiumMETRIC | +$600 | |
| Single-language (English only)METRIC | −$400 |
METRIC = structural app data · REVIEW = mined from user reviews · ✓ VERIFIED = Stripe-verified anchor (TrustMRR)
📈 Reviews Growth
LIVECumulative review count from first BU snapshot. Each point = a tracked update.
⭐ Rating Trend
LIVEAverage rating evolution. Updates with each new review batch.
🆕 What's New · v7.1.0
Discounts & Promo Codes
We've added support for promo codes at checkout, making it easier to redeem discounts and take advantage of special promotions.
Performance Enhancements… Full release notes →
We've added support for promo codes at checkout, making it easier to redeem discounts and take advantage of special promotions.
Performance Enhancements… Full release notes →
Profile & Insights
Everything we know — and don't — about this app and its company.
Identification
- App name
- First Bus
- Developer
- FirstGroup Plc
- Bundle ID
- com.firstgroup.first.bus
- App Store URL
- Open in App Store
- Category
- Travel
- Content rating
- 4+
- Languages
- EN
Company
- Website
- Not found
- Tagline
- Today
- Description
- Find apps and games for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and more on the App Store.
- Founded
- Not found
- HQ / Address
- Not found
- Employees
- Not found
- Logo
- Available
Revenue
- Reported revenue signal / mo
- Not found
- AI revenue estimate / mo
- Not found
- AI annual estimate
- Not found
- Model estimate / mo
- $5.0K/mo
- Top-grossing rank
- Outside top 100 in US Travel
- All-time revenue
- Not found
- Pricing
- Not found
Founder
Founder data not yet collected for this app.
Funding
Funding data not yet collected for this app.
Press & Links
Press & Links data not yet collected for this app.
Contacts & Socials
Contacts & Socials data not yet collected for this app.
📈Ratings growth2,144 ratings+214300% lifetimeShow 3-year history estimate ▾
Tracked (47 weeks) Pre-tracking estimate (0 weeks) · model-based, ±5% noise · anchored to release date and current value
🌍Geographic ReachNot ranked
This app is currently outside the top 100 grossing in all 9 countries we monitor (US, UK, DE, FR, JP, CA, AU, BR, IN). Niche or new apps often launch this way — popularity rankings appear once daily revenue clears the regional threshold.
🚀Update Frequency · Releases per Quarter10 releases tracked
🚀Version Release Timeline8 releases tracked
Profile is built from iTunes Lookup + developer site scrape + ML revenue model. Empty fields show "Not found" — additional sources (Crunchbase, X, IndieHackers, Acquire.com) coming.
📝 About this app
Plan your journey, track your bus, and travel with confidence using the First Bus app. With real-time updates, mobile tickets, and personalised tools, getting around by bus has never been easier.
Bus travellers can buy, gift, and activate digital bus tickets, manage secure payments, and save favourite locations, stops, and services for quicker access. The app also supports account management, consent management, while providing access to help and support features.
Whether you’re commuting, exploring, or travelling occasionally, the app helps you stay in control from door to door.… View full description on the official store →
Bus travellers can buy, gift, and activate digital bus tickets, manage secure payments, and save favourite locations, stops, and services for quicker access. The app also supports account management, consent management, while providing access to help and support features.
Whether you’re commuting, exploring, or travelling occasionally, the app helps you stay in control from door to door.… View full description on the official store →
App Specs
🔐 Own this app? Claim & verify MRR →💾 155 MB🔞 4+📱 iOS 16.0+🔖 v7.1.0🔄 updated 1mo ago🌐 EN📂 Travel💰 Free🚀 Launched 2012 (13y old)
📅
What Worked™ · Development Pipeline
18 EVENTS TRACKEDDetected changes in this app over its tracked lifetime — each event links cause (what changed) to effect (what moved). Sorted newest first.See full history →Version history →
2026-09
🔧
Shipped update — v7.0.11 → v7.1.0
→ 30 days after: reviews +34 high confidence
2026-07
🔧
Shipped update — v7.0.10 → v7.0.11
→ 30 days after: reviews +29 high confidence
2026-06
🔧
Shipped update — v7.0.9 → v7.0.10
→ 30 days after: reviews +43 medium · co-occurring
2026-06
🔧
Shipped update — v7.0.8 → v7.0.9
→ 30 days after: reviews +46 medium · co-occurring
2026-06
🔧
Shipped update — v7.0.7 → v7.0.8
→ 30 days after: reviews +44 medium · co-occurring
2026-06
🔧
Shipped update — v7.0.6 → v7.0.7
→ 30 days after: reviews +55 medium · co-occurring
2026-06
🔧
Shipped update — v7.0.5 → v7.0.6
→ 30 days after: reviews +48 medium · co-occurring
2026-05
🔧
Shipped update — v7.0.4 → v7.0.5
→ 30 days after: reviews +41 medium · co-occurring
2026-05
🔧
Shipped update — v7.0.3 → v7.0.4
→ 30 days after: reviews +34 medium · co-occurring
2026-05
🔄
Monetization changed: freemium → free
→ 30 days after: reviews +24 medium · co-occurring
2026-03
⭐
Rating ↑ 2.32 → 4.60 (improved 2.28★)
2026-03
📈
Crossed 50 ratings — social-proof flywheel kicking in
2022-07
📈
Crossed 10 ratings — social-proof flywheel kicking in
2019-11
⭐
Rating ↑ 2.57 → 2.88 (improved 0.31★)
2019-07
⭐
Rating ↑ 2.17 → 2.57 (improved 0.40★)
2015-05
⭐
Rating ↓ 3.00 → 2.33 (dropped 0.67★)
2014-09
⭐
Rating ↓ 4.00 → 3.00 (dropped 1.00★)
2013-09
🚀
First tracked snapshot — initial data captured
🌍
Multi-Country Performance
Available in 9 of 9 monitored markets| Market | Rating | Reviews | Current version |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇦🇺 AU | 4.60832★ | 240 | 4.60832★ this version |
| 🇧🇷 BR | 4.80985★ | 142 | 4.80985★ this version |
| 🇨🇦 CA | 4.61043★ | 326 | 4.61043★ this version |
| 🇩🇪 DE | 4.53735★ | 415 | 4.53735★ this version |
| 🇫🇷 FR | 4.57275★ | 433 | 4.57275★ this version |
| 🇬🇧 GB | 4.6275★ | 203,991 | 4.6275★ this version |
| 🇮🇳 IN | 4.76506★ | 1,345 | 4.76506★ this version |
| 🇯🇵 JP | 4.65581★ | 215 | 4.65581★ this version |
| 🇺🇸 US | 4.71422★ | 2,208 | 4.71422★ this version |
🔔
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📝 Description
95
BU Score · Transcendent
Full revenue analysis
Read the article-style breakdown for First Bus: category rank, percentile, growth signal, comparable apps, and how the forecast is calibrated against verified-MRR anchors in this niche.
About this analysis
Why medium confidence: 2,016 ratings · no founder-verified revenue (model estimate only).
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
10 answers · auto-generated from this app's public dataHow much does First Bus make per month?▴
Based on our ML-calibrated revenue forecast, First Bus earns approximately $5.0K/mo. This is a US-storefront-equivalent estimate; global revenue can be several times larger for internationally-distributed apps. See the methodology page for the full formula and confidence bands.
Is First Bus profitable?▴
With estimated build cost $200K and monthly revenue $5.0K, First Bus looks slow ROI — payback period is around 3.3 years at the current run-rate. Profitability also depends on paid-acquisition spend and refund rate which the public model doesn't see.
How many users does First Bus have?▴
Estimated audience: ~155K lifetime downloads, ~4K monthly active users, and ~640 daily active users. Derived from ratings count × category installs-per-rating × age decay. US-storefront-equivalent — global audience can be 5-10× larger for internationally-distributed apps.
What apps are like First Bus?▴
Browse the full Travel category catalog to find similar apps with revenue, build cost, audience and tech stack data. Each /p/{slug} page also shows a Compare side-by-side widget with three peer apps from the same niche.
What is First Bus built with?▴
Our heuristic places First Bus on the Native iOS (Swift / UIKit) stack (Medium confidence, 60%). Signals: app bundle size, category context, store-description markers, release-date era. We don't disassemble binaries. Alternative possibilities: React Native, Flutter.
Is First Bus still actively maintained?▴
Maintenance status: Active (5% abandonment risk). Last shipped version was 1 months ago. The risk score combines time-since-last-update with Editor's Choice / curated featuring + user-base maturity adjustments.
How much would First Bus sell for?▴
Estimated acquisition value: $100K (marketplace range $75K – $125K). Calculated as 21× monthly revenue using the standard multiple for the detected monetization model + adjustments for age, rating quality and category demand. Calibrated against 2024-2026 Flippa / Acquire.com / MicroAcquire closed-deal medians.
When was First Bus last updated?▴
First Bus last shipped a new version on 2026-09-01 — 1 months ago. This is the date Apple / Google last accepted a new build, not a content-only push.
Who makes First Bus?▴
First Bus is published by FirstGroup Plc on the Apple App Store. See the full publisher portfolio (other apps by the same developer) via the More by developer block on the product page above.
What is First Bus's BU Score?▴
First Bus has a BU Score of 69/100 (Solid). The score combines App Store rating, ratings count, monetization model and revenue signals calibrated against founder-verified MRR anchors. See the BU Score formula.