TripView

Review by eFreeware

The most interesting thing about TripView is that the timetable itself lives on your phone. Rather than pulling schedules from a server each time you check a departure, it keeps the data locally, which means it keeps working when the signal drops. That single design decision shapes almost everything else about the app.

It covers three cities: Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. If you travel by public transport in one of those places and you want scheduled times you can trust without a connection, this is the app to look at. If your city is not on that list, the app does not cover it.

Checking your next service without fuss

The core loop is built around saved trips. You set up the journeys you take regularly, and after that a single tap shows the times for that trip. There is also a summary view that puts your next services in front of you, and a full timetable viewer for when you want to look further ahead than the next few departures.

That split makes sense to me. Most of the time you want one answer quickly, and occasionally you want to browse the whole schedule for a line. Having both in the same app avoids the usual shuffle between a quick-glance tool and a reference.

Saved trips also do the heavy lifting for anyone with a fixed routine. Once the trips are set up, checking a service becomes a reflex rather than a search.

When the schedule changes or runs late

Timetables are only half the story on a real network, and TripView handles the other half in two ways. It carries trackwork and service interruption information, so planned disruptions show up alongside the normal times. It also offers real-time delay information and a vehicle map, so you can see where a service actually is.

The real-time side comes with a caveat the developer is upfront about. Availability depends on the transit operator providing the data, and no guarantees are made about it. Where an operator does not supply real-time information for a service, the app falls back to the scheduled time from the timetable. I like that approach: you get the best available answer rather than an error, and you are not left guessing whether a time is live or planned.

The developer also notes that care is taken with timetable accuracy but that no guarantees are made, and invites users who spot an error to email support with the details. That is a fair position for an app drawing on third-party schedule data.

Planning a trip with changes in it

For journeys that are not a straight run on one line, there is a multi-modal trip editor. You can set exactly where you want to change and which lines you want to use, instead of accepting whatever the default routing gives you. Interactive maps feed into this: you build a trip by tapping your station or stop rather than typing names.

That combination is what separates a serious timetable tool from a simple departure board. If you have a preferred interchange, or you want to avoid a particular change, the editor lets you say so. It takes more effort than tapping a saved trip, but it is there for the occasions that need it.

Alarms round out the planning side. They can be set by arrival or departure, and by time or distance, which covers the two ways people think about leaving: at a certain moment, or when they get near their stop.

What you pay and what you need

TripView is a paid app at $5.99. There are no ads and no in-app purchases, so the price you see is the whole cost. That is a straightforward arrangement, and it fits an app you might open several times a day.

Setup is a matter of saving the trips you use and, if you want them, building more detailed journeys in the editor. The timetable data is stored on the phone, so the app is not dependent on a connection for the schedules themselves. Real-time delay information and the vehicle map are the parts that rely on operator data being available.

The app was first released in February 2011 and was updated in April 2026, with the most recent change fixing Dropbox sync. A long run like that suggests the timetable side has been kept current, which matters when schedules change several times a year.

A fit for regular riders in three cities

The people who will get the most from TripView are regular public transport users in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. If you have a handful of journeys you make often, the saved-trip model turns checking times into a one-tap habit, and the offline data means a dead spot on the line does not leave you without an answer.

It also suits travelers who plan ahead rather than improvise. The multi-modal editor and interactive maps reward someone willing to set up a route properly, and the alarms are useful for anyone who tends to lose track of time on a moving service.

The app has over 100,000 installs and a 4.8 average from 21,587 ratings, which is a strong signal for a paid utility. It is a focused tool rather than a general travel companion, and that focus is exactly why it works for the audience it serves.

A timetable app that earns its price

TripView does one job and does it in a way that holds up: schedules stored locally, saved trips a tap away, disruption information alongside them, and real-time detail where the operators provide it. The $5.99 price, with no ads and no purchases inside, is easy to justify for something you might check twice a day.

If you ride public transport in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane and want dependable scheduled times plus alarms and a trip editor, this is a sensible install. If you are outside those three cities, the app simply does not cover your network, and the same goes for anyone looking for a broader travel planner rather than a timetable.

For the audience it is built for, it is a well-established, well-rated choice with a clear purpose.

What's new in version 4.5.4

- Fixed Dropbox Sync