PDX Bus, MAX, Streetcar & WES Reviews

by Courtnobs

PDXBusMAXStreetcarWES hasn’t been updated in a month and, after the new IOS update, it’d be nice to have an updated version. It lags when I try to look at a specific bus’ real time location and has now been saying that the bus I’d been waiting for hasn’t been located in 3 minutes and it just showed up a minute early. I know it’s not the biggest deal but when it takes 3 minutes to locate a bus that does indeed have real time on, it gets a bit frustrating. Just don’t want anyone missing their bus because it came early and they didn’t know because PDXBusMAXStreetcarWES is lagging.

by BigStiz

Over the last months, I’ve received inaccurate information several times from PDXBusMAXStreetcarWES with regard to Max arrival times. This has occurred when I’ve been departing from both the Bybee Bridge Max station and the 5th and Oak Max station. It’s a real bummer. I blast out of my house to get a Max that’s reported as arriving at a certain time, then arrive to the stop to find I’ve got 10+ minutes to spare.

by CStrong

Used PDXBusMAXStreetcarWES for the first time after a high recommendation from my son who uses it daily. While the route is correct, the bus left four minutes early, as I was a block away. I went to check PDXBusMAXStreetcarWES again and it said the bus was arriving in four minutes. Now standing in the cold for 20 minutes on Sandy. I’d be less upset if there had been a notification saying that the bus schedule was the source of the arrival times, not live tracking as I’d assumed.

by GoByTransit

I love PDX bus. I've been using it for almost 5 years, it's amazing! Although I like these, it is lacking just one or two features I want. Although it includes the trip ID (or block), it does not include vehicle numbers, which would seem like a easy feature to implement, would help me out so much!! I like seeing what vehicle type I ride, because they all are slightly different)

I hope that your able to implement it (because the current way to access vehicle numbers are very hard to find), but again, very easy to implement. Thanks!

by Jbucky1

PDXBusMAXStreetcarWES has a very complex interface; however once you learn it is very powerful.
You can tell there has been a lot of thought gone into PDXBusMAXStreetcarWES.
PDXBusMAXStreetcarWES works vey well when connected to wi fi, however I found it spotty to use even with a strong 4G signal.
If it’s reliability on cell signal could be tweaked to be more reliable then I would give it 5 stars.

by ZSS Enterprise

I am only writing this to report a bug, since there doesn’t seem to be any other way to do so. Lately, when trying to set an arrival alarm, I get a notification a few minutes later saying that iOS has blocked access to PDXBusMAXStreetcarWES , rendering the alarm useless. I get no advice on how to change any settings to resolve this. Otherwise PDXBusMAXStreetcarWES works great.

by Lauratiny

I use PDXBusMAXStreetcarWES almost daily and it’s very helpful. The times are usually incredibly accurate. My only complaint is that if I set an alarm to alert me and move to a different app (with this one open in the background) it doesn’t alert me unless I go back into PDXBusMAXStreetcarWES. That is utterly useless.

by Ana_R_PDX

This has been my app of choice since it was released. I've tried others but this is my go-to and currently the only one I use.
For users complaining that times aren't loading, when that happens is usually because the problem is coming from a TriMet transit tracker outage and *not* PDXBusMAXStreetcarWES developer itself.

by Natedt999

aug 10
Thanks devs for fixing the problem and reading reviews from users! Now it works flawless.

aug 2
so frustrated when you need PDXBusMAXStreetcarWES to estimate time but it won't load. I am going to delete PDXBusMAXStreetcarWES to use another instead.

by Left Coasting

This great app does a really solid job of handling the nuances and details of Metro Portland’s multifaceted transit system. From GPS locations to bus-route options to Max train times — it covers it all, and keeps up with the evolution of the technology and the transit system itself. Thanks for the good work!!

by Bummer Toons

PDXBusMAXStreetcarWES is much better than it used to be. I use it daily to identify where and when the nearest MAX train will arrive and whether there are any delays. The only issue I see is sometimes PDXBusMAXStreetcarWES will show a train is coming or due, and no train comes. All if the busses and trains have GPS, and it seems odd that PDXBusMAXStreetcarWES would not have 100% accurate location data. Having said that, this seems to happen very rarely. One feature I would like to see is the ability to set custom alerts, e.g. notify me 10 minutes before the next red line train is due to arrive at X station.

by DaringMe

I use this religiously, it’s incredibly helpful to use while exploring Portland or just going to work, although if you’re using it to go to work you should arrive at least five minutes early as the times the train arrive aren’t always exactly then, but other than that it’s very helpful.

by BlueStickey

I use it every day and it makes getting around on TriMet so much easier. I especially like being able to select a bus and see its exact location, which is very helpful when heavy traffic or bad weather makes the time estimates inaccurate.

by Shinyobject

I use PDXBusMAXStreetcarWES multiple times a day to help determine if I’m going to wait at a Max stop or walk to the next one. I have tried others and they don’t even compare. Siri shortcut integration is great! I can make a shortcut widget of my most frequent stops and go right to them. Honestly, if you’re in Portland and you ride TriMet even occasionally, get PDXBusMAXStreetcarWES! So well done.

by Drfu

This, 2 Across and Wikipanion are my best reasons for having an iPhone.

PDXBus is without doubt the best transit app I have ever had the chance to use, is better than TriMet's own website, is feature rich and has had so few problems over the last five years that I wouldn't hesitate to say that this is the must have app if you live in the area.

by AlexanderWillow

As TriMet is my only mode of transportation I have 2 use PDXBusMAXStreetcarWES everyday. It works fantastic I’ve never had a problem with it. It always updates quick with location data & reroutes.

The only thing I wish was different was that the maps & schedules were in PDXBusMAXStreetcarWES & it didn’t have 2 take U 2 the website 2 access them.

by Littlest Finch

Update 8/8
I use this every single day to get home it's been accurate about 95% of the time. I love it. I have my work saved as a trip and I love it's easy to just locate transit near by. Good stuff. Sorry about the outage thanks for the response, devs.

-Original
This is my usual everyday, go to, transit app. Since update it won't open maps, load trips, or find nearby transport on or off wifi.

by KYouell

We bike most places but when the weather is foul we use TriMet. I'm thankful for many features in PDXBusMAXStreetcarWES, especially the ability to set an alert when your bus is getting close and to set a color for a bus so you can track it in PDXBusMAXStreetcarWES once you're on board. Both features calm down my kids (and me) so the "is it almost here" and "are we there yet" questions are easier to answer.

by Ednwvf

PDX Bus turns regular bus riders into bus whisperers. It pulls up my morning and evening commute options automatically, and I can easily see my fastest route home from anywhere. It shows alerts, delays and buses that might be no-shows, so nothing’s left to chance. I just noticed that you can refresh arrival times by shaking the phone, a real mittens season game changer, and I had to finally leave a review. It’s years overdue.

by Sillygrrrl

I use PDXBusMAXStreetcarWES multiple times each day during the work week. I really liked the flashing light to alert bus drivers during the winter time but it seemed to have disappeared. I read some reviews today and the latest app description and realized that it wasn't gone but just "hidden" in the optional settings that I never thought to review! I also found the ability to bookmark my stops which is very handy since I previously had a note on my phone with all my favorite stop ID's. I really do find PDXBusMAXStreetcarWES to be helpful and pretty accurate.

by Roofwire

Hi, I am not here to write a review b/c it’s really a great app!
I’m here to give my belated thanks to the creator of PDX BUS. Just want to let you know how much I appreciate your great effort in creating PDXBusMAXStreetcarWES, and more importantly your support and maintain of PDXBusMAXStreetcarWES over the years. I go car-free eleven years ago and rely exclusively on public transportation. PDXBusMAXStreetcarWES really make my life much easier in terms of trip planning and time saving. Thanks!!!!