About Arelo
The one question every rider asks. Answered.
Arelo shows real-time bus, train, subway, and ferry arrivals for San Francisco Bay Area and New York City, with walking times so you know exactly when to leave. And when to bring an umbrella.
Do we need another transit app? Yes we do.
Arelo brings the entire Bay Area and New York City transit networks into one beautifully designed app, covering 8 agencies, 400+ routes, and 26,000 stops so you never have to juggle multiple apps again. Real-time arrivals update as you watch, your favorite stops are always one tap away, and a home screen widget means you can check your next bus or train without even unlocking your phone.
Whether you are catching the A Train in Brooklyn, hopping a ferry across the Bay, or sprinting for the last Caltrain of the night, Arelo tells you exactly how many minutes you have, in English or Spanish, with wheelchair accessibility info built right in. It even keeps an eye on the weather, warning you about rain, heat, wind, and snow right on the stop detail screen so you know whether to grab an umbrella before you walk out the door. Six themes let you make it yours, and every pixel was designed to be as fast and clear as the transit system you depend on.
Features
Real-time arrivals
Live countdowns sourced directly from each agency's real-time feed. Green badge = ≤5 min. "NOW" = arriving imminently. Pull to refresh at any time. LIRR, Caltrain, and ferries use departure times.
How arrivals work →Walking time to every stop
Each stop shows how long it takes to walk there from your location. Walking time adjusts for your mobility profile: wheelchair, cane, fast, or slow walker.
About walking time →Watch Mode + Live Activity
Tap the clock icon on any arrival to track it across every tab. A persistent countdown also appears on your iPhone Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island. No unlocking required.
About Watch Mode →Favorites
Save up to 50 stop + route combinations per region. Reorder by dragging, export as JSON, and import on a new device. Favorites for Bay Area and NYC are stored separately.
About favorites →Widgets
Home screen (small and medium) and lock screen (circular and rectangular) widgets show your next arrival without opening the app. Refreshes every 5 minutes.
About widgets →Two-region support
Switch between San Francisco Bay Area and New York City in Settings. Each region has its own set of agencies and its own favorites list, fully independent. We are working on Chicago, Boston, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Seattle. Maybe even London and beyond!
Supported transit services →Nearby stops
The Nearby tab automatically finds the closest transit stops using your device location and shows upcoming arrivals for each one. No searching required (but search is available).
About Nearby stops →Map
The Map tab displays all nearby stops as colored pins. Tap any pin to preview arrivals, then tap again for the full stop detail. Walking directions can launch directly in Apple Maps, Google Maps, or Waze.
About the Map tab →Accessibility
Wheelchair accessibility status for every stop. A "closest accessible stop" mode finds the nearest ADA-accessible stop. Dyslexic-friendly font available. Full VoiceOver support.
About accessibility →Arrival alerts
Swipe left on any arrival row to set a one-time notification for when that specific vehicle is approaching. Never miss your bus again.
About arrival alerts →Weather context
Stop detail pages show rain/snow probability, sunset time, heat advisories, and wind alerts. Know what to expect while you wait.
About weather context →Themes
Six color themes (A Train, Light, Party, Rainbow, Desert, Black & Gold), each with light and dark mode variants. Toggle instantly, no restart.
About themes →English & Spanish
Switch between English and Spanish instantly in Settings. Your widgets update to match. No restart required. French and Chinese (Simplified) coming soon.
About language settings →Your data, on your device
All data (favorites, settings, preferences) is stored on-device only and never uploaded. Export your favorites as a JSON file to back them up or share with a friend so they can import your stop list directly.
About favorites →Privacy first
No account required. No sign-up. Location is used only to find nearby stops and is never stored. Favorites are saved on your device only. CCPA/CPRA handled on your device; no request needed.
Privacy Policy →
Icons from the Lineal Color pack by Smashicons, via Flaticon.
Who is Arelo for?
- Daily commuters who want to time their walk to the stop
- Tourists and visitors exploring SF or NYC by transit
- Accessibility-conscious riders who need wheelchair-accessible stops
- Spanish-speaking riders (full in-app Spanish translation)
- Anyone who hates waiting at a stop wondering “did I miss it?”
How Arelo compares
| Feature | Arelo | Transit App | Citymapper | Moovit | Apple Maps | Routesy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OS | iOS only | iOS + Android | iOS + Android | iOS + Android | iOS only | iOS only |
| No account required | ✓ | Optional | ✓ | Optional | Apple ID | ✓ |
| Real-time arrivals | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Select cities | ✓ |
| Live Activity + Dynamic Island | ✓ | — | — | — | ✓ | — |
| Home & lock screen widgets | ✓ | — | Partial | — | Limited | Partial |
| Walking time to stop | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Favorites export / import | ✓ | — | — | — | — | — |
| Weather context at stop | ✓ | — | — | — | — | — |
| Wheelchair stop status | ✓ | — | ✓ | — | ✓ | — |
| Dyslexic-friendly font | ✓ | — | — | — | — | — |
| Privacy-first (no servers or cloud) | ✓ | — | — | — | — | ✓ |
| Color themes | 6 themes | — | — | — | — | Dark mode |
| Spanish language support | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| SF Bay Area coverage | 5 services | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| NYC coverage | 4 services | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
Based on publicly available information as of April 2026. Competitor features may change at any time without notice. Features may also vary by app version or region.
Coming to the App Store
Arelo is currently in development. Sign up below to be notified at launch.