singapore-buses

Back in September 2025 I released Singapore Buses with a feature that I thought would have little-to-no usage, an App Clip. It wasn’t an easy feature to implement. In addition to the in-app code, there’s the work on Cloudflare:

The clips.singaporebuses.app subdomain is powered by Cloudflare Workers. It serves an AASA, some basic content, and a favicon, but is otherwise there to enable redirects to the app or the App Clip.

Notwithstanding, I’m glad to say the App Clip has met my expectations — since September it’s been used a grand total of zero times.

I’m interested to see how (or if) it affects download statistics.

I’ll be removing the App Clip in the next release.

Every month or so I update Singapore Buses with the latest data from the Land Transport Authority. And every month the *What’s New *section on the App Store usually says something along the lines of:

Updated database and routes.

What does that actually mean? Well, starting with 2026.3, which is Waiting for Review, I’ve decided to include the month-to-month differences in the *What’s New *section. For this release, that means:

New Stops (1)

Location Changes (7)

Name Changes (4)

Service Changes (20)

The biggest surprise to me was the number of bus stops moving around and how far they move. I mean *Village Hotel *is almost half a kilometre away from where it was before — that’d be a shock in the morning if it was where you started your commute.

[Update 09 Nov 2025: there’s new API in iOS 26.2 that allows you to hide the tabViewBottomAccessory. See the bottom of this post for more.]

In Singapore Buses on iOS 26, I was able to hide the tabViewBottomAccessory based on various criteria—for example, if location tracking was enabled.

.tabViewBottomAccessory {
    if locationTracker.isAuthorised {
        HStack {
            // Nearby bus stop
        }
    } else {
        EmptyView()
    }
}

Now, however, it displays the accessory with no content. I haven’t found a workaround yet, so for now I’m showing the tabViewBottomAccessory across all views. This isn’t ideal—the accessory isn’t relevant on the Settings view, for instance.

If this is Apple’s intended behaviour for the accessory, it’s far from ideal.

Update 09 Nov 2025:

There’s an update to the tabViewBottomAccessory modifier API in iOS 26.2 that lets you hide the tabViewBottomAccessory when it’s not needed:

.tabViewBottomAccessory(isEnabled: $showShowBottomAccessory) {
    HStack {
        // Nearby bus stop
    }
}

Problematically, this only works with iOS 26.2. As I don’t intend to move away from iOS 26.0 as the minimum requirement for *Singapore Buses *for several months, I will apply this API using an if #unavailable(iOS 26.1) check. Users on iOS 26.0 - 26.1 will see the accessory on all views. 😞

Singapore Buses v2026 is out now. It’s been a challenging development cycle, to say the least, and I’m glad it’s over. The Design Diaries series covers the major Liquid Glass updates. This post looks at some of the other technical changes that have been made in the v2026 update.

GRDB

Singapore Buses, has always, always, always—way back to 2018 when it was SG Transit—used Core Data. Even when SwiftUI came along, followed by SwiftData, it stuck with Core Data. Not any more. It’s now using GRDB.

Each app version is seeded with an updated SQLite database containing the latest bus stops, routes, and services. This database is created using a separate app on the Mac. Long-term, the aim is to move away from having to release new app versions with an up-to-date database and instead move to an over-the-air model that refreshes the database in the background. The move to GRDB should smooth the path.

Map Performance

The database is now loaded into memory instead of being read from disk. As a result, panning the map and determining what bus stops to show (or hide) is now instantaneous instead of requiring a small pause and the end of the pan gesture. It’s a simple call site:

.onMapCameraChange(frequency: .continuous) { context in
    model.showStops = context.camera.distance < 9500 // hide stops when above 9,500m
    Task {
        await model.updateVisibleBusStops(context.rect)
    }
}

App Clip

Singapore Buses now contains an App Clip with arrival estimate UI.

When users share estimated arrival times from the main app, text is generated with the current arrival times along with a URL: https://clips.singaporebuses.app?... That URL has the following query parameters:

The parameters c, n, and r are used to populate the UI in the App Clip, while lat and lon are used to determine if a Look Around view can be displayed. s in conjunction with c are used to query the LTA API for the latest estimates. e is the time the App Clip expires, and v is a signature that is validated to make sure the URL is genuine.

If the recipient has Singapore Buses installed, tapping the link opens the app and presents arrivals for that bus stop. Otherwise, an App Clip launches with the same bus arrival UI as the main app and updates arrival estimates every 15 seconds for 10 minutes…then invites the user to download the app from the App Store.

The **clips**.singaporebuses.app subdomain is powered by Cloudflare Workers. It serves an AASA, some basic content, and a favicon, but is otherwise is there to enable redirects to the app or the App Clip.

This is the first time I’ve implemented an App Clip. I’m interested to see how (or if) it affects download statistics.

iPad Support

Given that iPadOS is, in my opinion, the star of the *26 *series of OS updates, it only made sense to extend Singapore Buses to the iPad. It now has a native layout with some iPad specific niceties, like keyboard shortcuts and a full-screen route views.

(I’ve never seen anyone actually use an iPad at a bus stop in Singapore. With that in mind, Singapore Buses will be on Apple Watch in the future.)

LandTransportKit

Lastly, all interaction with the Land Transport API is now handled with LandTransportKit.

I’ve open sourced this package—it’s free for anyone to use!

Singapore Buses v2026 beta is available now to website members. v2026 is a complete re-write and updates the app with Liquid Glass design niceties.

If you wish join the TestFlight, sign up and you’ll be able to access to the TestFlight link at the bottom of the article.

The remainder of this post was originally for members only.

What’s New in Singapore Buses v2026

OS Requirements

• [New] The minimum supported iOS version is iOS 26
• [New] Singapore Buses is now a native iPadOS app and works on Apple Vision Pro in iPad display mode

Underlying Technologies

• [New] Database interaction is now managed by GRDB instead of Core Data
• [New] Interaction with the Land Transport Authority API is now handled via LandTransportKit and it’s a little bit quicker
• [Updated] Location tracking is now more accurate and updates more frequently

User Interface

• [New] The app now uses the updated Liquid Glass tab bar navigation structure
• [New] The nearest bus stop is presented above the tab bar on the map view
• [New] The map view will display bus stops as you scroll instead of at the end of the scroll gesture
• [New] All map views—bus stop and bus route—can be viewed in 3D
• [New] Search has been updated with the search bar now positioned at the bottom of the screen
• [New] App Icon based on 1990’s Singapore bus stop design
• [New] TipKit used for initial onboarding
• [Updated] There have been small changes to the bus stop layout rows
• [Updated] There are additional theme options for Singapore Buses+ subscribers
• [Updated] There are new support options in Settings
• [Updated] Acknowledgements view

Join TestFlight

Maps, Search, toolbars and tab bars were covered in Adopting Liquid Glass, Part I (Singapore Buses) and Adopting Liquid Glass, Part IV (Singapore Buses, Revisiting the Tab Bar). Arrivals, Routes, Advertising, and Settings are the last four areas that have seen some tweaks.

Arrivals

Overall, the Arrivals view has seen very little in the way of change.

The Favourite and Arrival Notification buttons have a slightly different tinting behaviour when selected, while the Live Activity bolt button now presents a popover menu to the user. Tips, via TipKit, have also been added to explain what these buttons do when selected.

Tips via TipKit

Routes

The Routes view maintains consistency with previous releases. However, the Route Map has been given some additional flexibility—ability to view in 3D, panning, rotating and zooming—so that it can take advantage of the Apple Maps ‘Detailed City Experience’. It’s also using glassified titles.

Routes at Marina Bay Sands. Dark mode, light mode.

When the map is rotated, the bus stop annotations rotate in real time so they always point to the next stop on the route.

Advertising

I was playing with different ad placement and styles just before this Mastodon post was made. In the Singapore Buses’ App Store build ads can appear in a few places—at the top of, between, or at the bottom of List sections, or at the bottom of the map.

In the Liquid Glass update, I’ve settled on ads having a consistent placement in the bottom safe area—across Arrivals, Search, and the Route Map. And, staying on brand, they’ve also been Liquid Glassed.

Liquid Glass Advertising on top of the Map

Settings

Settings has some new features: more theme colours, a new acknowledgment view, and a new explainer view for Arrivals. However, there’s nothing new that’s specific to Liquid Glass (thankfully).

What’s Next?

As the work on this update comes to a close, my attention is now on the App Store. New App Store videos, screenshots, app description, and release notes. In addition to all the Liquid Glass changes, there’s a host of other changes that have been made as well. For example, GRDB has replaced Core Data…and the app now runs natively on the iPad. 🤯

A TestFlight build is coming soon.

In my first article in this series, Adopting Liquid Glass, Part I (Singapore Buses), I ran into a critical bug that made it problematic to adopt the new Tab Bar design:

On my Map tab I was using a tabViewBottomAccessory to show the nearest bus stop to the user—to give them an easy way to tap and show arrival information. However, the accessory was available across all tabs where it made no sense (like Settings). Trying to hide the accessory (using EmptyView) when the selected tab wasn’t the map worked, but navigating back to the map caused the map to stop extending into the safe area, resulting in a lovely white bar along the top.

Luckily, this bug has been fixed in the recent betas so I’ve revisited my original design and the outcomes are positive.

Tab Bar Bottom Accessory Visibility

From a usability perspective, it only makes sense to display the accessory when two conditions are met:

1. The map tab is displayed; and,
2. The user has given permission to track location

The simplified code below shows how this is achieved when tracking the tab bar selection:

enum Tabs: Equatable, Hashable {
    case maps
    case settings
    case search
}

@main
struct sgbusesApp: App {

    // MARK: State
    @State private var selectedTabIndex: Tabs = .maps

    var body: some Scene {
        WindowGroup {
            TabView(selection: $selectedTabIndex) {
                Tab("label.title.map", systemImage: "map", value: .maps) {
                    BusStopMapView()
                }

                Tab("label.title.settings", systemImage: "gear", value: .settings) {
                    SettingsView()
                }

                Tab("label.title.search", systemImage: "location.magnifyingglass", value: .search, role: .search) {
                    BusStopListView()
                }
            }
            .tabViewBottomAccessory {
                if selectedTabIndex == .maps {
                    HStack {
                        Image(systemName: "bus.fill")
                            .font(.body)
                        VStack(alignment: .leading) {
                            Text(verbatim: database.allStops.first!.busStopDescription)
                                .font(.caption)
                                .bold()
                            Text(verbatim: (database.allStops.first!.busStopCode) + " | " + (database.allStops.first!.roadName) + " | " + "Nearest Stop")
                                .font(.caption)
                                .foregroundStyle(.secondary)
                        }
                        Spacer()
                    }
                    .padding(.vertical, 4)
                    .padding(.horizontal)
                    .contentShape(Rectangle())
                    .onTapGesture {
                        // show bus arrivals
                    }
                } else {
                    EmptyView()
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

Ensuring Legibility

One of the main concerns with Liquid Glass is legibility. This is even more a of concern when using a tab bar bottom accessory as there is now text where there wasn’t any in my previous toolbar-based design.

To keep things legible, Singapore Buses uses a muted map style. This provides a reasonable balance: the glass effect remains fun to look at without becoming a distraction, even when the map is busy with content.

The ‘Detailed City Experience’ is so, well, detailed!

Assuming the tab bar doesn’t undergo some wild design changes between now and the iOS 26 release candidate, my intention is to ship the next version of Singapore Buses with a tab bar.

The next (and final) article in this series will look at the remaining views: Arrivals, Routes, and Settings. I’ll post that closer to release.

Adopting Toolbars

In the current version of Singapore Buses the *Search *view obscures between 10% to 95% of the map, depending on its detent. In addition to showing search results, the *Search *view also shows nearest bus stops, favourite bus stops, and provides access to the app’s settings.

For the upgrade to Liquid Glass, I’m adopting a toolbar to address these issues.

Before and after

There are a few advantages to this approach.

First, there are more bus stops on the map *and *they update in real-time as you pan around the map¹.

Second, although it’s not immediately apparent from the screenshot, the current version of Singapore Buses shows a janky animation when the Search view is moved to the medium detent—the map awkwardly re-centres itself during the transition. This is no longer a problem.

Third, *Search *only deals with bus stop search and favourites. *Settings *now lives on its own. It’s no longer sheet-on-top-of-sheet.

Modernising Search

*Search *itself has been cleaned up.

Modern vs Legacy

The search bar now appears at the bottom, the background is now using materials (ultra thin in light mode; ultra thick in dark mode). I’ve also changed the bus stop icon to align to the top and I’ve adopted navigation bar subtitles.

However, what really strikes me about the above screenshot is how much *less *content is available due to the larger cell margins. In iOS 26 you can see six bus stops vs. seven bus stops (plus the name of the eighth) on iOS 18. It’s not a complaint, I do prefer the look of iOS 26.

Search with Active Keyboard

Lastly, a look at Search with the keyboard activated. No changes here made by me, but I do prefer the look of the translucent keyboard with the search bar sitting on top.

Abandoning Tab Bars

When I started writing this article last week I was well on my way to adopting a Tab Bar and not a Toolbar. After a few days of testing I was pulling my hair out:

• On my Map tab I was using a tabViewBottomAccessory to show the nearest bus stop to the user—to give them an easy way to tap and show arrival information. However, the accessory was available across all tabs where it made no sense (like Settings). Trying to hide the accessory (using EmptyView) when the selected tab wasn’t the map worked, but navigating back to the map caused the map to stop extending into the safe area, resulting in a lovely white bar along the top.²
• Then there was the *Search *tab. It had a search bar that was fighting for space with other tabs, the tab bar accessory, and moving around based on scrolling actions. (Yes, you can control that to an extent, but is any of this tab bar behaviour a good idea in motion?)

So, the trusty toolbar has won out. Next up: redesigning *Settings *and Arrivals.

Redesigning the Arrivals view and Settings coming up next.

Singapore Buses 2025.6.1 is now available in the App Store. There are no user facing changes in this release, but here’s a rundown of what has changed:

• Uses a new version of the Singapore Buses API (which paves the way for a much larger update later in the year)¹
• Removes Google Firebase
• Reduced the download size by approximately 3MB

If you enjoy using Singapore Buses, try the premium features available with Singapore Buses+².

Like other developers, I’ve spent a few weeks with Apple’s new Liquid Glass design language. In some areas, I think it’s tremendous: the macOS dock, iOS folders, text selection hover effects on iOS, and the new sidebars are standout elements. In other areas, it’s middling: toolbars and tab bars that don’t update quite in *real-time *as advertised leave the UI looking out-of-sync with the underlying content. And, the final bucket, where it’s rubbish: clear glass icons.

My working assumption is that the rough areas will be smoothed out over the next few months.

So, on to the plans:

Singapore Buses

• Singapore Buses is currently on v2025.5. There may be a few summer updates to keep the bus stops and routes current.

• Singapore Buses v2026:

• Will target iOS 26

• Will have Liquid Glass UI (I am experimenting with toolbars, tab bars, and more…)

• Will have new server-side code (written in Python)

• Will, tentatively, drop Core Data (which has been the biggest source of crashes)

NetNewsWire

• Refresh the macOS and iOS UI.

• No new features (except the NetNewsWire About panel on macOS)

Untitled Flag Quiz

• A long time ago, in a coding language far far away (Objective-C), I wrote an app to teach my nephews about world flags
• Said nephews are now adults, but I’ve been asked to bring back the app
• Thing is, I don’t have the source code from that original app
• Thus, build from scratch or build from prompts? Let’s see

It’s the last day of 2024! I launched this version of Singapore Buses in September 2023, so 2024 is the first full year of statistics I have available. The data below is captured through Firebase and App Store Connect.

• Number of sessions: 133,000

• Geolocation Alerts (to tell a user when they’ve arrived): 1,600

• Live Activities: 627

• Crashes: 48 (though 0 since October)

• End of Year Ratings:

• 4.6 ★★★★★ | 266 ratings (Singapore App Store)

• 4.9 ★★★★★ | 34 ratings (Malaysia App Store)

• 4.8 ★★★★★ | 11 ratings (US App Store)

• 4.7 ★★★★★ | 10 ratings (UK App Store)

• 4.9 ★★★★★ | 7 ratings (India App Store)

• 4.3 ★★★★☆ | 6 ratings (Thai App Store)

• 4.0 ★★★★☆ | 4 ratings (Australia App Store)

• 4.8 ★★★★★ | 4 ratings (Japan App Store)

The Live Activity count is not as high as I would have hoped, but it is gated behind a (very small) in-app subscription so it is perhaps not surprising. The majority of the 48 crashes were caused by a daft programming error (i.e., my error) where I was trying to update the UI from a background thread. I haven’t seen a crash report since I fixed it in October.

Ratings-wise, I’m happy. (The overall 4★ rating from Australia is broken down to three 5★ ratings plus one 1★ rating, with no written review. I’m ignoring it.)

I’m happiest with the number of sessions. At 133,000 for the year, it averages at over 2,500 sessions-per-week.

On to the money:

• Ad Revenue: S$167
• App Store Revenue: S$77.00 (after Apple’s cut)
• Server: (S$27.16)
• Apple Developer: (S$134)
• **SWEET PROFIT: **S$82.84

App development truly is a high-margin, high-profit, gold-rush business.

Here’s to 2025 ⌚️!

What’s New?

• Singapore Buses now supports Look Around (where available) so you can see the surrounding area of a bus stop.
• Singapore Buses+, a new subscription offering, allows you to remove ads and enables support for Live Activities.
• Live Activities—next-generation arrival tracking—allows you to track up to five upcoming arrivals from your Lock Screen and, where available, from the Dynamic Island. This removes the need to open the app to get refreshed timings. Each arrival is tracked for 15 minutes.

Live Activities

What’s Changed?

• The Arrivals view has been redesigned to show all upcoming arrivals on a single screen without selecting a bus service on a carousel.
• The Arrivals view now supports Look Around (where available), so you can see the surrounding area of a bus stop.
• The Search view no longer takes up a minimum of half the screen 😃!
• Bus Route Search has been redesigned and shows Inbound, Outbound, and Loops.
• The Bus Routes view has been redesigned and shows more data, e.g., route distance and stop count.
• Bus routes accurately follow roads.
• Improved support for dynamic text sizes throughout.
• Siri integration has been removed in this release.