BusUpdate is an independent bus information site. We are not a transport operator, and we are not affiliated with the agencies whose services we describe. This page explains where our route, stop, timetable and fare information comes from, how we check it, and what we deliberately leave out when the facts cannot be verified.
Where the data comes from
Every network on BusUpdate is compiled from the operator’s own published material, official open-data feeds, or both — never from another unofficial listing site alone.
- Dubai (RTA): RTA’s official route and timetable data as supplied through the Transit app feed. Every Dubai route page carries the attribution “Route and timetable data: RTA Dubai via Transit” and is independently compiled by our editorial team.
- Our US networks (RTC of Southern Nevada — Las Vegas, San Diego MTS, Charlotte CATS): the agencies’ own published timetables, route maps and fare pages.
- United Kingdom: the Bus Open Data Service (BODS), the Traveline National Dataset (TNDS) and NaPTAN stop data, as published and organised by bustimes.org, together with operator-published timetables (Stagecoach East, Delaine Buses, Centrebus and Central Connect among them). Operator names, licence numbers and service registrations come from the operators’ own records there, which reproduce the Traffic Commissioners’ data.
- Pakistan: the official published directories of the Sindh Mass Transit Authority (SMTA), the Punjab Mass Transit Authority (PMA/PMTA), the Capital Development Authority (CDA, Islamabad) and TransPeshawar — route lists, stop lists, network maps and fare notifications.
- Saudi Arabia: the Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites’ published Makkah Bus timetable documents, the Madinah Bus official network map (Madinah Region Development Authority), and Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC) open data.
- Abu Dhabi (ITC / Abu Dhabi Mobility): the Integrated Transport Centre’s published network route tables (the June 2025 network) and its Darbi journey planner. Where the current ITC list and older web directories disagree — many directories still show services withdrawn in the November 2023 network revamp — the ITC list wins.
- Sharjah (SRTA): the Roads & Transport Authority does not publish route tables on its own website, so our Sharjah pages are compiled from SRTA’s published fare information — including the SRTA fare matrix reported by Khaleej Times in May 2023 — cross-checked across several current route directories. Where directories disagree, the SRTA fare matrix wins, and any fare conflict we cannot resolve is stated on the page rather than hidden.
- Qatar: Mowasalat’s official Karwa Routes Guide (June 2024) and its Metrolink feeder listings, checked against the current Karwa network carried in live journey-planner feeds — where the guide and the current feed disagree, the feed wins and the page notes the difference. Doha Metro and Lusail Tram information comes from Qatar Rail’s official published station, line and service-status information.
- Cross-checks: launch dates, fare changes and service withdrawals are verified against a second independent source — typically the operator’s announcement plus established local press — before a page is changed.
Our two-source rule
A route, stop list, fare or timetable detail appears on BusUpdate only when two sources support it, or when it comes directly from the operator’s own current publication. Where sources conflict — a fare shown differently by an operator page and a current news report, for example — the page says so and shows both figures with their sources, rather than silently picking one.
Where a detail cannot be verified, we hold it:
- Routes whose existence is only rumoured or announced but not yet operating are not published as live services.
- Where an operator publishes no stop-by-stop timetable, our pages give an honest frequency-based summary (first and last buses, how often they run, which days) — we never invent per-stop departure times.
- Where only a route’s termini are confirmed, the page lists “main stops” and says so, instead of presenting a partial list as complete.
- Fares are printed only when an operator or official source publishes them. If a fare is genuinely not published, the page says that too.
When a service disappears: corrections in practice
Networks shrink as well as grow, and a page that keeps presenting a withdrawn service as live is worse than no page at all. When a service leaves the operator’s current list, we mark the page clearly instead of quietly leaving it up. Recent examples:
- Abu Dhabi routes 32 and 115 no longer appear in the ITC’s current network list; their pages now carry a “Service Discontinued” notice with the replacement routes travellers should use instead. Route 21, which dropped out of the June 2025 ITC list after our page was built, carries a “Service Withdrawn” notice on the same basis — and will be restored in full if ITC republishes the route.
- Qatar: six older route pages used route numbers (L101, L102, L105, L110, R601, R605) that appear in no official Karwa source. Those pages have been retired, their addresses now redirect to real services, and our Qatar guide’s route examples and network counts were corrected to the real network (53 Karwa bus routes and 48 Metrolink feeder routes).
- A page filed under Abu Dhabi for route 117 described what is actually SRTA’s Sharjah–Abu Dhabi service; the Abu Dhabi address now redirects to the correct Sharjah page.
Freshness
Network pages carry a “verified” month in their source note, showing when the underlying data was last checked against its source. Bus networks change — routes are renumbered, fares revised and services withdrawn — and we re-check networks when operators announce changes. Timetables shown are the patterns in the source data at extraction time; engineering works, weather and seasonal schedules (for example during Ramadan and Hajj) can alter services on the day.
Corrections
Spotted an error — a renamed stop, a fare that has changed, a route that no longer runs? Tell us via the contact page or by email at support@busupdate.com, with the page address and, if you have it, a link to the operator’s notice. Verified corrections are applied and the page’s verification note is updated.
Using our pages
BusUpdate pages are a planning aid compiled in good faith from the sources above. Operator names, logos and brands belong to their owners. Always confirm time-sensitive details — especially last buses, holiday timetables and fare changes — with the operator before you travel; we recommend checking the relevant operator before travel, as our About Us page also advises. More about the site is on the About Us page.