I just remembered this site which I have previously used to download the latest apk directly from Play Store for sideloading purposes.

https://apps.evozi.com/apk-downloader/

I’ll probably keep on using it for quickly obtaining the latest apk from Play Store in situations where the anonymous Aurora accounts are being rate limited or something like that, if the app is urgently needed.

If all you need from the public transport apps is routing and directions, maybe Transportr or Öffi could be the replacement you need.

Do you see installing a .dmg file (or installing through homebrew) on macOS as a workaround, or what do you mean? I’m not sure I have ever installed a single app from their store, so maybe it’s just that such a “workaround” feels normal to me, but scary to others?

https://librewolf.net/installation/macos/