Transit Maps: May 2016

Month: May 2016

Submission – Official Map: Las Colinas APT System, Irving, Texas

May 31, 2016

Filed Under:
Official Maps

Tags:

2 stars, APT, automatic people mover, cartography, Irving, Las Colinas, Las Colinas APT, people mover, postcard, submission, Texas, USA

Submitted by Louis Alvarez, who says: I thought you might enjoy this recent artifact of one of the weirdest transit systems in the US: the four-station, two line people mover that serves the Las Colinas suburban development near Dallas. (For me, the most eccentric thing about the system is that despite what one might expect, the cars are manned by human drivers who come to pick you up on request.) The map is such a festival of poor […]

Reader Question: Have You Seen the Interview with the Designer of the London Underground Map?

May 27, 2016

Leave a comment

Filed Under:
Questions

Tags:

design, England, Europe, Geoff Marshall, graphic design, HC Beck, information design, London Underground, Londonist, TfL, tube map, United Kingdom

Question: Have you seen the interview Londonist did with the designer of the new London Underground map? Really fascinating! Answer: I sure have! If anyone hasn’t seen it yet, then head over to the Londonist website and watch the interview here. Personally, I wish it was more in-depth and technical, but that’s because I’m a total and utter transit map-making nerd who loves that kind of stuff. The interview does make a couple of very […]

Bus Map Client From Hell

May 27, 2016

Leave a comment

Filed Under:
Miscellany

Tags:

bus map, Clients from Hell

Via: clientsfromhell: I designed a bus route map with specific routes highlighted in various colours. Client: Hmm, how about we make the route with the pink line more wiggly? Me: I guess, but it represents a route with fixed stops. The roads are fairly straight. Client: The road is straight, sure, but I want the route to be more wiggly. Thanks. I have no words. Isn’t the whole idea to make the route look as direct and convenient […]

GIF: Evolution of the London Underground Roundel (1908-2016)

May 24, 2016

Leave a comment

Filed Under:
Miscellany

Tags:

1908, branding, bullseye, Edward Johnston, England, Europe, evolution, Frank Pick, GIF, graphic design, logo, London, London Passenger Transport Board, London Transport, London Underground, roundel, TfL, Transport for London, United Kingdom

<Image removed at request of Transport for London, December 20, 2019> Surprisingly, I haven’t seen anything like this on the Internet before, so I went and made my own. It’s been compiled from various sources (both official and unofficial), so the quality is a little variable, but it’s still fun to look at! I’ve made the dimensions of the circle/ring consistent across all the different versions, so the height and width of the crossbar shrinks […]

Submission – Updated Official Map: St. Louis MetroLink Map, 2016

May 20, 2016

Leave a comment

Filed Under:
Official Maps

Tags:

3 stars, color blindness, icon, Illinois, light rail, MetroLink, Missouri, St Louis, strip map, USA

Submitted by Bruce Englehardt, who says: It’s been a while since your last review of the St. Louis MetroLink map (Dec. 2011, a generous 3 stars), and it has since been updated. Of note is the new Gateway Arch symbol and redundant labels. The labeling for stations seems more consistent overall and they’ve retained the parking labels (though now with colors that could be confused with connecting lines/services). Transit Maps says: Judging by the PDF’s […]

Updated Official Map: Los Angeles Metro Rail & Busway Map, May 2016

May 19, 2016

Leave a comment

Filed Under:
Official Maps

Tags:

2.5 stars, bus, bus rapid transit, California, Expo Line, light rail, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Metro, rapid transit, USA

The LA Metro Twitter account just shared this new map, ready just in time for the opening of the Expo Line’s extension to Santa Monica tomorrow. Overall, it’s a really nice map, continuing the strong, unified branding and design that Metro deploys across everything: maps, signage, vehicles, stations, their website and other communications material. However, there are a few points of interest worth talking about. First, the map no longer shows Metrolink commuter rail lines, […]

Official Map – New TfL Elizabeth Line Overview Tube Map

May 18, 2016

Leave a comment

Filed Under:
Official Maps

Tags:

CrossLiz, Crossrail, Elizabeth Line, England, Europe, HC Beck, London, London Underground, TfL, Transport for London, tube map, Underground Map, United Kingdom

Thanks to Oliver O’Brien and CityMetric for finding this new Tube map that highlights the new Elizabeth Line (the line formerly known as “Crossrail”) route across London. (Side note: I think I’ll call this line the “CrossLiz” from now on, as – let’s be honest – the Queen always looks a tiny bit cranky these days.) First off, let’s examine the CrossLiz itself. Placing an entirely new line right through the centre of an already crowded […]

Historical Map: Proposed Los Angeles Metro Rail Project and Station Locations, 1983

May 18, 2016

comment 1

Filed Under:
Historical Maps

Tags:

1983, California, EIS, Environmental Impact Statement, FEIS, LA Metro, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Metro, metro, SCRTD, Southern California Rapid Transit District, subway, USA

Taken from a Southern California Rapid Transit District (SCRTD) Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), this map shows the then-preferred alignment for what would eventually become the LA Metro Red Line. The FEIS called for an 18.6 mile alignment, all underground, with 18 stations. The cost in 1983 dollars was projected to be $2.47 billion (or around $5.88 billion in today’s money). An alternative called for an alignment with some aerial sections for $2.41 billion, while […]

Official Map: Bicycles on the London Underground

May 17, 2016

Leave a comment

Filed Under:
Official Maps

Tags:

bicycle, England, Europe, London, London Underground, subway, TfL, Transport for London, tube, tube map, Underground, United Kingdom

One of the things I love about the London Underground is the seemingly endless cavalcade of official Tube maps: the normal map, large print, color-blind friendly, step-free access, geographical… and now this: where and when you’re allowed to bring your bike. Foldable bikes are allowed pretty much everywhere (but not during peak travel times, please!), but full-size bikes are much more limited in where they can go. In general, the allowed areas for such bikes […]

Submission – Timeline GIF of the Development of the Dallas DART System by Kevin McElroy

May 17, 2016

Leave a comment

Filed Under:
Unofficial Maps, Visualizations

Tags:

Dallas, DART, GIF, isometric, Kevin McElroy, light rail, submission, Texas, timelapse, timeline, USA

Submitted by Kevin, who says: I combined two cool developments I’ve seen in transit maps on the internet, the isometric map from Stuttgart (October 2011, 5 stars) and GIFs of the evolution of a system. I lived in Dallas for school and again as a professional and while the network could be better, I always enjoyed riding the DART. And actually the system really lent itself to the map principles that seemed to work for […]