Combination system map/schedule display for Ontario’s GO Transit commuter rail system. Things start to get a bit silly when the map morphs into even thicker lines that lead from the routes to the nearby colour-coded timetables. Overkill, methinks. Source: Chris Drew/Twitter
Submitted by Kara, who says: I’ve attached the second edition of my “NM Transit Guide,” which I previously submitted one or two weeks back. The new version includes, along with some visual changes that I feel make it more aesthetically pleasing, a feature which as far as I can tell is a unique form of presenting information – I’ve never seen it on any other transit map. On the reverse side of the guide I […]
Submitted by Arne, who says: It suddenly appeared to me that the Berlin S-Bahn system had the form of Da Vinci’s Man of Vitruvius: a circle (Ringbahn), two arms (Stadtbahn) and a head + legs (Nord-Südtunnel and the southern branches at Yorckstrasse), with Friedrichstrasse as the heart of the network. So I made a map. What do you think? Transit Maps says: Well, that’s certainly a creative and unusual way to interpret the Ringbahn! Of […]
Question: What’s your opinion of Pablo Impallari’s Cabin font? The first time I saw it it screamed “transit map” at me, and I’m curious to know what you think. Answer: Seeing as the author’s own description of the typeface says this… The Cabin Font is a humanist sans inspired by Edward Johnston’s and Eric Gill’s typefaces… … I think that it would probably qualify as a fine wayfinding/transit map typeface just by pedigree alone. More Johnston […]
Question: Is there a reason that props departments often alter transit maps used in movies? Is it to get around copyright issues? Answer: Absolutely! Almost every official transit map in the world is copyrighted and owned by the agency it represents. This means that permission – and often, a hefty licensing fee – is required to use the map for commercial purposes. So, rather than go through that, most TV shows/movies will quickly pull together […]
Fast forward ten years from yesterday’s excellent diagrammatic map of bus services in Iceland, and we’re now left with this sad thing. There are far fewer routes, although I’m not sure if that’s because service has been reduced or the map is only showing the routes of one company. The geographically-accurate shape of Iceland sits uneasily with the crudely straightened route lines: this map has none of the elegance of the earlier version. On a […]
Great photo of a handsome rectilinear diagram of island-wide bus services in Iceland from back in 2005. The big blue blobs in the middle aren’t lakes, they’re glaciers. Reykjavik’s importance as the main transportation hub is well illustrated. Source: Arnþór Snær/Flickr
Based on feedback from the first draft of this new version of my Amtrak as subway map, I’ve gone and made a few edits, additions and corrections. The major revision is a reworking of the main section of the Northeast Corridor between New York and Washington to make things a little clearer. I’m still using overlapping “multiplied route colour” lines to indicate identical service patterns, but I’ve broken the routes down into smaller, thematically linked groups: the three […]
I saw the animated GIF above on Twitter yesterday, and Shawn was kind enough to share the whole map with me, so I present it here. As Shawn himself says: I took Vignelli’s color contrast + existing map’s geographic accuracy = the subway map of my dreams. … cheekily addressing the MTA’s Twitter account and asking them to “please fix.” Shawn’s revision definitely allows the subway lines (without doubt, the most important element of the map) […]
Submitted by Nick, who says: I’ve attached my draft map of an imaginary rail system for Connecticut — if you have time, I’d love to get your feedback! We have little to nothing in the way of public transit that serves people who want to travel around and not just through Connecticut. We have some great bus systems (and our first BRT system!), but we’re served by rail lines that are used primarily for commuters […]
