A transit diagram exhibiting many of the “standard” features of a German transit map: clean design, rectangles for interchange stations that increase in size according to the number of lines that pass through them, and an absence of curves on route lines. A few features set it apart from other similar maps, including the angled type used throughout, set in a slightly odd choice of Futura Condensed – not always the most legible typeface at smaller sizes. The coloured lines representing the tram routes stand out well from the grey bus routes, and some care has been taken to make all the routes easy to follow.

Have we been there? Yes, backpacking in 2003. One tram driver went completely out of his way to help me – yelling out his window that his tram was the right one to get to the youth hostel, holding the tram so I could run across the road and get on, then stopping at the VAG information centre so he could go and get me a map and information on fares. Amazing!

What we like: Showing route numbers in the route line it represents works very effectively and helps in following the route from beginning to end. Excellent disabled access symbology.

What we don’t like: Labels set at multiple different angles, making reading more difficult. The huge red swoosh that the VAG logo is placed in is ugly and overpowering.

Our rating: A solid three-and-a-half. Nothing spectacular, but a good example of German transit map design.

Source: VAG website