Submitted by Nicholas, who says:
Please take a look at the transit map of Geneva ! It’s beautiful. It includes streetcars and all buses.
Transit Maps says:
Okay, Nicholas, I will!
I even know who designed this map: it’s a collaboration between designer Andrea Forgacs and architect Oscar Buson, and seems to be part of a suite of maps that include the urban core (this map), the greater suburban area, a night services map and fare zone map, all built using a common design language. I’ve included a couple of mock-up images from Andrea’s website to illustrate the other maps – the night map seems to have quite a lot in common with one that I’ve previously seen from Zurich.
The main map is indeed quite gorgeous, although it has one little quirk in that all modes – be they tram, trolleybus or bus – are all depicted in the same way: as a thick, coloured line for ligne principale routes, and as a thinner grey line for ligne secondaire routes (although I believe these are all buses). It’s an interesting “mode agnostic” approach that instead focusses on level of service, which is not a bad thing. Locals would have little problem with it, as they would know route numbers, although I can see it perhaps presenting some problems for visitors who are unfamiliar with the vagaries of Geneva’s route numbering system.
Although not explicitly mentioned in the legend, there is some internal logic to the colour-coding in that the suburban bus routes – which have letters as their route designation – are all pink or orange in colour.
Technically, the map’s really well drawn: everything’s nice and clear with a very consistently applied visual hierarchy. Nothing feels too crowded, which is a real achievement with a system map of this complexity. I especially appreciate the effort put into making the rivers and lake shoreline match the visual style of the route lines, something that’s often neglected or shoddily done.
Our rating: I’m still undecided whether or not I entirely approve of the “mode neutral” treatment of the services, but the execution of the map as a whole is top-notch! Four stars.
Source: TPG website