Every so often, I come across a transit map that is just so unfit for purpose that all I can do is scratch my head and ponder, “Just why?” This is one of those maps.

Produced by (or on behalf of) Newark International Airport, it purports to show regional rail services that you can connect to at the airport via its AirTrain. However, it’s so poorly thought out and executed that it’s of very little assistance at all.

The first and most obvious problem is that everything – and I mean everything – is way too small. Labelling is tiny, with even smaller lozenges and bullets underneath the labels that may or may not contain the names of the different regional services and New York Subway lines: they’re almost entirely illegible. And it’s not like the canvas has no space to spare – there’s acres of room to make labels much, much bigger and more legible.

Speaking of the canvas, it really doesn’t seem to have been used wisely. Why bother showing most of the New York Subway, when a simple indication of connecting lines at Penn Station and PATH’s WTC station would suffice? Why show the Staten Island Railway at all when it’s most certainly not a direct connection? This map would be so much more effective if it just concentrated on the regional lines that it’s meant to showcase and just indicated further connecting services where they occur. Get rid of the wasted space allocated to extraneous elements and enlarge the important parts for clarity.

Then there’s the background that can’t decide if it’s a diagram or a map, wavering between simplicity and “geography” just about everywhere. And the way that the text indicating travel times cuts across the route lines when there’s absolutely no need for them to do so. Simply aligning the text to the right would instantly solve this problem!

Our final word: I really try to be more positive with my reviews these days, and look for at least one cool thing or redeeming feature to comment on for every map I post, but… I’ve got nothing here. To be honest, it’s kind of embarrassing that passengers are presented with this when considering their transportation options to and from the airport.

Source: Newark AirTrain web page via @AirlineFlyer/Twitter