Taipei’s Metro system only began construction in 1988, but now has almost 90 stations and over 100km of track. All this comes at a price however, with Phase One of the system costing US$18 billionand Phase Two (currently under construction) estimated to cost US$13.8 billion upon completion.
Have we been there? No.
What we like: Nice diagrammatic representation – the stylised rivers are handled much better on this diagram than on the Tyne & Wear Metro, with the gradual thinning being very subtly done in most instances. Obvious distinction between transfer stations and regular ones.
What we don’t like: Station names get very close to the route lines in some places. Having bilingual names makes this difficult, but the placement seems inconsistent at times. Noting stations that link to the HSR and other mainline trains in the legend but not on the map is not very helpful: it took me a long time to locate Banqiao station (the secondary HSR station) or Songshan Airport station on the map. Icons located by the relevant stations on the map would work much better.
Our rating: A solid map, but not inspiring. Three stars.
Public transportation in LA is making a comeback, decades after the last streetcar line was ripped up. At the heart of this renaissance is the Metro system, an odd combination of light rail (Blue, Green and Yellow lines), heavy rail (Red and Purple lines) and Bus Rapid Transit (Orange and Silver lines). The new Expo Line is also nearing completion of Phase I and will be showing up on this map very soon as Light Blue. One thing this map tries desperately hard to hide is how difficult it is to travel between LAX and downtown using Metro: the LAX Shuttle takes you to the Green Line, from which you have to transfer to the Blue Line to reach the city, while the enticingly-named LAX FlyAway bus can take up to 50 minutes to reach its destination, depending on traffic.
Have we been there? Yes, but I haven’t ridden Metro yet.
What we like: Very clean design featuring a distinctive sans serif font (looks like DIN). Makes the important distinction between free and paid parking, as well as noting stations with bike parking. Resists the temptation to put a geographically accurate shoreline around a very diagrammatic representation of the system. Three different versions of this map exist – this one, lines under construction, and Metro plus Metrolink commuter rail – and all work together seamlessly: a job well done.
What we don’t like: Big squares for the BRT stations look a bit heavy-handed. Circle-to-square interchanges are also a bit awkward. While the type is only angled in one direction, some awkward shapes are made where angled type meets horizontal – especially Pico and Grand stations on the Blue Line.
Our rating: Nice clean design that ties in well with Metro’s corporate identity and website – one of the nicer-looking transit identities around at the moment. Four stars.
Opened in 1980, the Tyne and Wear Metro is the first of Britain’s modern light rail systems. It also benefits from a very strong corporate identity with the slab serif Calvert typeface (named after its creator and one of the original identity designers in 1977, the famous Margaret Calvert) as a core component. The typeface is used extensively throughout the system, even as wall-sized station names as seen in the photo of Monument Station. Taken on its own on the system map, the typeface seems a little clumsy; but when it is considered as part of the overall identity, it actually works quite well and shows a nice consistency in design.
Have we been there? No.
What we like: Distinctive, industrial-looking design that suits the region perfectly. Love the Metro logo itself: simple, bold and memorable. Clear and easy to read. I like the idea of the grey circles denoting the important city centres of Newcastle and Sunderland, although I wish the circle for Sunderland didn’t extend out over the ocean – is it underwater?
What we don’t like: Treatment of the two rivers that give the region its name is poor – the angles used are inconsistent with the 30/60-degree angle set up by the routes, and the thinning of the rivers just looks ugly.
The “cutouts” of the Tyne’s shoreline used to represent the North to South Shields ferry look terrible and also imply that the ferry departs directly from the Metro stations, when in reality some distance separates them and their respective ferry terminals.
The crossover of the Yellow line at Monument station could perhaps be better shown: trains actually run from South Shields – Monument – North Shields – Monument (again) – St James, but the map is a little ambiguous about this.
Our rating: Despite a few flaws, this is a solid map with a very distinctive look that ties in beautifully with Metro’s corporate identity. Three-and-a-half stars. It would be four, but I really don’t like the treatment of the rivers.
Related to the parabolic map of the Moscow Metro, here’s a unique take on the Washington, DC Metro – as a spiral. A visually compelling image, and great at showing links between routes, but not actually that useful as a map.
Have we been there? No.
What we like: Amazingly creative way of re-imagining the system. Looks fantastic! Shows links between routes at transfer stations very effectively.
What we don’t like: Absolute lack of geography makes this almost totally useless as an actual map – according to it, all routes run parallel to each other in a spiral. Also implies that all routes are of an equal length, which they are not. While this map could be used to navigate the system if you knew the names of the stations you wanted to travel between, it tells you nothing about how those stations relate to the city around them. Transit maps often abstract geography, but general north/south/east/west relationships need to be shown in some form.
Our rating: Probably best to consider this as art – and good art! – than an actual usable map. As the author himself states, “My opinion is that it’s a map… it’s just not a good one.” Extra points for looking awesome and being creative. 3 stars.
Now this I like. This map takes Moscow’s famous Circle Line and straightens it out completely: all other lines then attach to it parabolically (becoming curved when before they were represented as a straight line). Great work, even if not that practical for real-world use.
I really appreciate transit maps that combine different modes of transit, and this map does just that – showing Metro, light rail, trams and commuter rail in a very clean, restrained manner. Coloured route lines (blue, orange and green) set the dense and important Metro network apart from the subsidiary light rail, tram and commuter rail routes, which are shown in grey and thin black lines. Zone information is displayed through a chilly looking cyan blue background. A complete absence of curves creates a very formal, stiff look to the map. One unusual feature is the way that station markers always remain horizontal or vertical, even when the route line is at 45 degrees – making the stations “slice through” such lines at a distinctive angle.
Have we been there? No.
What we like: Good information hierarchy through intelligent use of colour. Bi-lingual legend. I really like the way the Metro route lines fold over each other as they make a 90-degree turn – an unusual graphic device that works well and lends the map a unique look.
What we don’t like: Perhaps looks a little cold and sterile. The thin double black lines for commuter rail looks a little overly fussy in comparison to the clarity of the rest of the map, although I do like the way two parallel routes are represented by just three lines (the middle line being shared by the two routes).
Our rating: A very clean, solid transit map, if a little sterile. Three-and-a-half stars.
It must be the season for redesigning transit maps. Hot on the heels of NJ Transit’s disappointing new system map comes a new map for the Go Transit network that serves Toronto and Southern Ontario. And unlike that NJ Transit map, this one takes the opportunity to create something new, contemporary and exciting – and totally runs with it. Especially when it’s compared to their previous map, which was nothing short of terrible. The old map is cramped, old fashioned and ugly, while the new one is light, airy and modern.
Go Transit: New Map
Go Transit: Old Map
Have we been there? No.
What we like: A lovely, starkly linear diagram. Bus information is clear, but subsidiary to the train lines. Fits English and French text on without looking crowded.
What we don’t like: I don’t think that the train icon is really needed next to the line names on the map itself – the colours and the legend give enough indicators that these are the train lines. At first glance, the Highway 407 bus service is a little difficult to differentiate from normal routes.
Our rating: A massive improvement on the previous map, with a distinctive look and feel all its own. Four stars!
A few years old now – Sydney’s Chatswood to Epping rail line is missing – but a clever idea very well executed by Saatchi and Saatchi Australia. Station names are replaced by those of music artists.
If you’ve reached this page from a search engine hit, please note that this is not the official NJ Transit page, but an independent review of the map as it stood in 2011. If you want to see the current official map, then follow this link [PDF]. If you love transit maps and diagrams, then please stick around and read the review – and more – on this site!
This morning, an interesting tweet came across my desk: “NJ Transit Executive Director James Weinstein unveils new customer friendly rail system map at today’s board meeting” with a link to the new map. Always eager to check out a new transit map, I clicked through… and was incredibly underwhelmed by what I saw.
Far from being the paradigm of customer friendliness that was promised, this map comes across as sad, tired and amateur. It seems to have taken elements from many different transit maps and mashes them into one big mess. We have the thick route lines and giant circle transfer stations of Washington, DC Metro, icons for the lines similar to – but nowhere nearly as well executed – the Lisbon Metro, and different station symbols for each and every mode of transit.
Admittedly, this map faces some unusual challenges in that it shows a state-wide system, rather than just a smaller city. Because of this, some semblance of geography and distance between stations has to be shown. However, I feel that there has to be a better solution than this, where the light rail systems around Hoboken and Newark are crammed into a tiny space with miniscule station names, while vast amounts of space remain empty throughout the rest of the state.
The stylised geography also troubles me – what exactly happens to the Delaware River when it gets to Port Jervis? And why do we need to see the vast empty bottom part of the state, especially when it cuts an ugly swathe across the informational text at the base of the map.
Have we been there? Yes – I’ve caught the train from Newark Airport into New York Penn Station.
What we like: Ambitious scope, attempting to show all rail services in the state of New Jersey – NJ Transit, PATH, light rail systems, as well as an indication of connecting services in neighbouring states – MTA, SEPTA and stations serviced by Amtrak. This is the first real transit map I’ve seen with a QR code on it – I wonder what it does?
What we don’t like: Unfortunately, despite its best intentions, this map is hideous. Almost everything – from the icons and colours chosen for the main routes, to the typography, to the clumsy treatment of the geography, to the enormous circles used for transfer stations, even the spacing of the stations – looks amateur and poorly thought out. Suffers even more from having to include every logo of every separate transit agency.
Our rating: A hugely wasted opportunity to create something memorable and exciting. One-and-a-half stars.
