Submission – Official Map: Bus Network of Bad Zurzach, Switzerland

May 29, 2019
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Submitted by Diego, who says:

What do you think of this bus map from Bad Zurzach, Switzerland? In my opinion, Swiss transit maps are generally very readable and well designed, but this one just looks impractical. I find it to be very difficult to follow the routes of the lines (line 2 in particular, which also stops at Thermalbad three times). It also lacks a title and a legend. Still, I have to hand it to the designer for actually getting it crammed into so little space.

Transit Maps says:

First off, it’s important to note that the town of Bad Zurzach is pretty tiny, with the eponymous thermal baths being less than a 500 metre walk from the railway station. The buses used are similarly small, and are charmingly known as the Zurzibus. Route 1 simply shuttles people between the station and the baths on an hourly basis (so if you miss it, you may as well walk!), Route 2 (which actually only calls at Thermalbad twice) also runs once an hour, while Lines 3 and 4 operate on a dire two-hour headway. So, the buses provide a service for those who might need it – tourists, people with mobility problems, etc. – but it’s certainly not what you’d call essential.

The map itself is almost adorably cute in its execution – the town reduced down to absolute minimalism – but I’d agree that it isn’t exactly easy to read. Fortunately, the brochure it appears in also contains individual line diagrams for each route, which are considerably easier to understand when the four routes have been disentangled. The individual maps also include legends, which explain that the dashed lines for Route 4 indicate seasonal service, not infrequent service. In summer, it goes to Regibad, an outdoor pool; while in winter, it goes to the cemetery instead. That’s a heck of a metaphor…

The final word: An almost absurdly simplified overview of a very small bus network, fortunately supported by better line diagrams. Two-and-a-half stars.

Source: Bad Zurzach Tourism website

Unofficial Map: Berlin Rail Network by Niklas Lobmayr

May 27, 2019
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Submitted by Niklas, who says:

Hi! I’m a student currently living in Berlin. I’ve always been fascinated by maps and recently I started to design one of my own. I hope you would review it on the blog, and give me some pointers as to where it can improve.

I wanted to redesign Berlin’s Transit Map in a different style (or rather my own). The map shows all U-Bahn (Metro), S-Bahn (Urban Rail) and Regional Train lines in and around Berlin. The lines are simplified as much as possible, creating flowing lines throughout. S-Bahn routes are bundled together in order to reduce the number of lines going through the city center. The U-Bahn is emphasised by a thicker stroke. I’ve also shown some of the construction going on around Berlin Hauptbahnhof and the (eternally unfinished) new airport Berlin-Brandenburg. The S-Bahn Ring (Fare Zone A), the City Border (Zone B) as well as the edge of Zone C are all centered inside each other. I haven’t yet figured out how to show the numerous Regional Train routes clearly on the map, so they are listed in the key on the right hand side along with some basic information on service frequencies. So – what do you think?

Transit Maps says:

It seems like everyone is doing dark background transit maps these days! While this can make for a stylish map, it’s not without its pitfalls – the foremost of which is reduced contrast with a lot of route line colours. Here, Niklas’ purple U6 and dark blue U8 lines are too dark to stand out from the background effectively, and some of the other colours are rather dark as well. The thinner S-Bahn lines have to work pretty hard to be seen, as do the dark grey “Under Construction” routes.

The arrangement of the lines is quite pleasant, with a spacious, stylish feeling to the map. The zones are handled well graphically, although they could benefit from being labelled as such on the map itself. Referring to the legend for that information isn’t ideal.

The station blobs are different in a good way, sitting underneath the route lines and being separated from them by a black keyline. Interchange stations are indicated by a white disc, which do stand out nicely from the dark background (maximum contrast!).

However, there is a fatal flaw in the map in that the labelling is absolutely tiny. The PDF Niklas supplied to me is roughly 36″ wide by 24″ tall, which is makes for a decent sized poster. However, his station labels are set in 6-point Helvetica Neue, which is way too small even in the best of circumstances. Reversed out of black like this is even more problematic, as the type would almost certainly fill in when printed and basically be illegible. I’ve always worked with a minimum of 8-point text when reversing out of a dark background, and even then it needs to be a fairly robust sans serif typeface, perhaps tracked out a little more than usual. Definitely nothing at the “Light” weight of a typeface.

The final word: A stylish-looking map, with a neat arrangement of the many lines and a comprehensive legend, but with labels that are way too small to be legible. 6-point is smaller than the disclaimer text at the bottom of used car ads! By comparison, labels on my Boston Rapid Transit map are 18-point at the same 36″ x 24″ print size: three times as large. Attention also needs to be paid to colours used against the black background – some of the darker ones definitely need to be lightened up.

Historical Map: Tourist Map of Adelaide, South Australia, 1917

May 24, 2019
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A lovely little map of central Adelaide from a 1917 pamphlet issued by the South Australian “Intelligence and Tourist Bureau”, clearly showing the lines of the then-extensive electric tram network. Full conversion from horse trams to electric had only been completed a few years prior in 1914.

Oddly enough, the only remaining tram route in Adelaide – the line out to Glenelg – is shown here as a steam railway starting at the corner of South Terrace and Peacock Road: it was only converted to an electric tramway in 1929.

Source: r/SAmaps – Reddit

Submission – Fantasy Map: International Development Agency Map of our Support and Field Offices

May 22, 2019
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Submitted by Mark Field, who says:

Like everyone on this site, I too have always been fascinated by transit maps, and have always wanted to make one but never had a reason. Recently I had opportunity to create one that actually serves a purpose. I work for an international relief and development agency, and our Canadian headquarters recently moved to a new office that had among other things, a bank of offices with glass frontage measuring 8′ x 55′.

At minimum, code required a simple glass manifestation strip, which was fine for some of the office occupants who wanted to be able to see their staff in the common area beyond, while others wanted more privacy. Given the odd shape of this canvas, the mix of coverage requested, and the requirements of manifestation, I was considering making a timeline of significant events in our 75 year history. It was when I applied date markers to a single line that I realized that this wall begged for a transit map.

It was cost prohibitive to create a pre-printed 8′ x 55′ “screen” so instead, I opted for cut vinyl lettering and elements that were put together like a puzzle. Because the wall was made of multiple-width glass panels with silicon seems and gaps around doors, I had to be careful not to have the station titles (which are the cities where we either operate in or have head offices in) cut across panels. I also opted to have any of the lines that cut across panels do so on a horizontal plane. There was also the issue of the required glass manifestation strip that had to be located in a specific height range from the floor.

Finally, our corporate world is divided into various autonomous offices and lines of authority and reporting which I portrayed on the map via the various coloured lines. I also made our office in Guelph, Ontario the “main” office/terminus of the map, so we have direct lines to the other offices. Hard to follow but in our “world” it makes total sense.

We (MAF Canada) are responsible for operations out of two cities (stops) in Angola (represented by the green line) as well as an operation in Canada (the grey line). MAF US is responsible for a number of countries (city/stops) in parts of the world (represented by the purple line), as well as affiliate countries in South America (the blue line). The rest of our world operates out of an international office in the UK (brown lines), and finally, countries that are resourcing countries (those that help raise funds) are represented by the red line. Given the panel width restrictions (not to mention door handle locations that had to be avoided) I did my best to put all of the locations in order relative to lines of latitude and longitude.

Transit Maps says:

I think Mark has said much of what is needed to be said in his introduction to this piece, so suffice it to say that I think that this is rather wonderful. A clever use of an awkward space that fulfills multiple purposes — safety, information and decoration — and looks good while doing it. Mark’s also done a pretty decent job of coming up with his own design language for his map, though it looks like the typeface used is New Johnston or something very similar — the Tube Map’s influence is hard to shake sometimes! Finally, an advantage of the vinyl cut solution is that things can be adjusted relatively easily: I notice that the map’s legend has moved from the bottom of the screen to the top in the final product!

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Fantasy Map: Portland MAX in the Style of the Vignelli New York Subway Map

May 17, 2019
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I missed this when it was released yesterday, but those TriMet designers (who really do seem to have too much time on their hands!) have released another mash-up map, this time riffing off the (in)famous 1970s New York Subway diagram by Massimo Vignelli.

It’s probably the best one so far, mimicking the style almost perfectly. If you’re going to do a homage, you may as well go all in, and that’s exactly what’s been done here!

There’s some great little touches like the reworked TriMet logo and the way that all the services get three-letter codes (the familiar MAX and WES, but also PAT for Portland Aerial Tram, and PSC for Portland Street Car) to emulate the three-letter services of the New York Subway – IRT, IND and BMT. There’s even a subtle “folded paper map” texture, which is just lovely.

There’s a PDF download of the map available here.

The final word: Almost perfect! Some of the added geography is a little too fussy to be truly Vignelli-esque (Oswego Lake is okay, but Johnson Creek is a bit much), but that’s a truly minor nitpick. 4.5 stars.

Source: TriMet/Twitter

Historical Map: Bay Area Regional Transit Connections, 1981

May 13, 2019
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Submitted by Calley, who says:

This was found via the /r/BayArea subreddit. It appears to be an authentic transit map from September 1981 still hanging in the 12th Street Oakland City Center BART station! It’s published by an entity I’ve never heard of called the “Regional Transit Association.” On your blog I’ve previously seen a very clumsy and messy map that attempted to show the myriad transit systems of the Bay, including rail and connecting buses. This is a cleaner, very diagrammatical map that limits itself to rail and some of the major buses that are either very frequent or provide a key connection to areas not served by BART. The wide lines remind me of the Washington Metrorail map as well. The Bay Area would be served well by a modernized version of the map as there is none today that cleanly shows a comprehensive transit network. Would love to get your thoughts.

Transit Maps says:

This “fat line” style of transit diagram was very much in vogue in the late 1970s/early 1980s, so it’s really no surprise to find some similarities between this map and the (slightly earlier) Washington Metro map. For me at least, there’s also a little bit of the original Boston MBTA spider map here, especially in the way that the branches of the Muni streetcar lines are treated – looking a lot like the simplified branches of the Green Line in Boston.

Handel Gothic, the typeface used for the map’s title (and groovy logo) is a little at odds with the more restrained “minimalist” Helvetica employed elsewhere, but it was a popular display typeface at the time, often used to invoke a “futuristic” feeling. Note especially the ligature made out of the “NN” in “CONNECTIONS” – now there’s some great early 80s typography!

The map itself is an interesting historical record, showing BART’s extent in 1981 (only built to Daly City down the peninsula, for example) and the “Caltrans Peninsula Train”, which is Caltrain in everything but name. Many of these regional connections are very similar to what still exists today, which is interesting to see.

Designwise, it’s a bit uneven – it has some nicely simplified route lines and clear labelling, but the coastline of the Bay is way too fussy and detailed, especially the north-eastern part. The way the green Santa Clara County Transit line gets pushed out of alignment by the SamTrans line at Menlo Park is pretty sloppy. The inset for downtown San Francisco doesn’t really do that good of a job at clarifying things: one feels that all the empty space in the Pacific Ocean could have been better used to enlarge the inset and make it more useful.

The last word: A great historical document, although the design work is a little less polished than it could have been. It definitely seems to be emulating other transit maps of the period, though with perhaps slightly less effect. Still a pretty solid three stars.

Submission – Unofficial Map: Future Rail Services of Copenhagen, Denmark by Marco Berends

May 7, 2019
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Submitted by Marco, who says:

With a great pleasure I have read and learned from your posts and reviews. I would be grateful to hear your opinion on the Copenhagen transit map I developed earlier this year.

The goal is to create a future-proof and iconic network map with design references to the city. The metropolitan area has four rail systems: heavy rail, the overground S-tog, the Metro and light rail. Until now, the different operators have their own style, although fares and transfers are flawless.

The map is inspired by characteristics from the S-trains (routes) and Metro (stations). The iconic 45º routes are simplified and integrated with the new ‘City ring’ to minimise the amount of curves. The lines and stations under construction have a reduced tone. Topography and landmarks are added to improve recognisability. Labels are kept horizontally and as large as possible, but exceptions have been made around the City-ring to suit the graphic concept.

A few custom design experiments are:

  • Frequency of the C- and E-trains that occasionally terminate earlier
  • Calling pattern of the rush-hour Bx-line
  • Focus on transfer stations by marker and large label
  • S-train markers have a hexagonal shape, referring to the new DSB logo

Also, a negative version with a dark background has been developed to represent the evening and weekend schedule. This map together with the design process can be found on Marco’s project page (well worth checking out – Cam)

Transit Maps says:

There’s something about the future of transit in Copenhagen that seems to be inspiring people to create the most wonderful unofficial maps of it. Hot on the heels of Kristoffer Bæk’s lovely interpretation (January 2019, 4 stars) comes this equally good map from Marco.

Despite my note that Kristoffer had wisely resisted the temptation to make the M3 ring line a perfect circle, Marco has taken that idea and run with it, and he’s been largely successful. It does force some labels around the ring to be set diagonally to fit, but it’s all still nice and clean and legible throughout.

There’s a great underlying grid for this map that holds the whole thing together nicely, with a great sense of rhythm to everything. Everything’s deliberately placed and spaced: I especially like the way that the F line and the future light rail line nest inside each other almost perfectly, always the same distance apart as they encircle the city.

The geographical cues are a good inclusion – it’s good to know that Frederickssund is located on the eastern shore of Roskilde Fjord, for example. It can seem a little busy in parts because of the diagonally striped water background and the lightened “future” labels, but it always provides good context.

The treatment of the rush-hour Bx line seems to have been influenced by the way the New York Subway map treats its rush/express routes – breaking off from the main line to bypass some stations. It’s not normally my preferred approach, but it does reduce the number of lines through the busy city centre by one, so I think it works well enough here.

A minor complaint is that some of the stations (especially Copenhagen Central) have to be stretched out a lot to enable them to reach all the lines that pass through. It’s one slightly less than perfect byproduct of the perfect circle of the M3, but it’s not too distracting, thanks in park to the restrained station symbology that Marco has employed.

The final word: Another sterling look at Copenhagen’s transit future that draws its inspiration from the disparate official maps currently in use and merges them together to great effect. Four stars!

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Source: Marco’s project page

Photo: Star Wars/Vancouver Skytrain Map for “May the Fourth”

May 4, 2019
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Photo taken by Aaron Robinson at Vancouver’s Metrotown station and shared with Transit Maps via Twitter.

It’s not the first Star Wars themed adaptation of an official transit map I’ve seen (there’s also this one from Milan in 2015), but it’s executed nicely. I particularly like the “light saber” glow to the route lines. “VCC-3PO” adds a nice little bit of local flavour as well. The Star Wars-y font used does look a bit like a freebie knockoff from DaFont, but it does the job, I guess. Definitely good to see a transit agency having a bit of fun!

Submission – Official Map: Sydney Rail Network Map, 2019

May 1, 2019
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Submitted by a good number of people, who have all spotted this new map in the latest batch of Sydney Trains timetables and want to know what I might think. I’ve talked about a draft version of this map quite a bit on Twitter already, but I may as well compile my thoughts “officially” on the blog as well.

Transit Maps says:

The most obvious change to this revision of the map is the addition of the new Metro North West Line from Tallawong to Chatswood – which also brings about a name change. Whereas previously this had been the “Sydney Trains Network”, it’s now the “Sydney Rail Network”. One could argue that it’s now an incomplete map of that network as the light rail is nowhere to be seen, but that’s a story for another day…

Overall, I find the inclusion of the new Metro line problematic. The “M” at each station seems like overkill to me: the large “M” bullet at each terminus and the cased line treatment do the job of differentiating this new line perfectly well, I think. The dog leg through Epping adds unnecessarily sharp bends to this new “flagship” line, which ideally should be represented by as straight a line as possible to emphasise the notion that it’s fast and modern.

The depiction of the future Metro down the North Shore as running concurrently to the existing line with the new stations located to the south of the line is – to put it bluntly – incorrect and misleading. In reality, the Metro will run in its own tunnel some way to the north of the old line, and I strongly believe that it’s important to show the proper relationship between these lines and stations. The Victoria Cross Metro station will be in walking distance of North Sydney station, but if you used this map, you’d start walking in the wrong direction to move between them! However, I do really like the way that the “under construction” dashed route line integrates with the orange T3 line between Sydenham and Bankstown, neatly conveying that this section of existing track will be upgraded to Metro standards. I do wish they’d straighten out this part more, though.

My other major problem with this map is the repetition of terminus station names. Leppington and Richmond – hardly the most important stations on the map – get named three times each, which is just ridiculous. Part of the problem is the inconsistency of the nomenclature used for the lines. Sometimes they get named after a general direction or region (“Western” or “Illawarra”), and sometimes they get named after the station at the end of the line, like above. I’ve long advocated for the removal of these redundant destination labels on this map, and this version certainly isn’t changing my mind. The stacked treatment of the “T4 Eastern Suburbs” label is another reason to get rid of them: it’s unlike anything else on the map, and really does look like the designer simply ran out of room to make the label fit properly.

The labelling of the Intercity lines also bothers me. “To the Southern Highlands Line”? No, that is the Southern Highlands Line and it goes to Mittagong, Mossvale and Goulburn – the major destinations along the line. Reuse of the three letter codes that the Intercity lines get on their timetables would also be helpful here: “SHL” for this line, for example.

However, I do have to say that I’m overjoyed to see the familiar red of the old Northern Line reappear on this map: it definitely stops the yellow of the T1 line from dominating much of the top half of the map.

The final word: Sydney’s rail system is in a huge state of flux right now, so this map might change yet again when the rest of the Metro opens – hopefully putting everything in the correct relative positions. As it stands, however, this seems to be a slightly messy, thrown together interim map that doesn’t really work as well as it should. The redundant line name labels have to go. 2.5 stars out of 5.

P.S. In case you haven’t seen it, here’s a reworked future version of this map that I made a while back that addresses a lot of the problems I mention above. Note especially the treatment of the Metro through the lower North Shore and Epping, as well as the way that the T5 Cumberland Line crosses over the main Western line at Harris Park, preventing the awkwardness at Parramatta that the official map has.

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