Historical Map: Horse Omnibus Lines of Paris, France, c. 1830

December 13, 2016
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Here’s an interesting find! This is the oldest original transit map that I’ve ever come across, showing the nascent horsedrawn omnibus lines of Paris in the early 19th century. The original source of the map – the State Library of Victoria in Australia, of all places! – tentatively dates the map to 1828, the year that the buses first made an appearance in the city. However, I’d be inclined to place it a little later for a couple of reasons. 

Firstly, the price for a single trip is clearly shown as 30 centimes, but when the first line opened in 1828 the price was only 25 centimes. Secondly, as shown in the last image above, there are eleven competing companies at the time this map was made. There were only ten such companies in 1829, and by 1836 there were 16 – so it makes sense to place the map between those dates (but closer to 1829).

Of particular note is the name of one of the companies: Omnibus – the original Paris concessionaire, following in the footsteps of a successful operation in Nantes that opened in 1826. It is from this company that all modern buses derive their name, although the precise etymology of the original article is uncertain, with one rather fanciful tale involving a hatter’s advertising signs. Perhaps more likely is that this was simply transport “for all”… which omnibus is the Latin for.

What’s really striking about this map is how wonderfully familiar it looks. Here’s a map that’s almost 200 years old, and it has bright colour-coded route lines superimposed on a geographical map of the city. Admittedly, they’re very roughly hand-painted onto a preprinted sheet, but this is essentially the very same format as modern bus maps, which I find quite remarkable.

Our rating: Ancient and modern at the same time. 5 stars! 

Prints of this fascinating map are now available at the Transit Maps print store!

Source: State Library of Victoria

Submission – Unofficial Future Map: Metro and Train Connections in Amsterdam by Alain Lemaire

December 3, 2016
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Submitted by Alain, who says:

A map of the combined metro and train network around Amsterdam, showing train services for 2017 (metro line 52 is still not operational). I made this map to show how both metro and train form an integrated network within the region. For that reason, I combined different train services when they use the same line and stop at the same stations within the region portrayed. This map might for example be useful for tourists wanting to get from Schiphol to Amsterdam Centraal. The key to the right also highlights which services call at any of the three major stations in the region (Centraal, Zuid and Schiphol). Analogous to the Paris metro and RER map, I used pastels for train services and saturated colors for metro lines (as they’re officially used).

Transit Maps says:

Oh, I do like this, Alain! 

Stylish and smart, and packed full of useful information. I can definitely see something like this being deployed at Schiphol to help orient tourists. Personally, I had more trouble with the random guy trying to sell me his “unexpired” train ticket than I did with navigating the trains to Centraal when I was last in Amsterdam, but every bit of extra help is welcome. I especially like the reference matrix of major stations to the right: a very nice addition!

If I have one complaint, it’s that the pastel colours are just a little too light. It’s especially noticeable on the Intercity train labels, which have pastel type against a white background. That very low contrast can make those labels difficult to read, especially for the yellow and orange lines.

Personally, I’d also prefer that the NS lines follow the curve of the M50 Metro line between Sloterdijk and Isolatorweg instead of having their own radii – just because I think it looks neater – but I can see why Alain might want to separate the different service types there as well.

Our rating: Apart from the lightest colours not offering enough contrast for labels, this is an excellent little map that shows how the Metro and rail complement each other in and around Amsterdam. Four stars!

Submission – Fantasy Map: Future Rapid Transit of Canberra, Australia by John Roberts

December 1, 2016
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Submitted by John, who says:

A fantasy map imagining Canberra’s (newly under construction) light rail system and a fantasy rapid and feeder bus network at some point in the future. I wanted to address Canberra’s notorious reputation as a spread out and car dominated city and make the map about finding fast and simple connections to high quality public transport corridors. As such I’ve steered away from an over-reliance on geography that the current Transport Canberra bus map has, and focused on highlighting the North-South and East-West corridors proposed for the light rail, which form the central X of the diagram, and which are conceived as developing as the main high-medium density corridors of the city into the coming decades. The angles of these corridors are based on Canberra’s famous axial geometric and functional layout, which makes the diagram more geographically accurate within the older central area of the city while making it more schematic in outlying suburban areas.

Supplementing the two light rail corridors are a proposed network of rapid buses, utilising routes already mooted for new rapid services by the ACT government. These connect the Western town centres, bypassing the city, and pick up two other East-West connections between Weston Creek, Woden and South Canberra, and North-West Belconnen and North Canberra respectively. In order to distinguish these rapid bus routes from light rail services, the colour scheme of these lines is reversed, with dark colour on light, rather than light on dark. A free tourist bus connecting national attractions is highlighted in a mid-tone of green, distinguishing it as an important element distinct from the commuter system, but following the same logic of dark on light.

Suburban areas have been ‘rationalised’ as a grid of suburban centres with a coordinate system defined by each ‘arm’ of the rapid transit system. The scheme then proposes a simpler and more legible network of feeder buses which loop through this grid and return to the relevant transport corridor, providing coverage services to areas not serviced directly by the rapid network.

Compared to the ‘spaghetti bowl’ of routes on the current map this is designed to make connections between existing suburbs and rapid corridors far easier to follow and utilise. These services are rendered in a thinner grey line to give them a lower visual hierarchy compared to the rapid network, and indicate that they are generally of a lower frequency.

Important destinations such as hospitals and universities are marked, as well as locations of bike and ride and park and ride facilities, to again encourage connections from existing suburbs. The number of each transport line is marked in a roundel at the start and end of each line.

Transit Maps says:

Overall, this is quite a beautiful map, nicely balanced and striking a good compromise between a geographical centre and schematic outlying regions. It’s amazing how well the shape of Lake Burley Griffin and the outline of the Parliamentary Triangle work together to orient the reader properly – minimalist design that informs without being overwhelming or too distracting. Nice!

The reversal of colours to distinguish between LRT (dark background, light station dot) and BRT (light background, dark station dot) is okay, although the difference between the three BRT lines – white, light blue and light teal – is a little difficult to distinguish.They could stand to be a little darker, I think.

I also feel that the colours of all the the route roundels could be reversed to match the style of the route lines: Route 1′s roundel should be a red background with white type to match the red line with a white station marker, and so on. For me, there’s a visual disconnect between the lines and their respective roundels that this change could fix, especially with the paired “A” and “B” lines, which are both blue. Here, the light roundel refers to the dark line, and the dark roundel refers to the light line!

Similarly, I’m not too sure about John’s naming system at the moment, which is numbers for north-south routes and letters for east-west. This means that “1″ and “B” are LRT routes, while “A”, “2″ and “3″ are BRT. Yes, they’re all rapid transit routes, but John’s made a visual distinction between them on the map, so I think the nomenclature could follow accordingly.

Finally, the little grey “P” and “B” for park-and-ride and bike-and-ride facilities can get a little lost and could benefit from being made to look a little more icon-like and official. Maybe in boxes to differentiate them from all the circles that are already on the map?

Our rating: Really quite superb, with just a few little hierarchy/naming tweaks needed to make it even better. Four stars!

2016 “Transit Maps” Gift Guide – Books!

December 1, 2016
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A selection of great books at least tangentially related to transit maps and transit design. A note: some of the links below are Amazon Affiliate links – if you make a purchase after following one of these links, I make a small commission on the sale. An easy way to help support the site!

Johnson and Gill: Very British Types by Mark Ovenden. A intertwined history of two of the most recognisable British wayfinding typefaces: Johnston Sans (as used by the London Underground) and Gill Sans (as used by the LNER and now just about everyone).
$79.99 as a pre-order on Amazon.

While we’re talking about Mark Ovenden, I still highly recommend the new edition of Transit Maps of the World. A reprint has corrected a few of my complaints from my initial review, so it’s even better now! 
$23.33 on Amazon.

Frank Pick’s London by Oliver Green is an in-depth look at the visionary man who brought about the London Underground as we know it today.
$33.17 on Amazon.

Maps of London’s Transport by John Dodd. A superb collection of first-half 20th Century maps of train, bus, coach, tram and Underground maps. Some have never before been published!
$42.06 on Amazon

British Rail Designed, 1948-1997 by David Lawrence. A beautiful look at the history of graphic and industrial design of British Rail post-World War 2. I’m really looking forward to getting this for myself.
From $28.60 on Amazon.

Or you can get the reissued facsimile of the iconic 1965 British Rail Corporate Identity Manual instead. This one looks superb!
£75 from britishrailmanual.com

Speaking of identity manuals, the compact edition of the facsimile 1970 Unimark/New York MTA Standards Manual is simply superb.
standardsmanual.com

Peter Lloyd’s Vignelli Subway Maps is still the definitive work on that most divisive of transit maps.
$34.99 on Amazon.

2016 “Transit Maps” Gift Guide – Posters

November 29, 2016
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Another awesome selection of prints and posters for your consideration this year. You can also look at last year’s selection of gift ideas using the “2015 Gift Guide” tag.

Mini Metros by Peter Dovak. A neat idea, executed very well indeed. See if your friends can identify all 220 systems! Available in “spectrum” and “monochrome” versions from $15 on Society6 (links no longer active).

Vanmaps by Andrew “Vanshnookenraggen” Lynch. A wide variety of colour-coded maps of individual lines from systems across the United States (the MBTA’s Red Line is shown). Prints from $25 at vanmaps.com

Typographical Map of Los Angeles by Axis Maps. Not a transit map, but an astounding piece of cartography that I can’t help but share. The work that’s gone into this beautiful piece is amazing. See also their range of other cities! $30 for a 24×36″ print at Axis Maps (link no longer active).

The New York City Subway Poster by Hamish Smyth. A gorgeous print of the names of all 469 New York Subway stations. Printed in 11 spot colours and licensed by the MTA. 24×33.25″ print for $49 at subwayposter.com (link no longer active).

Visit Toronto Today! by Paul Dotey. A whimsically illustrated look at Toronto (and its transit network) in a post-global warming world. Subway or submarine? 28×20″ print for $CAN65 at Paul’s bigcartel site (link no longer active).

Colors of the Rails by Nicholas Rougeux. An abstract look at the colours used by rapid transit system maps around the world: the bigger each box, the more stations there are on that line. Prints in a variety of sizes on Nick’s site.

New Zealand State Highways by Andrew Douglas-Clifford. A map very much in line with many of my own projects, but nicely done indeed. Prints for $NZ42.99 at Andrew’s site.

The Wrong Color Subway by Triboro Studios. Fabulously incorrect and loud prints of the New York Subway (with a design based on Triboro’s earlier One-Color Subway Map). There are versions based on both the RGB and CMYK colour models. 45×48″ prints for $180 at Triboro’s website.

Submission – Official Map: Schematic Transit Map for Utrecht (University area), The Netherlands by U-OV

November 22, 2016
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Submitted by Fabian Wegewijs, the Coordinator of Travel Information for U-OV, who says:

U-OV is the operator of public transport in Utrecht, the fourth largest city in the Netherlands. We operate a fleet of more than 300 buses and 26 trams, mostly on two radial networks. The main network goes to and from the main railway station, Utrecht Central. The second radial network goes to and from De Uithof University area. Our detailed network map for planning purposes was submitted to your website by Jug Cerovic a while ago (July 2016, 4 stars). For this map we’ve received numerous positive reactions from our customers.

Additionally we have developed a totally schematic map for promotion purposes. With this map we want to show commuters how easy it is to reach the University area with direct services from nearby residential areas and regional railway stations, so they can avoid the overcrowded bus services from Utrecht Central station. We also use this as promotional material to convince motorists to make use of public transportation.

We are eager to learn what you think of this map, as we are constantly looking for ways to improve our customer service experience. Your suggestions are highly appreciated and we hope to implement them in the next version of the map in December of this year.

Transit Maps says:

Ugggh, my submission queue is out of control, and this piece has unfortunately sat in it for way too long. It’s fantastic to get work directly from actual transit agencies, and hopefully there will be more in the future!

As for this piece, I think it largely succeeds in its goal of emphasising connections to the University while remaining simple, accessible and a little fun.

Interestingly, the diagram downgrades the high-frequency #12 and #28 buses (based off my reading of Jug’s full system map) through Utrecht Central to thin route lines. While this is in line with the stated mission of getting riders to find alternative routes to the University, it does muddle the message of the map a little. Preferred routes are shown on the diagram as thicker lines, with their frequencies shown in call-boxes. By inference, I think many readers would then assume that thinner lines equal a lower frequency service… which isn’t necessarily the case. For example, a rider coming from Vleuten Station might think that there’s only one #28 every hour, as the #29 has a thicker route line with just two buses per hour (which isn’t even particularly “frequent”).

Finally, a statement that the four buses an hour from Driebergen-Zeist is for the #71 combined with the limited-service #271 and #371 could be good, just to head off any potential confusion that there’s somehow 12 buses an hour along this section (four for each of the three services).

Overall, I do like this little diagram – it has a fun quirkiness to it that I really enjoy – and it’s great to see transit agencies trying new and interesting ways of informing people of their services. I do think that the thick versus thin route lines need a better explanation to prevent confusion over implied frequencies, but it’s not a deal-breaker for me, either.

Fantasy Map: Near-Future Boston Map (in Toronto) for “The Handmaid’s Tale”

November 17, 2016
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Yet another variant of the new Boston MBTA rapid transit map for televisual purposes, after this recent one from The Simpsons, and this bizarre repurposing from CSI: Cyber.

This one was spotted at Bay station in Toronto, and is for the upcoming Hulu original TV series “The Handmaid’s Tale”. Starring Elisabeth Moss and Joseph Fiennes, it’s based on Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel. Set in a frighteningly plausible dystopian near-future, the series is sure to be a barrel of laughs. Think Children of Men crossed with V for Vendetta… happy times!

The map itself takes the distinctively-shaped route lines of the current MBTA map and places them upon a ridiculously accurate geographical background – including just about every lake, river and creek in the greater Boston area. Edits to the routes themselves are minor: the commuter rail lines have been changed from purple to yellow, and the Silver Line is now black, and that’s about it. Oh, and no stations have labels. Numbers are used to denote both routes and the shaded Hunger Games-style districts on the map, which isn’t confusing at all. I will note that the green “2″ bullet matches the actual line designation and colour found at Bay station, possibly (hopefully) intentionally.

The giant subway icon, number and logo/shield (what I presume is the seal of the Republic of Gilead in the show) really look like they’re just filling in the leftover empty space, though the logo is quite nice.

Finally, I have no idea how they’re going to pass this station off as being in Boston (even a near-future one), when those tiles just scream Toronto!

Source: r/toronto on Reddit

Historical Map: 1941 London Underground Map by Hans “Zéró” Schleger

November 15, 2016
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Here’s something of an increasing rarity – a London Underground map that I haven’t seen before. 

It’s the 1941 edition of the Hans Schleger map, printed in brown and blue ink only due to wartime austerity measures. I’ve written about the first edition of this map previously (April 2014, 3 stars) which was notable for its use of a blue airbrushed effect to highlight the central part of the map. Its removal certainly improves the legibility of the map: an important consideration with the reduced colour palette! The other notable thing about the map is small blue triangles to denote the main line termini stations dotted around London – mostly just identified by the initials of the operating railway company unless the station name isn’t related to an Underground station, like at Fenchurch Street.

However, what’s really interesting is that this map – produced some three years after the initial Zéró version – shows that the London Transport Board persisted with this “experiment” in map design far longer than I ever thought, probably to H.C. Beck’s complete and utter mortification.

Source: David Rumsey Map Collection

Historical Map: Proposed Detroit Rapid Transit System, c. 1920

November 14, 2016
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A handsome aerial “birds-eye” rendering of a proposed elevated rapid transit system linking Detroit with Royal Oak, Birmingham, Pontiac and Rochester (as well as the Ford Motor Company plant and blast furnaces). The system was first proposed in 1915, with a working scale model presented to the Detroit city council (photo). 

But by 1922, the company was still searching for land on which to erect one mile of test track for their unusual proprietary track system, which had both upper and lower guide rails (diagram). As we now now, the system was never constructed, although streetcars ran in the Motor City until 1956.

Source: Detroitography

Historical Map: History of the London Underground’s Northern Line (to c. 1975)

November 10, 2016
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A map showing dates of openings (and closings) for stations and segments of track along the Northern Line. King William Street station was the short-lived northern terminus of the then-City & South London Railway (C&SLR) from 1890-1900.

Via: Transport for London Tumblr