Submission – Official Map: Flixbus Route Network, March 2016

March 10, 2016
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Submitted by Bruno Heemskerk, who says:

Flixbus is quite a new company with bus services between several European countries.

Transit Maps says:

This is another good example of what I call a “boast map”, in that it shows the impressive extent of the network, but reveals very little about actual routing (that’s for the website to tell you). For example, a little poking around on that website tells me that you can only directly reach other destinations within Italy from Naples, and would have to change buses to go farther afield.

Speaking of Naples, I find it very odd that it’s jammed up hard against the bottom edge of the map (and shown at the same latitude as Rome!) when the almost completely empty Sweden gets so much space all to itself at the top of the map.

The map itself is a nice combination of geographic reality and stylised route lines, although I think the routes are way too thin. They’re almost exactly the same weight and colour as the international borders shown on the map, which is pretty inexcusable, really. I do like that the major destinations get a visual boost with big orange dots, and having airport connections denoted is a nice touch. I also like the way that areas where the destinations are too tightly bunched to label properly on the map are instead given a number, and the names of the towns are instead given in the legend for each corresponding number.

Our rating: Looks impressive and has some nice aesthetics, but don’t try using it to plan a trip by itself! Two-and-a-half stars.

See also: This interactive destination map on the Flixbus website, which is much better for helping you work out where you can actually go from each city. 

Reader Question: Can You Identify the Font Used in a 1992 Berlin Map?

March 9, 2016
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Question: Hi there! Thanks so much for your comments on my Berlin 1952 redesign. I’m working on a recreation of a Berlin map from 1992 (I can’t include links, but there’s a few from 1992, 1991, and 1988 floating around Google I believe), and I’m wondering what your advice on font is. I can’t really pick it out by eye and WhatTheFont hasn’t been too helpful. What would you say would be the closest one? FF Transit maybe? Thanks so much!

Answer: If you’re talking about the Erik Spiekermann-designed BVG diagram that first appeared c.1991, then it’s absolutely FF Transit – the typeface was created specifically for it!

Erik once very kindly sent me a full PDF of the 1993 Berlin diagram, and had a few interesting things to say about its development:

I enclose the diagram I designed for Berlin in 1991 (the version attached is from 93), shortly after the East- and West-Berlin got reunited. It keeps growing and changing, but in essence it’s still the same. It was drawn in Freehand 3.0 before there was a PDF format. Needed 23 layers for all the lines. Things got changed constantly as the two cities grew together and as names changed from Stalin- and Lenin-somethings to more acceptable ones.

The metadata in Erik’s PDF also confirms that the main typeface is Transit, so there you go – straight from the horse’s mouth!

See also: Jesse’s recreation of a 1952 Berlin map

Submission – Official Map: T-Bane Map of Oslo, Norway, 2016

March 8, 2016
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Submitted by Arnt Gulbrandsen, who says:

The map and lines have been rearranged because of a new station (Løren). This is the new official map. Look closely at line 5.

Transit Maps says:

Now that is unusual. While I’ve seen some lines double up on a couple of stations before (London’s Circle line calls twice at Paddington and Edgware Road, for example), I really can’t think of another example where a line makes a complete loop-de-loop through a central circle before continuing on to the other side of its route. In Oslo, Line 5 now calls at a staggering ten stations on its own line twice (as well as three more that it shares with Line 4) as part of its journey. I feel sure announcements and destination boards will make it very clear which leg of the journey each train is on (to Sognsvann/to Vestli/Ringen) – or at least, I hope so!

I have to say that I do feel a bit for the citizens of Oslo: every time I look at a new version of this map, the lines have been renumbered, recoloured and reorganised – with new endpoints and paths through the city each time. I understand that there’s been a lot of modernisation and rebuilding of the network lately, but a little consistency for riders might be nice.

The map itself is still a lovely, clean diagrammatic map, although I note that it doesn’t include the route numbers of connecting bus and tram services anymore, which is a bit of a shame. See my first review of this map from November 2011, and also this unofficial map by Simon H. from last year.

Our rating: The first roller coaster as mass transit? Still a great looking and distinctive map, but I miss the connections information. Three-and-a-half stars.

Photo: The Perils of a Tube Map Puzzle!

March 7, 2016
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White space on maps may be good for readability, but not so much for jigsaw puzzles!

Submission – Official Map: DC Streetcar Strip Map, 2016

March 7, 2016
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Submitted by Edward Russell, who says:

DC Streetcar has published a simple, straightforward strip map in the streetcars that began running a week ago in DC. Hopefully this is the beginning of a far larger streetcar renaissance in DC!

Transit Maps says:

I’m going to resist the temptation to comment on the protracted process that’s led to the delayed opening of this streetcar line. Nor am I going to enter into the whole streetcars in mixed traffic versus dedicated lanes debate. Instead, I’ll just talk about the map, which is – as Edward says – refreshingly simple.

Only eight stops means there’s plenty of room for nice, big, easy-to-read labels (set in what looks like Avenir), some “DC Streetcar” branding and handy accessibility information. Nice and easy does it. About my only complaints are the way that the route line continues past the two terminus stations, and the annoyingly inconsistent nomenclature for stop names.

None of the stops on H Street have that street appended to their name, but all the stops on Benning Road do. Even stranger, there’s a slash separating the street names at 15th St/Benning Rd and 19th St/Benning Rd, but it’s not Oklahoma Ave/Benning Rd. Pick a consistent naming method for your stops and stick to it, please!

Our rating: Simple and easy-to-read, if overall a little unmemorable. Does the job. Three stars.

Photo – Official Map: Montreal Metro Map, 2016

March 7, 2016
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Spotted and photographed in the real world by long-time correspondent, Richard Archambault, who doesn’t hold back with his opinion in this tweet:

Transit Maps says:

I first heard that this map was getting a makeover back in October 2015, but said at the time that I would reserve my judgement until I saw the final map. This new version oddly isn’t yet posted on the STM’s website, so Richard’s photo will have to do, although the dirty and scratched surface certainly isn’t doing it any favours!

First things first: the most defining visual characteristic of the previous map – the way that the whole map, made up only of right-angled sections of routes, was then tilted 37 degrees counter-clockwise – has gone, replaced by a very standard octolinear diagram. Words can’t express how disappointed I am by this turn of events: a truly iconic design feature has been replaced by something completely and breathtakingly average. And the only “benefit” it really brings is to allow the middle section of the Blue line to run at a 135-degree angle compared to the rest of the line. The eastern Green line still stair-steps its way across the map, when it could run smoothly in one straight line until it simply flips northwards for the last few stations. 

My other fear for this map has definitely been confirmed: the labels are tiny, especially compared to the old map. So now they’re small and set in an all-caps condensed typeface, all of which reduces legibility. The reason everything’s so small appears to be the label for Sherbrooke station – it can’t get any larger without cutting into the Green line, so it becomes the lowest common denominator. The terminus station labels are a little better, at least.

I really, really dislike the way that the commuter rail lines run right through the middle of Metro station markers when there’s no interchange available at that station. The old map avoided this by running the commuter rail lines off to the side of such stations, and also used a very visibly different station marker for interchanges – it almost was impossible to be confused. Now, the only visual difference between an interchange station and a non-interchange station is a thin grey ring around the interchange station’s marker, which is perhaps too subtle to be noticed on quick perusal. Overall, I do think the commuter rail lines are drawn slightly better than the previous map, though.

Our rating: A hugely missed opportunity for renewal that seems to discard one of the world’s most unique and identifiable transit maps for a completely average watered-down version of itself. A very disappointing two stars.

Historical Map: British Airways Worldwide Route Network, 1975

March 4, 2016
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Via: airlinemaps:

A vintage British Airways worldwide map from 1975, just a year after the carrier was just created through the merger of BOAC and British European Airways (BEA).

This map is a fantastic airline-meets-railway design that could be on the Transit Maps blog. Routes to destinations connect to main trunk lines that by and far lead to London, more like the current British National Rail map than an airline route map. By not including any landmasses, BA can (and does) divorce itself from geographic logic and shows routes as it sees fit.

This is not the easiest map for a passenger to follow. BA did publish a more airline-network style map with the above diagram.

Compare it to this 1936 Imperial Airways map on Transit Maps.

Possibly one of the most abstract transportation maps I’ve ever seen, although I do find it quite visually pleasing with the strict usage of only three different angles. Working out exactly where in the world your destination is located is a bit of  challenge, though…

Source: mpar21 on Flickr

Historical Map: Bus Map of Tokyo, c. 1950

March 4, 2016
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Not a lot of geographical context here, although the central hub is pretty easy to discern. Does good work differentiating lines with a limited colour palette. Can anyone translate the legend at right that shows dashed/thin/thick lines? Is this an early attempt at frequency mapping?

Note: Thanks to all who have told me that the lines are thick for express routes, thin for normal routes, and dashed for “special” routes. So it’s service mapping, not frequency.

Source: Old Tokyo

Historical Map: Poster Promoting the Bakerloo Line Extension to Stanmore, 1939

March 4, 2016
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By the mid-1930s, the London Underground’s Metropolitan line was suffering from congestion caused by the limited capacity of its tracks between Baker Street and Finchley Road stations. To relieve this pressure, a tunnel was constructed between the Bakerloo line’s platforms at Baker Street and Finchley Road and three Metropolitan line stations (Lord’s, Marlborough Road and Swiss Cottage) were replaced with two new Bakerloo stations (St. John’s Wood and Swiss Cottage). The Bakerloo line took over the Metropolitan line’s service to Stanmore on 20 November 1939, as noted on the poster.

The poster itself is a striking piece of graphic design, with bold colours, rough brushed typography and an unusual black variant of the famous roundel with the circle and bar separated from each other. The style of Beck’s diagram (then only 6 years old) is referenced, but not copied faithfully. Interestingly, the typeface used seems to be closer to Gill Sans than Johnston.

Source: London Transport Museum collection

Update: The City of Luxembourg Adopts Jug Cerovic’s Bus Map!

March 3, 2016
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Jug writes:

Hi Cameron, I have got some great news from the “maps as works of art” front:

Since yesterday Luxembourg has a brand new official bus map! Since last summer I have been working with the City of Luxembourg to adapt my map to their particular needs and now it is going live.

The main features of the map are:

  • Geographic centre/schematic outskirts
  • The pentagonal Old Town (Ville Haute) as a symbolic landmark in the center of the map
  • All line angles are multiples of 18°, relating to the pentagon
  • Frequencies: Thick line = high frequency, thin line = low frequency
  • On the central corridor the lines are grouped by common direction and their frequencies are added. 19 lines turn into only 5, simpler to understand and navigate.
  • Information hierarchy: bright colors for main lines, light colors for secondary tangent network.
  • Cityscape: remarkable buildings, bridges, parks…

I am particularly happy and proud today, I finally managed to have a city adopt my map and seeing it on bus stations makes me full of joy 🙂

Transit Maps says:

A victory indeed, and one that I feel that I played at least a very small part in (as I wrote about both the terrible old map and Jug’s original alternative version before the story was picked up by other media both here in the States and in Luxembourg). 

Still, the real credit here goes to Jug’s beautiful work and to the City of Luxembourg officials who saw that he had a better solution for their bus riders and worked with him to bring things to fruition. 

Looking at the final map, it’s great to see how little has changed from Jug’s initial concept – a different typeface, some corrections to a few routes, a couple of colour changes and the addition of parks and some notable buildings. And I have to say that the map looks fantastic when installed in the bus stations, as seen in the photo above.

Congratulations to all involved!

Illustrations of the design process on Jug’s website (a must see!)