Submitted by Isaac Fischer, who says:
The New Mexico Rail Runner has two versions of the system map. This version (a few years old; the Montaño station is now open) is my favorite – I definitely approve of Rio Metro’s design style. However, I have a few issues: first, the thin, gray lines shown in the background are bus routes. Since the train route is presented as a straight line, this makes it difficult to make the bus routes correspond to the train. (Albuquerque is all right, but in Santa Fe they had to rotate the entire bus network, and they had to make NM-599 a horseshoe shape.) What do you think of the map? And what do you think of the conflict between the linear route and the actual geography?
Transit Maps says:
Interestingly, the New Mexico Rail Runner website serves up two completely different system maps depending on whether you access the site on a desktop computer or a mobile device.
This is the “mobile” map, and while it makes sense to have a simpler map for smartphones/tablets, it’s never a great idea to have an out of date map (like this one) on one platform but not on the other (the “desktop” map shows the open Montaño station). It’s also arguable as to whether this map is actually simpler. It does have a nice straight route line (which is great in theory but spoiled somewhat by the hackneyed “railroad track” effect applied to the path), but the road grid/bus routes behind each stop are simply ludicrous. They’re of absolutely no use at all and simply serve to add background clutter to the map. The connecting bus service icons already do the necessary work, and they could be further enhanced with the addition of route numbers instead of the ridiculous background web of bus routes.
Speaking of the icons, they could really use some work to simplify and differentiate them from each other. Three very similar bus icons and three very similar shuttle icons don’t make for immediate comprehension. And what is that superimposed over the casino shuttle icon? I’m guessing poker chips based on context, but visually it could be just about anything circular. The circular shapes are all of 8 pixels high on the final map – simplify, simplify, simplify!
Our rating: I’m certainly not as happy with this as Isaac is, as I feel that the designer has taken something very simple and overworked it a bit. The end result is tolerable, but there’s a lot of unnecessary background noise and visual clutter. Two-and-a-half stars.
Source: Rio Metro mobile website