While we’re talking about the Flatiron Flyer, I do like this simple little interactive map on the RTD website about the project. You simply click on your start and end destinations and it tells you which route(s) you can catch and what your fare options are. Neat! (Again, I think that the numbering would have worked better if the current FF5 had slid down to be FF3, moving FF3 and FF4 up one spot each, […]
Submitted by Steve Mohan, who says: RTD just began Service on the Flatiron Flyer, which is a basically a rebranding of all the Denver-Boulder routes. As part of this, they updated the timetables system-wide to include a map of the route. Because they’re selling this as BRT, they’ve added this rail-like route map. Personally, I like it. It’s simple and easy to read. The color coding of each route corresponds to the color of the […]
Submitted by xoverit, who says: I found this interesting thing inside of the 5 August 1935 Michigan Official Motor Bus Guide. It’s not a particularly good or notable map, but the logo of the Eastern Michigan System was obviously inspired by the London Underground! Transit Maps says: I’d say you’re almost certainly right… the “bullseye” (as it was called in those days, though it’s now commonly referred to as the “roundel”) was seized upon by transit agencies […]
It’s always fun to do a “before and after” comparison, and here’s a fantastic example of how a well-drawn diagrammatic map can offer enhanced system legibility over a more geographically-based map. The old map (top), dating from October 2014, is pretty terrible work. Towns and cities are in the right geographical location, but are simply joined by straight lines, which creates a difficult-to-read “spider web” of interconnecting and overlapping routes. Rail lines are shown as both purple […]
Sent my way by Nick Stylianou, here’s a map out of Melbourne, Victoria designed to support a major revamp of weekend night time transit in and around that city. For me, this piece continues a worrying recent trend of night service maps that have poor contrast and legibility, simply for the sake of pushing a dark “night” colour theme. This one even has freakin’ stars in the background, which is starting to verge on the ridiculous. […]
Submitted by Miles Taylor, who says: Here’s the system “diagram” of the TST bus system south of Lisbon in Portugal. It’s impossible to tell what any of the routes are since they’re all just blue lines zigzagging across the map. Not to mention the place names are in comic sans. Ugh. Transit Maps says: The only – and I do mean only – saving grace for this map is that it appears on the same web […]
Submitted by ruddlesrocket, who says: What do you think of this? I think it’s probably the worst map that TfL produce, having neither the benefits of geographically accurate maps (it’s difficult to know what streets the buses run along), and diagrammatic maps, in that it’s almost impossible to trace the route taken by one bus. Transit Maps says: I totally agree with this assessment! I’ll never understand why some night service maps completely eschew the principles […]
Submitted by Nicholas, who says: Please take a look at the transit map of Geneva ! It’s beautiful. It includes streetcars and all buses. Transit Maps says: Okay, Nicholas, I will! I even know who designed this map: it’s a collaboration between designer Andrea Forgacs and architect Oscar Buson, and seems to be part of a suite of maps that include the urban core (this map), the greater suburban area, a night services map and […]
This brand new map was sent my way by quite a few people last week, so here it is! If the name “Ilya Birman” sounds familiar, it’s because his map of the Moscow Metro came second in the design competition a few years ago that was eventually won by Art Lebedev Studios. I wrote about Ilya’s entry here at the time. Now, Ilya and designer Alexander Karavaev have turned their attention to the tram network […]
We all know that I love a good cutaway diagram, and this example – drawn by Italian architect and urban designer, Renzo Picasso (no relation) – is just superb. Drawn in 1929, coinciding with the opening of Charles Holden’s sub-surface circular booking hall which replaced the original 1906 above-ground Leslie Green-designed station building. The unusual perspective, halfway between the platform level and the (invisible) roads above, permits a wonderful level of clarity in the drawing. […]
