Submitted by Elliott, who says: I’ve been a fan of your work for a while now, and thought I’d submit my own work for judgement. I’ve had a crack at designing a map for an as-yet non-existent tram and bus network for Bristol, UK, a city in dire need of reliable, integrated public transport. It would operate as a network of 19 tram lines in and around the urban area of Bristol, with five ‘metrobus’ […]
Here’s a map from a rarely-seen era of Portland, Oregon’s transit history – the period of time between the end of the streetcar era and the emergence of the current transit operator, TriMet in 1969. The Rose City Transit Company (with their lovely casual script logo and friendly “Rosy” nickname) operated bus service within the Portland city limits from 1956 until TriMet was formed. Under RTC’s watch, the last of Portland’s trolleybuses were phased out […]
LA Metro opened the first operating segment of the K Line today, and there’s a new map to go along with it! As we haven’t reviewed this map since 2016 (when the Expo Line extension to Santa Monica opened!), it’s high time for a new look. The first thing I noticed is how this version of the map seems to be a point-by-point correction of the perceived flaws that I noted in that 2016: the […]
Submitted by Leo, who says: Hello! I’m a transportation planning student and longtime fan of your blog, and wanted to submit this map from the twin cities of Zlín and Otrokovice in Moravia in the Czech Republic. The cities have a long history as company towns for the Baťa shoe company and have a very different pattern of urban development than other cities in the region. The region, set in a valley, was planned reflecting […]
A very handsome map of transportation services in the greater Kansas City area from 1941. A nicely subdued olive street grid is overlaid by the route lines – colour-coded by mode (black for streetcars, blue and red for bus lines, and a lovely aqua for trolleybuses). Areas of interest are called out in bright yellow, so this looks like a six-colour print job – quite a luxury in 1941! There’s also a great downtown inset, […]
Having looked at a highly-successful isometric-style diagram yesterday, here’s one that’s nowhere near as accomplished despite sharing many of the same design elements. A major factor is that Wales has a a distinctive and recognisable shape that aids in locating major towns, while the Grand Est region is very indistinct and blobby. The simplified shape used on the diagram isn’t actually much like the real world, so it’s not that useful for locating places. Highlighting […]
Submitted by James, who says: Hello there! The last time you reviewed a map of mine was in 2015 [See review here – Cam]. Since then I’ve moved houses, had several new jobs, and been through a pandemic. I’ve recently been reworking a map of the Welsh rail network, based on a 2:1 triangular grid, using Affinity Designer which has continued to improve. You will see there are some clear design factors in the diagram. […]
As you might know, I’ve just got back from a week in Grand Canyon National Park, with three days spent below the rim hiking from the South Kaibab trailhead down to the Colorado River and back up again via the Bright Angel trail. It truly was a challenging but wonderful experience, and there’s some photos to savour at the end of the post. While I was in the park, I was heartened to see that […]
A charming map of streetcar services – and a few of those newfangled gas buses! – in central Baltimore from 1929. Points of interest are clearly illustrated, and the map is surrounded by vignettes of life and architecture in this “historic, pleasant, thriving city”. A prominent cartouche proclaims that “STREET CARS and BUSES in Baltimore go wherever there is anything to see…” and little streetcars have been drawn running along major thoroughfares. As a side […]
Submitted by Tiago, who says: Here’s the official bus map of Leiria, a small Portuguese city with around 50,000 people living inside its urban perimeter. In my opinion, this map is a mess and completely useless since I was never able to use it while riding the bus. Although it gives us an idea of the lines, it has too little information and it’s too confusing. What do you think? Transit Maps says: I’m with […]
