This is the first of three posts regarding current transit maps in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. All are part of a unified set of maps (all of which use the interesting framing device of stylised buildings and trams, which I can’t decide if I think is playfully irreverent or just plain stupid) and provide interesting lessons on how much information is “just right” for a transit map to be really useful. This […]
In a tram in Karlsruhe, Germany. Source: mostlybytrain/Flickr
Here’s a seriously impressive piece of work by Arthur de Wolf that I came across while trawling Flickr. This map shows transportation options at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida – monorail, bus, water transportation, parking lot trams, even walking routes between transportation hubs. Walt Disney World Resort is the size of a small city and has a transportation system that puts many of them to shame. Bringing order and sense to this system […]
Budapest boasts the second oldest underground metro line in the world: its Line 1 (Yellow Line) dates from 1896 and was added the the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2002. Only the London Underground predates it. Wikipedia also claims (without attribution, unfortunately) that Budapest’s comprehensive tram service has the busiest “traditional city tram line” in the world where tram lines 4 and 6 combine, with the world’s longest passenger trams (54-metre long Siemens Combino units) […]
One of the things I love about running this blog is when amateur map designers send me their work for review. The quality of these maps is often amazing, and this one of Istanbul’s rapid transit network by Istanbul native Kerim Bayer is a fantastic example. Design- and quality-wise, it far surpasses the official map (shown above for comparative purposes), which is a bit of a shambles: weird angles, muddy colours, poorly drawn and a […]
Here’s an interesting map from Nürnberg (Nuremberg) in Germany that uses 30-degree angles instead of the usual 45. There doesn’t seem to be major thematic reason as to why things have been done this way: I suspect that it’s purely to make the routes fit into the allotted space. Have we been there? Yes, in 2003. What we like: Competently done, with a visually pleasing layout and good information hierarchy – the U-Bahn and tram […]
Not every transit map conforms to the Beck-inspired 45-degree angles norm. Many of these maps choose instead to be more geographically accurate, but some – such as this example from Marseille, France – veer towards the surreal, with routes careening crazily all over the place with little sense of aesthetics or clarity. Have we been there? I spent half an hour at Marseille St. Charles waiting for a train to Nice, but haven’t ventured out […]
In general, I hold European transit maps in better regard than maps from other parts of the world. Crisp, clear European graphic design and transit maps just seem to be made for each other! Of course, there’s always exceptions to the rule, and this map from the Compagnie des Transports Strasbourgeois (CTS) in Strasbourg, France is one of those exceptions. Have we been there? Yes, in December 2003. I found the trams pretty easy to […]
It’s been a while since Transit Maps featured an historical map, so here’s one from my city of Portland, Oregon. This charming map was produced by the Portland Traction Company in 1943: check out their nifty monogram in the photo set. While it’s labelled as a “trolley map” of Portland, it actually marks a point in time where streetcars and trolley buses were being replaced with cheaper to operate buses, and transit as a whole […]
Requested by clubmaintenant. Another fine example of a multimodal map, this time from Lyon, France. This map shows Métro, tram, bus and funicular service, as well as indications of connections to SNCF mainline train services in a map that wears its London Underground influences on its sleeve. Have we been there? No. What we like: Lovely clear layout, with almost all lines reduced to horizontals or verticals – only a few 45-degree route lines are […]
