Transit Maps has been keeping an eye on this project for quite some time now: I reviewed an earlier version of this map way back in January 2012, noting that it held a lot of promise for the future. At the time, Viteks was hopeful that he could get his map adopted as Riga’s official transit map. While that hasn’t quite happened yet, he’s definitely set himself up as an excellent alternative to the (pretty […]
Sent my way via a comment left on the website regarding the woeful map of Szeged, Hungary (Sept. 2013, 0.5 stars), here’s another truly awful transit map from Hungary: this one from its second-largest city, Debrecen. In short, it’s an absolute disaster. Route lines branch off in any direction (no constraining angles to 45-degree increments for this bad boy!), while labels are jammed in wherever they can fit, at any old angle. The labelling is […]
At first glance, this appears to be a basic map outlining tram and trolleybus routes within Shanghai’s International Settlement, dated December 1939. It’s only when you read the legend that you start to realise the greater historical context of this map. The statement that accompanies the dotted route lines in the legend simply states “No service in operation at present due to circumstances beyond the company’s control” – an massive understatement of the volatile situation in Shanghai […]
transporteconomics: This is an aerial view of surface public transport routes in Budapest, Hungary – the idea came from the work of Taylor Gibson posted on Transit Maps. Following the general convention in Budapest, bus lines are blue, trams are yellow, trolleys are red, and suburban railways are shown in green. As for the direction of the image, the Danube flows approximately from the north (upper right corner) to the south (lower left corner). Elevation […]
Submitted by fuckyeahgmetro, who says: Hi, this is the official map of SzKT, the company running trams and trolley buses in the Hungarian city Szeged. I think it is in a very good place to run for the worst transit map “designed” ever! Transit Maps says: I’ll certainly agree that this map is really quite atrocious. But it’s not even really close to the very worst transit maps out there. It’s certainly a lazy, slipshod effort […]
Submitted by Halid Karpović, who says: Dear Cameron, I heard you also feature the worst transit maps on your blog – and by “worst”, I mean “worst of the worst”. If that’s right, I’d like to hear your opinion of this map by Emir Haračić. It shows the transit network of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and appears in Sarajevo Navigator, quite a popular tourist guide. Basically, I say that such a beautiful city […]
Here’s another beautiful vintage transit map, this time from Winnipeg, Canada. It’s around the same age as this great map from Portland, Oregon, and displays a similarly austere wartime aesthetic. The map is printed in just three colours (black, red and green) and – apart from some of the typography in the legend – is entirely hand-drawn and lettered. Important buildings and points of interest are all carefully and charmingly rendered, but the real winners […]
The extent of the tramway system in Perth, Australia in the 30s and 40s before it was all ripped up in 1958. Ironically, the State Government wants to build a new tram network over 50 years later. Transit Maps says: Sweet old school tram map, with routes simply and clearly overprinted in bold red on top of a street map. Perth certainly isn’t alone in rebuilding what once existed: this type of urban renewal through […]
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 […]
Yesterday morning, I got an interesting email from Viteks Bariševs in response to my assertion that transit maps rarely show completely different transit modes (bus and rail, mainly) on the same map due to their differing natures. He is working on a totally unified transit map for Riga – and that includes showing a staggering 53 bus routes, 19 trolleybus routes and 9 tram routes – a monumental task! His map certainly looks impressive, showing […]
