Submission - Official Map: Chicago “L” Map, Dan Ryan Branch Closure, 2013

Submitted by Ryan, who says:

Chicago’s updated CTA map. The Red Line is closed for 5 months between Cermak/Chinatown and 95th so there are now shuttle buses shown along with Red rerouting along green. Green also has a new Rush Hour route around the loop. A new transfer is also shown between Red and Blue at Lake and Washington (although this transfer requires a person to leave the station and walk a couple blocks to the other). 

What do you think?

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Transit Maps says:

Aesthetically, there’s very little difference between this map and the version I reviewed way back in October 2011 (3 stars): everything that was good abut that version still holds true, and its faults remain much the same as well.

However, as a prompt informational update for what promises to be a difficult few months for “L” riders in Chicago’s south, the map works effectively. The affected section of the Red Line is clearly shown, as is the rerouting of the southern leg of the Red Line along the Ashland Branch of the Green Line. Bus shuttle services that replace much of the Dan Ryan branch’s operations are also indicated, although an idea of service frequency for these buses would be nice — do the buses run as frequently as the trains used to, should riders allow extra travel time, that sort of thing.

The real test of this map will be its deployment, I feel. It’s probably unrealistic to expect every “L” map in Chicago to be replaced by this temporary version, so it’s important that this map is put in places where the highest number of affected riders will see it and understand the changes to the system.

(Source: Transit Chicago (CTA) website)

University of Virginia University Transit Service (UTS) Map

Submitted by Justin Tran, who says:

This is a redesign I did of the University of Virginia’s University Transit Service (UTS) map. You can see the original here. It won’t be live until permanent repairs are done to a certain bridge on Grounds that has vastly detoured more than half of these routes.

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Transit Maps says:

This is pretty nice work here from Justin. It’s definitely been hugely influenced by the London Underground map, but works nicely in this context. I do think that the single-direction bus stop “ticks” are a little clever for their own good and rely on referring to the map’s legend a little too much to understand them fully. Something as integral to a transit map as a bus stop shouldn’t really need any further explanation to be able to understand it. A small arrow indicating which direction of travel the bus stop serves is the usual approach to this problem.

For the most part, the map looks great, although some of the curves could flow a bit better, especially around the hospital on the middle right of the map and on the orange University Loop line around the stadium.

Our rating: A solid effort that wears its influences on its sleeve. Overthinks the problem a bit, affecting usability slightly. Three stars.

P.S. As an aside, the geographically accurate map that Justin links to (PDF) is also pretty darn good.

Unofficial Map: Dallas-Fort Worth Rail Transit by Gabe Tiberius Columbo

Gabe says:

I’ve been frustrated with the Dallas rail map for a while, and decided to make a comprehensive diagram of Dallas-Fort Worth rail trainsit.

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Transit Maps says:

Simply put, this is a beautiful diagrammatic map and is far more visually attractive than the official DART map (August 2012, 3 stars). There’s a very elegant, restrained feeling to this: from the subtle grey background and typography to some excellent, slightly unusual colour choices for the route lines that work really nicely together. The way the Green and Orange lines interact with the Red and Blue is exactly what I wanted to see in the official map, and this treatment looks so much cleaner.

One could make a case for the inclusion of a few geographical features or major highways to give a better sense of scale and location, but — purely for route finding — the map doesn’t really need them, in my opinion.

The map’s not totally perfect: I don’t see a need for the smaller type for station names on the TRE and A-Train services: the thinner route lines already differentiate them from the main DART services, and the smaller type is somewhat harder to read. By the time we get down to the Amtrak routes and the M-Line Trolley, the type is almost ridiculously small.

There’s also a typo in the legend that references the “Fort Worth Transportaion Authority”.

Our rating: Excellent work that takes a completely different approach to the official map and does it very well. Four stars.

Historical Map: Bay Area Connections Map, 1981

Submitted by Alex Jonlin, who says:

I saw this at the Fremont BART Station a couple weeks ago. It’s labeled (in tiny print at the top) “September 1981.” I have no idea how it ended up staying for so long, but it’s interesting to see how the transit system has changed since then. I also like the concept of depicting long-distance rail and long-distance buses just about the same - it shows people that the Bay Area’s transit network extends beyond where just the BART and Caltrain go.

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Transit Maps says:

Another fine entry in the “hopelessly out-of-date map” genre — 31 years and still counting!

This really is one of my favourite categories of transit maps. So much so, that I’ve introduced a new tag just for them: out of date. This applies to maps that are still located at active stops or vehicles only — maps in transit museums or used as movie/TV show props don’t count. Anyone got any examples from their local transit system?

Submission: Hamburger Hochbahn Ceiling Map, 1915

Submitted by themallefitz, who says: 

This is a transit map of the Hamburger Hochbahn (subway / elevated railway) from 1915. it was painted on the ceiling of the wagons.

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Transit Maps says:

This. Is. So. Beautiful.

Submitted by Cedric Krummes, who says:

Shot of the Leipzig Transport Authority Map (Germany). I was waiting for the Number 9 back to the Hauptbahnhof where I would take the Number 15.

Notice the Circle: suggesting the ring road in the city centre but maybe also trying to be like the Moscow Metro - Leipzig WAS part of the German Democratic Republic after all…

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Great photo of a well-worn map, Cedric. You can definitely see how this map benefits from being reproduced at a large size: as I commented in my review of this map (January 2012, 4 stars), this map is very detailed and information-dense and needs some time to absorb propoerly.

Unofficial Map: Live Map of London Underground Trains

Submitted by Travertine Libertine without comment.

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Transit Maps says:

Created by Matthew Somerville.

Totally hypnotic after a while as all those little yellow train dots start racing around (it kind of reminds me of a mash-up between the Scotland Yard board game and the original Railroad Tycoon). Childhood reminiscing done, it really is amazing what can be done with raw data pulled via an API these days. Stuff like this is the future of transit information.

Submission - Fantasy Map: Louisville, Kentucky Light Rail Map

Submitted by stupidgit, who says:

Hello!  I’m very much new to Illustrator, but I have a love of transit and a budding love of graphic design, and reading your wonderful blog has inspired me to try and pick it up.  For practice, I tried turning one of my childhood daydreams into reality — a hypothetical map for a light rail system for my hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.  Louisville is a notoriously anti-transit town with just a subpar bus system to its name, and it would be great if I could possibly use this map to start some dialogue back home and get people thinking about the possibility again.  Any suggestions for improving either the map or the system idea itself (if you’re familiar with Louisville) would be greatly appreciated!

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Transit Maps says:

Not being familiar with Louisville at all, I can’t really comment much on your ideas behind the system, except to say that it looks plausible — if expensive — to build.

The map itself is a solid, workmanlike effort. I like the slightly unusual use of 30/60-degree angles, which seems to fit the actual layout of the city well (at least, from what a quick look at Google Maps tells me), and the general design is fairly clean and uncluttered.

I think the number of directional arrows you use in the downtown area is overkill — use either station icons with arrows or arrows between the stations, not both. If you do use arrows between stations, I really don’t think you need an arrow between every station: one strategically located along each straight section of track should be enough to remind your users which way they’re going. There’s also an error with the arrow on 2nd Avenue between Oak and Magnolia: it should point north, not south.

I find the Interstates are a little too light to make them out easily, and they could perhaps be handled a little more stylishly and also simplified more. The jog in I-65 north of I-264 seems a little unnecessarily detailed to me.

Here’s a few questions for you to consider:

Do we actually need to see the runways at the airport? What benefit does showing them give the users of the map?

Would showing the northern bank of the river give a little more geographic context? I find that it looks more like a lake at present. Could you simplify its shape by using the same 30/60 degree angles used elsewhere? This could bring a unifying design element to the map.

How can you make your station labeling more consistent? I’ve never really been a huge fan of multiple angles to make things fit. Your map is very open and spacious, there could be other alternative ways of doing it.

Finally, “Home of the Innocents” is possibly the most awesome name for a light rail stop ever.

Submission — Unofficial Historical Map: Los Angeles Pacific Electric Railway Diagram, 1917

Drawn and submitted by Sam Huddy, who says:

Pacific Electric: Challenge Accepted!

Cameron,

When I read your disappointment on the uselessness of that beautiful map of the Pacific Electric at its peak in 1917 (not 1920), I wondered if it was possible to create a simplified London Underground-style map. With over a hundred routes it seemed impossible, but after several attempts, this was my end result. Any further information is on the map itself.

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Transit Maps says:

Basically, this is incredible. An absolute model of simplicity and clarity of information, and it’s all drawn by hand onto some graph paper!

Breaking the multitude of routes up simply by their final downtown destination — either 6th and Main or 4th and Hill — works very well, and the “local services” insets are perfect for a map of this colossal scale: local route information can be easily found by those who need it, but those routes don’t clog the main map up with tiny detail, either. Perhaps the location of the inset boxes could be called out on the main map to aid those unfamiliar with the area, but that’s a very minor quibble.

As an added bonus, Sam has even dated the original map more precisely than any other source that I’ve seen. “Circa 1920” is now definitively dated to 1917, because his research found that some of the shuttle lines shown on this map and the original were abandoned after then.

Our rating: I feel like I could take this sketch and turn it into final computer-generated artwork in less than a day, it’s that good. Astounding work! Four-and-a-half stars!

(Source: Sam Huddy — Check the map out BIG on Flickr to see all the details!)