
Architect Has Painstakingly Standardized the World's Subway Maps (2014) - BerislavLopac
https://www.citylab.com/design/2014/04/architect-has-painstakingly-standardized-worlds-subway-maps/8843/
======
nostromo
I always love a new map, and I can only judge New York City, but for that
city, this isn't an improvement.

It'd be fine in Manhattan, but it makes it look like the Queens and Brooklyn
lines are super close, even walkable, when in fact they're miles apart.

Someone may look at this map and (correctly) think that walking from the 4 to
the N in Manhattan is easy, so you can also walk from the J in Brooklyn to the
R in Queens, which would be, I don't know, at least an hour's walk.

I think it's prioritizing aesthetic beauty over function.

~~~
mellosouls
_I think it 's prioritizing aesthetic beauty over function._

This style of map is not intended to be used as a walking guide or you would
be correct.

They are for determining the simplest way of getting from station A to station
B _once you are on the train._

I think you are aware of that so representing the other "walking" world within
this one is essentially breaking an axiom of that intent, like asking for a 2D
map that represents 3 dimensions.

~~~
Atheros
But our goal isn't to get to a different station- it's to get from our origin
to our destination. Previous studies of how people try to navigate have shown
that people make heavy use of landmarks like parks which is why the MTAs map
shows parks and major streets. Passengers also take into account how the train
feels to be moving which this map doesn't convey. If the train obviously feels
to turn left but the map doesn't show it, passengers get anxious.

His current map version: [https://www.inat.fr/metro/new-
york/](https://www.inat.fr/metro/new-york/)

There are other problems with this map that demonstrate to me at least that
the designer simply hasn't put as much thought into the design as the MTA.
Some examples:

\- Suppose I am on the Lexington Ave line and I want to know if my train (a 4
train) will stop at Astor place. I see a dot but no labels. So I start
searching down the map for what the dot means. Eventually two green lines
becomes one green line. What does that mean? I give up and start scanning
upward and see that one line is for the 4/5 and the other line is for the 6. I
finally have my answer. The MTAs map just tells me what trains stop at Astor
place.

\- This map implies that there are free transfers to the Path train when in
fact there is not.

\- This map implies that I can transfer between the 8th and 7th ave lines at
Penn Station when in fact I can not.

\- Is my Q train going to stop at 49th st in Manhattan? No one knows. That's
just a minor design problem that was caused by a lack of space. The lack of
space was caused by the designer's decision to illustrate lines individually.

~~~
Sniffnoy
The map doesn't seem to show the free out-of-system transfers between Inwood
207th St and the nearby 1 stops, either.

Edit: Although oddly it _does_ show the one between Lexington Ave/63rd St and
Lexington Ave/59th St. Huh. I figured the designer just missed the existence
of out-of-system transfers, but no, they just missed that particular set of
them.

------
Mirioron
I find these maps difficult to use if I'm in a new city. I have to essentially
guess which station corresponds to which real world location to plan my trip.
Luckily, Google maps can account for that, so only station names become
important. At that point, the subway map itself is pointless though.

~~~
gmueckl
That is why you need two maps: a geographical map with station locations
marked to see which stations are close and the structural map of the routes to
determine how to get to the target station you picked in step 1.

~~~
kevindong
Alternatively, just use (Google Maps/Apple Maps/City Mapper/Transit/et al.)'s
routing.

Their routing will generally be better than what most locals could come up
with. Although I have noticed that Google Maps tends to assume that
transferring between lines has an effectively-zero wait time which is far from
the truth in most cases.

------
munk-a
I really dislike the style of these maps, the lettering is so sparse and
modern that it's hard to read compare his map
[http://www.inat.fr/metro/boston/](http://www.inat.fr/metro/boston/) to
[https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/maps/2019-04-08-rap...](https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/maps/2019-04-08-rapid-
transit-key-bus-routes-map-v33.pdf) is the latter a cluttered mess? Oh heck
yea, but it sure is legible - the map he produced is unreadable at the zoom
level required to view the full thing on 2550x1440... and legibility is like
the whole point.

~~~
gherkinnn
I much prefer the “new” map. I’ve never been to Boston. I know nothing about
it’s layout.

When I give myself to go from, say, Wonderland to Braintree, the new one
performs better for a few reasons:

\- the names of the important nodes are more prominent

\- the lines are less prominent, there’s no need for them to be so overbearing

\- the multi-coloured train stations give me a reduced hint as to which lines
stop there

\- for some reason, and I can’t put my finger on it, I find that I can more
easily create a mental model of the city. While the actual map makes me feel
like a mouse im a labyrinth, scurrying around, never knowing the overall
picture.

~~~
ghaff
Ref thinner lines in particular though, one of the trade offs is that
information has been removed. For example, which Green Line trains make stops
where. Also the connection between Park and Downtown Crossing is no longer
labeled leaving us to wonder what it is. There are other examples as well.

------
chadlavi
I can only speak to my local system, but the NYC subway map there is a
travesty. Everything outside Manhattan is more wildly inaccurate than even the
Vignelli maps of the 60s and 70s. I would expect tourists to get much more
lost with this map than with the current standard.

~~~
chadlavi
this version from his site is somewhat better, at least it recognizes that
there's water south and east of Brooklyn: [https://www.inat.fr/metro/new-
york/](https://www.inat.fr/metro/new-york/)

------
jandrese
It's a bit weird that the map also includes a few lines that aren't subway
lines. For example, on the DC map there are a few bus lines listed as well as
the light inter-city commuter trains. Its also not clear at a glance which is
which when looking at the map. While the extra info is nice to have, people
are going to be looking around for subway lines that don't exist.

The maps really need a legend. The font is also way too small. If this were
posted in place of the regular metro map in the subway, I'd have to stand up
and walk over to it to read it. Older people would be pulling out their
magnifiers.

------
nkrisc
The Chicago map not only includes the CTA (the "subway"), but commuter rail
lines in the city as well (Metra). This is actually a very useful feature,
especially for people using these lines coming _in_ to the city as there are
multiple places you can make a direct transfer to the CTA.

Perhaps there are maps targeted to tourists or suburbanites that show it, but
none I've ever seen as clearly as this:
[http://www.inat.fr/metro/chicago/](http://www.inat.fr/metro/chicago/)

~~~
gok
It's pretty but it would be more useful if it included bus lines, which gets
more ridership than the L and Metra combined.

~~~
nkrisc
True, but then it starts to get more complicated as well. The full system CTA
maps found at a lot of station and some bus stops are actually very nice, in
my opinion. If I recall correctly I've even seen some that show a circular
area around the map's location that represents one mile to give you an idea of
what's in walking distance around the station.

------
BerislavLopac
For actual physical maps, check out
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21817906](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21817906)

------
rudiv
Aww, no Delhi? We got hella urban rail. Although I guess a large proportion
has opened after 2014.

~~~
BerislavLopac
Here: [http://www.inat.fr/metro/delhi/](http://www.inat.fr/metro/delhi/)

------
anotheryou
Some changes are quite bold.

In Berlin the station "Hansaplatz" changed sides of the other train track.

inat: [https://i.imgur.com/rRAO7TG.png](https://i.imgur.com/rRAO7TG.png)

google maps:
[https://i.imgur.com/xF5K56x.png](https://i.imgur.com/xF5K56x.png)

(get's rid of the kink in the orange line though:
[https://i.imgur.com/PNUbe80.png](https://i.imgur.com/PNUbe80.png) )

I personally just miss the river as a main landmark.

------
whalesalad
Cam Booth does a lot of similar work. I have one of his DC Metro prints framed
in my home office: [https://www.cambooth.net/project-washington-dc-metro-
map/](https://www.cambooth.net/project-washington-dc-metro-map/)

Here is the final product, [http://cambooth.net/store/product/washington-dc-
metrorail/](http://cambooth.net/store/product/washington-dc-metrorail/)

------
jon_richards
Does the subway map graphing technique of placing overlapping lines adjacent
to each other have a name?

A while back I was graphing multiple time-series with discrete times and
values, but I got frustrated by how illegible the overlapping sections were. I
tried to find a subway-map-style algorithm to solve the issue, but didn’t
really know what to search for.

I imagine the algorithm itself is relatively complex. Minimizing the number of
crossovers is almost certainly NP hard.

------
Ididntdothis
One big problem with public transportation is that most systems are not very
accessible to newcomers so people often revert back to car because it’s easier
(at least i do). It would be nice to have an app that for systems worldwide
can tell you how to get from point A to point B at a certain time, how to buy
tickets, where stations are and so on. So far google maps is the best from
what I have seen but it still isn’t prefect.

~~~
luxcem
Citymapper is really close to that at least in Europe.

~~~
bjelkeman-again
I tried some really simple things for Stockholm, that I know well. The public
transport options are way off. 95 minutes instead of 30 or so.

~~~
dmitriid
For Stockholm you want "Res i Sthlm" or SL.se's own app/web site.

They use SL's (Stockholm's Public Transport) own APIs and data, so it's always
up-to-date, even with minute disruptions on the lines.

~~~
bjelkeman-again
Agreed. I should have said it.

------
izzydata
I love the way subway maps look. I would really like to download the higher
resolution images, but they appear to be 404.

~~~
BerislavLopac
You can find them on the actual site:
[http://www.inat.fr/maps/](http://www.inat.fr/maps/)

~~~
izzydata
Thanks. These images are very large which is great. The Paris one was
5000x5000 pixels.

------
strikelaserclaw
they look beautiful but does anyone actually use these maps? seems like
something an app can do pretty easily.

~~~
TurkishPoptart
If they are posted at the metro station and within carriages, I sure as hell
would. I don't want to use my phone for _everything_, especially if what I
want to see can be mass produced on a piece of paper.

~~~
Mirioron
But you'd have to guess which station is where, because the map isn't
necessarily representative of it.

------
dininski
I have a funny piece of trivia for you. The name of the project struck me as a
little weird. And given how labour intensive this would be it is kind of
fitting tho. Oh - inat means spite/stubborn in Serbian.

------
Nr7
Calling this just a metro/subway map seems incorrect at least in Helsinki's
case. Its map seems to also contain all tram, commuter train and even a couple
of main bus lines.

------
blackearl
They have changes explained if you click into a map. I was wondering how Paris
had such a perfect circle line, but it was changed to be prettier and more
symbolic. Still neat!

------
clairity
no LA, but SF bay area is here: [http://www.inat.fr/metro/san-francisco-bay-
area/](http://www.inat.fr/metro/san-francisco-bay-area/)

------
gbraad
Beijing is an old map as it lacks many new lines. Besides, that is what the
map basically looked like to begin with... Not much improvement.

~~~
et-al
The article is from 2014, and the map is also from 2014. However you can find
the Oct 2019 Beijing map here:
[http://www.inat.fr/metro/beijing/](http://www.inat.fr/metro/beijing/)

But I agree that for Beijing, Inat doesn't offer much improvement aside from
whitespace--which may not be desired when you're optimising for information
density. However from personal experience, their combined version of the Tokyo
systems was better than anything else.

