Seeing public transport maps in a new light

Published by Pino Bonetti on June 19, 2012

Anyone who has taken a ride on the London Underground will know the map plays it a little fast and loose with the facts. Paddington appears to be in two places at once, Bank is not, in fact, that close to Monument, and the River Thames does not flow in a series of straight lines.

Pulling together 270 stations, over 11 separate lines that sit across eight different zones, is no simple task. But unless you are Londoner yourself, you’re unlikely to know that if the Piccadilly Line is down, Covent Garden is just around the corner from Holborn or across the road from Leicester Square. Or, if you are stuck in Liverpool Street, that Moorgate is within walking distance.

This summer thousands of people are due to descend upon London, with many reliant on the Tube network to travel around the capital. A lot of London residents fear that the already busy Tube network may struggle to cope with the added passengers. What would be useful is a geographically accurate map that plots the exact location of stations, showing newcomers to the city precisely what is what and where it is possible to avoid the tube. These actually exist in many forms but London’s transport chiefs clearly prefer the schematic approach, no matter how far abstracted from geographical reality, so they are typically only discovered by map geeks.

We think that’s a shame so on maps.nokia.com users are able to activate a transport layer to view a geographically accurate map of the transport network in over 500 cities across the world. Not only will this help customers to seek alternative routes when there are delays, but it will also encourage visitors to take to the streets and view more of the incredible city that exists above ground. Why spend 15 minutes on a busy, sweaty Tube carriage when you could take a little longer and visit Trafalgar Square on the way?

We understand that most of the time people want to get from A to B as quickly as possible, which is why they can plan effectively their journey on maps.nokia.com. But we also want to show people how they can get the most out of their journey, wherever they are. And of course we’d love all feedback.

Image credit: Transport for London

Comments

  • http://conversations.nokia.com Ian Delaney

    Harry Beck’s 1931 tube map, on which the modern version is based, has many flaws, as you point out.

    However, Londoners are perversely fond of it. One reason is that it simplifies route-finding. While there’s very little relation to the overground geography, it does make working out how to get to where you want very easy.

    • http://twitter.com/haikus Pino

      Oh, don’t get me wrong, I love schematic subway maps too. I think I’m a collector of those. My favorite is the Moscow one because it looks like a spider ;-)
      But sometimes, geographically accurate public transport maps tell you different stories.

      • http://conversations.nokia.com Ian Delaney

        Very true. Another thing about Londoners is that they don’t know how to walk from A-B because their ‘internal map’ is based on the tube version.

        It took me about 10 years before I worked out how to walk between places on the two branches of the Northern Line.

        • Graham Ward

          Good point – but can I just point out that at no point does the Thames flow East-West, and that at Westminster it is flowing South-North.  Sorry to be pedantic!

    • http://twitter.com/haikus Pino

      Oh, don’t get me wrong, I love schematic subway maps too. I think I’m a collector of those. My favorite is the Moscow one because it looks like a spider ;-)
      But sometimes, geographically accurate public transport maps tell you different stories.

  • http://twitter.com/capricotwi04 Caprico

    Great article, thanks guys :)

  • http://twitter.com/capricotwi04 Caprico

    Great article, thanks guys :)

  • JasonBoss

    This article is missing very important detail.

    I don’t see anywhere “I use it with my Lumia 900″ or “Only Lumia 900 makes it possible”

    • http://twitter.com/haikus Pino

      In fact this article is focusing on our web offering at maps.nokia.com.
      However, you can see the same transit lines on Nokia Maps on your Nokia Lumia 900.

  • Graham Ward

    Nice work – this does look good.  I’ll confess to being one of those who (however perversely) loves the Beck-based map.  It doesn’t attempt to represent relative distance between stations – how can it, when the Central Line is 34 miles long, and given the extremes of neighboring stations – Leicester Sq – Covent Garden (0.16 miles, as noted above) and Chalfont & Latimer – Chesham (3.89 miles)?  It’s real beauty is in showing the connectivity of the network – even moreso given the relatively recent addition of the DLR and London Overground network (as well as the brand new cable car at Greenwich, which Nokia doesn’t yet include, and which is due to open in a couple of weeks). 
    One advantage of a geographically accurate map is the ability to  represent the proximity of stations on different lines. Regents Park and Great Portland Street are a 2 minute walk at street level – something you would never guess from looking at the traditional map.

  • Graham Ward

    Nice work – this does look good.  I’ll confess to being one of those who (however perversely) loves the Beck-based map.  It doesn’t attempt to represent relative distance between stations – how can it, when the Central Line is 34 miles long, and given the extremes of neighboring stations – Leicester Sq – Covent Garden (0.16 miles, as noted above) and Chalfont & Latimer – Chesham (3.89 miles)?  It’s real beauty is in showing the connectivity of the network – even moreso given the relatively recent addition of the DLR and London Overground network (as well as the brand new cable car at Greenwich, which Nokia doesn’t yet include, and which is due to open in a couple of weeks). 
    One advantage of a geographically accurate map is the ability to  represent the proximity of stations on different lines. Regents Park and Great Portland Street are a 2 minute walk at street level – something you would never guess from looking at the traditional map.

  • Nokkedout

    As a Londoner I am also very fond of the Beck map, acknowledged as a design masterpiece. Funnily enough the underground link between Bank and Monument is pretty much to scale, having walked it many times. As a south Londoner, I note that the Nokia Transport app still does not include the overland national rail routes we all rely on, instead instructing me to get buses to places. I would advise anyone using the London network on their Nokia Lumia phones to use the Transport For London site via their browsers. Londoners use this site all the time, especially as it flags up any problems on the vast network,

  • http://twitter.com/davemccourt Dave McCourt

    Looking at both options at full scale, for example if I was journey planning, the schematic wins easily: it is much clearer and all stations are listed. Plus it shows the zones which are important.

    Whilst the Nokia map is a useful addition it completely misses the point of the simplicity of the schematic version. You may not know that the original Tube maps where geographically accurate but they didn’t work because of the problem of scale and people found them confusing.

  • http://twitter.com/haikus Pino

    Thank you @twitter-12023072:disqus, @google-aa3f8c7e3ff3a43989e57846ce16bf77:disqus, @Nokkedout:disqus and everyone else for the overwhelming feedback!

    First of all, you have to know that I love schematic maps too. I think it’s also a cultural thing. I’m European and I’m used to schematic maps in London, Paris, Berlin, Moscow (my fav)… This means that I see the added value of these maps.

    Last year however I was discussing with an American friend of mine the topic of geographically accurate transport maps. He lives in NYC and he’s used to a map that shows under which streets the subway runs (http://www.mta.info/nyct/maps/submap.htm).
    If you ask me, the NYC subway map is not beautiful ;-) But I see the benefit of better understanding where each station is. It just tells you a different story.

    This is how I realized that, hey, you can see that on maps.nokia.com too! But of course Nokia is providing a mapping service, where the stations have to be precisely located. The geographically accurate tube maps is a direct consequence of providing this service.
    It also shows the connection between the urban development and the tube network. I think it’s fascinating ;-)