Transit Maps and How They're Made (ft. Will Watkins): Episode 18

(or listen on YouTube)

Special guest and amateur draftsman Will Watkins of Park City, Utah joins us on a tour of the history of the transit map, a pedestrian feature of transit systems that we really shouldn't take for granted. We show off (tell about?) everything from the historic anchors that were the Tube maps to eccentric panoramic maps of San Jose and Utah. Visionaries like Harry Beck have established the design choices that make a transit map readable and good for its purpose, but not every agency has entirely caught on. Follow along in the timestamps below to see what we're talking about!

Timestamps & visuals

References & notes

  1. [1] Mass Transit: TriMet's FX bus service begins on a transformed Division Street Corridor
  2. [2] DanvilleSanRamon: Details emerge about deadly motorcycle crash that shut down BART through Oakland for hours during Friday evening commute
  3. [3] Londonist: The History Of The Tube Map
  4. [4] Wikipedia: Transit map
  5. [5] Wikipedia: Harry Beck
  6. [6] A Tale of Two Maps: Analysis of the London Underground "Diagram"
  7. [7] Wikipedia: Tube map
  8. [8] BBC: The London Underground map: The design that shaped a city
  9. [9] Transit Maps (Will's favourite site)
  10. [10] Glantz Design: The World's Best Designed Metro Maps
  11. [11] Transit Maps: Tutorial: How To Design a Transit Diagram
  12. [12] Wikipedia: Massimo Vignelli