the NYC subway map is changing (what's new?) [OUTDATED CHECK DESCRIPTION]  

Actually, you are not off. The 'new' maps are the paper maps that are currently mounted on the walls of most stations. They are not displayed on the digital screens nor given out to the public.

Oh interesting! Good to know I wasn’t completely off haha

Gonna add what you wrote into the description for clarification

@@bluechairreviews No problem. If you ever need any pics of those retro wall maps, I ride the subways daily so taking a pic or two won't be a problem.

@RCfromtheNYC sure! If you don’t mind

they did but new yorkers hated it

Agreed. And while Vignelli was a world-class designer, his subway map was an abject failure. It omitted about every possible landmark and reference point possible in favor of a "clean" look. It's nice enough to have a simplified view of the stations, but if you have no idea where you'll be if you exit the subway at one of those stations, what good is it? I've always maintained that the NYC subway map is most beneficial for tourists and newbies to the city. Ask anyone who's lived in NYC for 5+ years about any station or line, and we've got the whole thing memorized. But for anyone else whose knowledge of the city is limited, they're going to want additional wayfinding and landmarks on the map. These "clean" diagrams are severely lacking in that regard, and that's what made the current subway map design superior to the diagrams used in other cities.

As a tourist that used the NYC subway, trust me, I wasn't looking at map for landmarks. If I wanted to get somewhere, I use Google Maps for directions and use the map to simply follow the lines.

This is very similar to the Vignelli map, only with the current color scheme of colors being assigned to trunk lines, rather than to individual train routes. The result is parallel lines of the same color on many routes. They've been using this for a while for "Weekender" maps. The color scheme used on the original Vignelli map actually dates to November 1967, when the Chrystie Street Connection opened.

@@yellowpsychopath In 1967, Google and their infamous maps didn't yet exist. Yes, we now have additional tools at our disposal, but 50 years ago, it was unrealistic to expect tourists to have and consult multiple maps for each journey.

@@ajs11201 true but that makes those maps now obsolete.

That’s always made a lot of sense to me. Ultimately the MTA does this because the Lefferts Blvd section of the A train has very low volume of passengers.

Counterpoint: re-brand the Ozone Park branch and bring back the K train to be a clear indicator of what trains are going to Ozone Park. Extending the local C even further is not a winner.

No. The 3 stations on the Lefferts Blvd branch gets twice as many riders as both Rockaway branches combined.

I agree, it’s very useful

I find the current NYC subway map more confusing than a diagram - and, having thought deeply about it, it is not because it is a map and concerned about conforming to the surface, but because it isn't anywhere near as bothered about explaining the subway as it is about the surface! As an example, the Green Line makes sure to have a little wiggle north of Grand Central as it moves a tiny 500ft east to run under Park rather than Lexington - increased cognitive load due to added complication thanks to an obsession with the surface. And the Green Line is one line on the map - not the two pairs of tracks (local and express) or the three services (4/5/6), with different stations served by them - increased cognitive load due to over-simplification of the subway, collapsing down trunks into one line (and adding the clutter of all those little letters and numbers next to stations). The Park-Lexington shuffle would be justifiable if there was the same devotion to detail when it comes to subway network clarity as street network compliance. The issue with the current map is that there isn't and so those not from NYC look at the map, struggle to understand it, and view the problem as caring too much about the surface, when it's really about caring too little about explaining the network clearly. The NYC Subway is one of the most complex in the world to navigate - its map really needs to make an effort to lay out the network clearly to those unfamiliar about it. The current map doesn't do this - failing at what should be its primary task. The NYC surface is one of the easiest global cities to navigate thanks to most of the city being covered by logical, numerical grids - hence why, to the outsider, the surface element of the NYC map seems even more useless. However, the simple-to-navigate surface is why NYers want the subway map tied to the street network - their mental map of the city is based on the road network. The subway network is also pretty tied to the road network, with most lines following roads. The current map's concern about this is reasonable due to this and a diagram isn't the solution the MTA should be looking for - it may get the primary task done, but at the expense of important secondary information. --- Meanwhile in London, while the tube is complex and confusing, the streets are far more so, and so trying to tie the railways to roads on the map makes things far less easy to understand as (other than taxi drivers who spend three years learning the street network!) no one has a mental map of the city based mostly on roads - the tube diagram is far more prevalent as a mental map of where places are in the city. Plus the tube lines mostly are not tied to roads (certainly, especially the earlier lines, the tube runs under roads in London, but most of the roads only last a couple of stops) so its really not helpful to have them shaping the map.

The big divide here seems to be whether the map should cater to locals or tourists. The current map aids locals who understand the shape of the city but may not be familiar with every possible commute. The new map seems balanced in favor of visitors who don't know or need to know the layout of the city but only how to get from a few key points to a few other key points

WTF are you talking about??? A subway map is supposed to detail the subway lines not landmass. This map reverts back to the map of the 1970s where each line and it's station stops are detailed clearly

@@YAZZYUTUBE I guess you aren't aware of how they tried this Vignelli design in the 70s and people hated it so much that they quickly switched back. Open a book before talking nonsense

The transit map is a tool to clearly show stops and transfers. The new map is a more geographically accurate compromise compared to other major cities. The current map is a nightmare for anyone who didn't grow up with the format.

@@tommy8372 The People of New York disagree

true, the sharp angles can make things look a little strange

Maybe there would be some utility in having both up, or a combination of the two

(Part 2) Though you could argue it’s redundant since google and apple maps could also show you that

Underground stops tend to have a lot of information in other forms all around the stations, from a map of the nearby streets and landmarks next to the wider tube map as well as pamphlets and signs

Unlike European cities... NYC is a Grid iron... No one is going to think that 7th street is 100 metres walk from 128th street. There are 'walking distance' downloadable versions of the TfL Tube map that gives the slow tourist walking distance between stations. (Locals walk at 4 to 5x the pace of tourists)

Well see! I will miss the old map for nostalgic reasons though haha

Google maps is best when you have some knowledge of the system already and want to know what routes are suggested based on time. I do recommend people learn the subway first.

Yeah, not very common in US metro systems

It is inspired by the heavily Vignelli map, but it is indeed a new map.

Yeah, definitely a shorter one this time lol

See update to description.

Exactly

Yeah, the street names in the station name help. As for platforms, I don’t think the map has any platform info, so you’ll still have to rely on the signage you see at the station. As for the street grid, having the street grid on the map can be useful for figuring out where to go once you leave the station, especially in areas with irregular street grids. (Still though, not entirely necessary since everyone has a gps in their pocket, we could also supplement this by including local maps at stations)

It’s based off of that map! Good instincts

Thank you very much! :)

What about 4? 🤨

@@bluechairreviewsWhat about 8? How about the double 2?

They are improving the system itself too! (Though incrementally)