I had a rant all ready to go about the METRO system map. Then METRO fixed the map — not just what I was going to complain about but a lot more — without me saying anything. You can look in the forums see my original post. But now I’m going to talk about the new map.

Here’s the old map, dating back to 2005:

Here’s the new version:

The first, most obvious change is the bus route color coding. On the old map, all local routes were the same color. Now, bus routes are in a least half a dozen different colors. That makes it a lot easier to trace a bus route across the map.

The other major improvement is on the light rail line. On the old map, it was as thick as the bus lines, but a different color: purple. That was an odd choice for the Red Line. On the new map, it’s a thick, red, dashed line. It stands out among the bus routes better, shows up well on the overall map as well the Downtown/Midtown and Texas Medical Center detail maps, and matches the name of the line. The same graphic style can also extend well to more lines in 2010 and 2012.

The importance of a good transit map is obvious: it’s how riders will figure out which route to ride. A good map makes the transit system easier to use. The new map is a significant step forward in that regard. Could it be improved? Of course. Some ideas:

Better station symbols.

The black rectangles on the map don’t stand out well anyway. More importantly, they’re missing an important piece of information. Over half the stations on the Main Street line have different platforms for northbound and southbound trains. The map should show that. More prominent symbols, with directional arrows, might work better:

Parking information.

Where can I park and ride? At a park-and-ride lot, obviously, but some transit centers have parking, too. A little parking symbol would distinguish those:

And, while we’re at it, how about bikes? Some transit centers and some light rail stations have bike racks; let’s mark those:

Bus route frequencies.

Not all bus routes are created equal. A bus that runs every 15 minutes (like the 2 Bellaire) is very different from one that runs every 45 (like the 34 Montrose). METRO publishes a bus route frequency guide; a condensed version on the printed map would be helpful. But that information could also be on the map itself. For example, a thick line might indicate a bus that runs at least every 15 minutes during rush hour and at least every 30 minutes off-peak. A thinner line would indicate a bus that runs less frequently.

Get it out there.

Right now, the map is available in three places: a pdf online, a paper copy in RideStores, and a posted in transit centers. Putting it in more places would make it more useful: rail stations, on buses and trains (perhaps as a window sticker, facing inwards?), and bus stop shelters. Some of those could be customized maps: in Downtown Washington, D.C., the bus maps posted on shelters show where that bus stop is on the map and highlight the routes that run there. In these days of cheap full-color digital printing, that’s not hard to do.

Here’s hoping that the bus map will continue to evolve to be more useful. Where do you think it should go? Tell us in our forums.

Here’s what I was going to say about the map before METRO fixed it:

• Many transit agencies color-code their rail lines, then name the lines for the colors, like DC’s MetroRail does.
  
  

• Others color code their lines, then name them, as on the classic London Underground map.
  
  

• New York’s subway has so many lines it has to use a system of letters, numbers, colors, and shapes.
  
  

• Some agencies don’t use colors at all, as on this Septa subway-surface lines map.
  
  

• METRO is the only rail system I know of that names its lines for colors, but doesn’t color-code them.
  
  
  
  The Main Street light rail line is called the Red Line. But on the maps, the red lines are buses. The Red Line is represented by… a purple line.