61–65 of 65 posts
As a first-time tourist to Berlin, I found the concept of "there is a circle line bisected by a north-south line and an east-west line" a super useful framework for hanging the rest of the network off. It's a shame this isn't reflected, in preference of a dog's head.
Berliner here. The ring (called like that by most citizens, here drives the “ringbahn” – circular train) serves most as orientation. People say “I live inside the ring”, or “that party is far outside, outside the ring”. Removing this element alone is a really bad decision. By looking at the original map a couple of times it is very easy to use the ring as visual aid and go from there. It is essential for navigation.…
I guess public acceptance of the change will be mixed as well, a new map is unfamiliar at first and any change costs cognitive energy.
The map is very beautiful and clear, so please take these as small nitpicks: The zone boundaries are not clear at all. I see the words Zone A and Zone B within an area with the same background colour, with the words Zone B and Zone C "tacked on" to a border. Is Zone C the area outside the framing rectangle? Contrast is a bit low, and line colours are just slightly too similar. Maybe the fare zones would be clearer in…
I believe zone A is inside the inner ring. There is a slight gradient inward there, but otherwise you're right, the background color of zones A and B is very similar.
I get the general idea that the S-Bahn ring is not actually a ring and the map should also reflect that. But the transit map is not intended to do this. It's not about highly accurate distances between stations (these are off in the official and this unofficial map), the curves of the rails and rivers of the city. It's about the train I need to take, where it intersects with other train routes, what is my next stop a…
Rivers are often used to navigate. Knowing if a station is just south of the river or north can help a lot to determine the closest station. Esp. as real walking speeds often differ from those assumed by trip planners, a fairly accurate map with rivers helps to find a quicker door2door journey.
Berliner here. The ring (called like that by most citizens, here drives the “ringbahn” – circular train) serves most as orientation. People say “I live inside the ring”, or “that party is far outside, outside the ring”. Removing this element alone is a really bad decision. By looking at the original map a couple of times it is very easy to use the ring as visual aid and go from there. It is essential for navigation.…
Berliner here as well, living near the Ring. I prefer the dogs head shape, with the ring shape visitors often travel around the longer (western) route of the ringbahn, causing delays. I guess public acceptance of the change will be mixed as well, a new map is unfamiliar at first and any change costs cognitive energy.
I absolutely agree that it is hard to guess how long a trip will take with the current design. Would be great to have another dimension which could be activated in an interactive map to give an idea of time (e.g. line thickness).