— The six London Overground lines are getting new names and different colours. The new names “celebrate London’s wonderful and varied cultural heritage:”
Hordes of Tories must be fuming right now in their seven-bedroom detached Highgate homes about these new “woke” names.
— Paris builds four new metro lines, extending the network with 68 additional stations. See PTV, that’s how you build public transport infrastructure that has an impact. Unlike your “big build” to remove level crossings in the name of pedestrian safety. You don’t have to dig scores of station underground; a footbridge or subway with elevators for impaired humans will do the same. It would cost less and won’t disrupt trains for months. All it does is to remove obstacles for motorists so they don’t have to wait at boom barriers anymore. (via)
— The Lost Subways of North America explores the history of public-transport systems on North America through a series of maps. (via)
— The London Tube Memory Game is very addictive. I wasted the better part of a weekend but only remembered about 50% of all London transport stations.
— Milwaukee weekly bus passes between the years of 1930-1979. (via)
— Where can you get within 40 minutes from every subway station in New York? Chris Whong’s fun, interactive map shows you, using GTFS data from New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
— The evolution of London’s iconic Tube map in words: You know what this map needs? It won’t be intrusive, it’ll be useful.
— Ben Yakas, writing for the Gothamist, explores the history of the colour scheme in New York’s subway map. It explains why the map doesn’t always use unique colours to designate lines in the Subway network. Granted, New York’s Subway system has more individual lines than London’s Tube network, but I find London’s map easier to use. Unique colours mean I can trace a line on the map to see where it’s going, and wayfinding inside stations is easier, too; I can follow the right colour to find my platform. (via The Map Room)
— Per freedom-of-information request, the most popular journeys on the London tube.
— “The Map” is a short documentary by Gary Hustwit about the redesign of New York’s subway map and the accompanying online app.
— Some appropriate descriptions of West-London stations on the new Elizabeth Line:
— Public-transport stations worldwide play music to discourage loitering and anti-social behaviour and deter crime inside stations.
At Parliament Station in Melbourne, it might be Fleetwood Mac if you’re lucky, but it’s mindless pop music on most days. They should be playing funk. At Penn Station in New York, it’s classical music; same as at Euston Square Station and 64 other stations in London, and it had an effect on crime rates:
Initially set up in 2007, the initiative proved successful, within 18 months, robberies dropped by 33 percent, assaults on staff were down 25 percent and vandalism by 37 percent.