Transit map

A transit map is a topological map in the form of a schematic diagram used to illustrate the routes and stations within a public transport system—whether this be bus lines, tramways, rapid transit, commuter rail or ferry routes. The main components are color coded lines to indicate each line or service, with named icons to indicate stations or stops.

Transit maps can be found in the transit vehicles, at the platforms or in printed timetables. Their primary function is to help users to efficiently use the public transport system, including which stations function as interchange between lines. Unlike conventional maps, transit maps are usually not geographically accurate—instead they use straight lines and fixed angles, and often illustrate a fixed distance between stations, compressing those in the outer area of the system and expanding those close to the center.

The mapping of transit systems was at first generally geographically accurate, but abstract route-maps of individual lines (usually displayed inside the carriages) can be traced back as early as 1908 (London's District line), and certainly there are examples from European and American railroad cartography as early as the 1890s where geographical features have been removed and the routes of lines have been artificially straightened out. But it was George Dow of the London and North Eastern Railway who was the first to launch a diagrammatic representation of an entire rail transport network (in 1929); his work is seen by historians of the subject as being part of the inspiration for Harry Beck when he launched his iconic London Underground map in 1933.

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