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by greenyoda 4828 days ago
The major drawback of this map is that it gives you no clue as to how to actually get to the nearest subway station, and it doesn't tell you which subway station is close to your destination. By focusing only on travel time it has abstracted away a bit too much of the information that people expect to get from a subway map. (For example, the NYC subway map shows the locations of subway stations with respect to major streets and landmarks.)

Also, in most transit systems, travel time can depend significantly on the time of day you're traveling. Express trains don't always run and the time between trains increases during off-peak hours.
3 comments
calinet6 4828 days ago
IMHO criticizing this map for its lack of spatial accuracy is sort of missing the point. It's not designed to be in the space dimension, it's designed to be in the time dimension.

The official itself is very good for determining location and the nearest T stop to various landmarks. If that fails, then Google maps is even better.

However, this map is damn good for easily and immediately visualizing how long it takes to get from stop to stop.

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wtvanhest 4828 days ago
I'd guess from your comment that don't likely live in Boston or have spent very little time here.

The way the city is set up, the T lines basically just run out toward other stuff. Only when you are in downtown can you find multiple lines close so most of the time you have only one option if any.

Check this map out: http://mapsof.net/map/boston-metro-map#.UVnvrodOTYg

In NYC, you can usually walk to different lines quickly.

There may be express trains in Boston, but I don't know of any??? I don't use the T to commute, so maybe someone else knows?

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evanb 4828 days ago
There aren't express trains, but it would still be useful to have some weekend service posted, especially for the green line (of which there are 5 once you get west enough!).
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myke_cameron 4828 days ago
There ARE express trains, they're just not scheduled in advance (for example the b line goes express from bu east to Washington to make up for delays quite frequently).
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ecopoesis 4828 days ago
The regular T map (http://www.mbta.com/schedules_and_maps/subway/) is also abstract, just not as usefully. It doesn't show where stations are or what's near them.
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