New York Subway Map Quilt

Karyn's Whole Cloth Quilt

A whole cloth quilt based on a map of the New York subway system. Karyn’s used a diagrammatic map that confused me for a moment: since the map comes from the New York City Transit Authority, it dates from between 1953 and 1968 (pre-Vignelli, in other words), but diagrams of that sort were produced by Salomon in the 1950s, and Goldstein and D’Adamo in the 1960s, according to Mark Ovenden’s Transit Maps of the World. Via Rebecca Blood.

New Code Sample & Map App: Washington Real-time Transit

00_logoReal-time bus schedules takes the uncertainty out of riding the bus. Sometimes a bus arrives early and you have to choose whether to chase after it or wait for the next one. Other times the bus arrives late and you have to wait at the bus stop, looking down the road wondering when the bus will appear. If the weather is bad or you’re alone at the bus stop in the dark, you need to know exactly when your bus is coming – at the very least for peace of mind.

The Washington real-time transit map app brings real-time bus schedules (provided by OneBusAway) to Bing Maps for the Puget Sound / Seattle area. The map app was developed by Luan Nguyen, who wrote an article for MSDN in October on how to add real-time transit data to a map app. His article goes into how to access the OneBusAway API, defining the map entity, writing the main plug-in, and displaying the content. He also goes in-depth into the code, which is now freely available.

When you first open the map app, you’re shown the transit agencies with available data. I recommend using the Bing search bar or map control to zoom in to your location rather as the “go to this area” links keep you at a fairly high level.

Bing Maps real time transit map app

Directions, the way you want them

We recently released advanced options for getting public transit directions on Google Maps, helping you customize your route based on your personal preferences.

We work hard to provide the right results to get from A to B, but sometimes riders have their own preferences. For example, you might not mind a longer journey if it means fewer transfers; or you may prefer traveling by bus or train, rather than subway, to have views of your route. You can now specify these preferences and alter your route results by clicking the “Show options” link below your destination:
We hope that this new feature makes it easier for you to find your way! To get started, please visit maps.google.com/transit.