NYC New Subway Map | Hacker News Reader

NYC New Subway Map

nytimes.com

52 pointsbgschulman3146 comments

Direct map link: https://www.mta.info/map/5256

crazy how hostile ny times is now without a paid account

Thanks for that, three layers of agreements before you even get to the content on this link...

The map of the Montreal metro (which is in fairness _way_ smaller) that you are most likely to see is also diagrammatic [0], but every station has a much more detailed geographic map, which includes bus stops etc... [1]

I think having both around is a good balance.

[0] https://www.stm.info/sites/default/files/media/Stminfo/image...

[1] https://www.stm.info/sites/default/files/media/Stminfo/image...

This was Vignelli's original plan, which the MTA never followed through on.

Maps are to be read. If you want a subway map to frame for your apartment, then the current/old one looks nice, but the new one is just easier to read - particularly in a moving subway car, through a dirty pane, and from 3 feet away. Especially in the age of smartphones, if you're doing navigation on a train (or station) you likely don't have a phone or are already lost, the map should be optimized to be easy to read in either scenario.

The best advice I got before moving to NYC was to download a PDF of the subway map to Books on my phone. That has saved me countless times.

Also good advice for college campuses! It can handle their 35MB detailed PDfs perfectly well.

The Underway app is basically an interactive version of this (NYC-specific). It’s just the transit map, but you can click on stations to see current arrival/departure times (“3min”) and MTA notices for lines going through that station.

Link to article: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/02/nyregion/nyc-new-subway-m...

You mean a shared (unlocked / unpaywalled) link - thank you!

Yes, that's what it is, just in case NYT locks the article behind a paywall.

The map still amusingly mostly pretends that New Jersey and transit running into New Jersey doesn’t exist. For example, the PATH is very faintly represented but yet the JFK AirTrain (which isn’t part of the subway and the airport isn’t run by the MTA) is given more prominent status. PATH is owned by the same entity (PANYNJ) that owns the AirTrain but is nearly hidden on the map because it goes to New Jersey.

Back when the SuperBowl was in NYC there was a full transmit map produced that acknowledged and displayed the existence of New Jersey and its transit into and out of NYC. After the Super Bowl the MTA quickly took it down and New Jersey was returned to its former “we’re gonna pretend like you don’t exist” map.

Note that JFK airport is already within the regular bounds of the map; it doesn't require anything to be shifted to include that information.

New Jersey requires the map to be shifted to include it, which means either going to a larger map, or shrinking the existing content of the map. There's a cost to doing so, and that cost may not be worth the extra benefits providing that information would.

This is an MTA map, not a general “transit” map. Having the AirTrain on it is a bit of a bonus, but probably reflects (a) it being the most common question MTA gets and (b) it being more integrated with the rest of the MTA system than PATH (use of metrocard, etc).

You can in fact use MetroCard on PATH though.

Today I learned. Shows how often I go to Jersey. Thank you.

What is this "metrocard" of which you speak?

(It's going away at the end of this year.)

As a resident of NJ that commutes into Manhattan, and works with many NYC dwelling colleagues, I feel NJ mentally does not exist for most NYCers.

If I tell them about something in NJ, they look at me as if I’m talking about Alabama.

Miami or Los Angeles is mentally closer to them than Jersey City.

No skin in the game. Looking at the old one https://www.mta.info/map/36946 vs. the new one https://www.mta.info/map/5256, and not being a New Yorker, I would prefer the old map as it allows me to appreciate the distances and contextualize more.

But I can see a New Yorker preferring the new map to get just the subway lines and connections.

Compare the subway map with a real map of New York and you'll find that it leads you to all kinds of wrong ideas about directions, distances and relative positions of things.

It's a diagram, not a map.

The old "map" isn't geographically accurate, either.

New Yorkers actually agreed with you quite vocally the last time someone tried to introduce a schematic map.

I think they both deserve to exist, and need to. The one map is invaluable when I’m navigating somewhere specific by my own hand; the other map is critical to comprehend the system and how the different lines parallel and overlap.

I prefer the old map and I would argue it’s better. The old geographically accurate map is better for tourists, but the streamlined map is easier for locals to read.

IMO, locals don’t really look at transit maps since they have them memorized and only travel the same few lines regularly.

It’s tourists that are unfamiliar with the lines that need to read these maps. They also want to know the distance between stations.

So it becomes the question: who is the transit map made for?

Mini Metro (https://dinopoloclub.com/games/mini-metro/), one of my favorite pastime games, apes this style by having you design (and revise) a subway map to service an increasingly complex and rapidly growing cityscape.

I can see the advantages of both styles. Scale and proximity are very important to people traveling to destinations they don't usually travel to (often tourists), but the schematic nature of this new map definitely makes it easier to tell how the system interconnects.

It would be great if, in addition to providing realtime bus and train info, the MTA provided realtime station info so third parties could create maps in any style that were guaranteed to be correct because they would pull from live station data.

For purposes of a subway trip in Manhatten, for example, scale isn't that important - a train will quickly take you a long way if you can get on the right one.

It's not just about how far the train can take you; it's also about how far you have to walk to your destination once you exit. For example, the squashed height of the new map makes it look like if you exit at Central Park South, you can walk to Central Park North in a relatively short amount of time, when in fact it's about 2.5 miles.

Being able to determine relative distances also helps you decide whether it's worth waiting for the next train, or whether to switch from an express to a local or vice-versa.

The old map makes prospect park look like a jaunt when its quite a hike. It's not useful in the way you claim.

They do, for as many lines that have the ability to do it.

That's what the Google maps data is based on.

Ugh. Every few decades some new MTA honcho decides to switch to a schematic map, and it's either shot down before launch or lasts a few years before people realize you can't actually find your way to any real-world aboveground location on it unless you already know the nearest station. Maybe now that everyone can get transit directions on their phone it doesn't matter anymore and can just be a pretty decoration.

> the revisions to the map are more than cosmetic, said Shanifah Rieara, the authority’s chief customer officer. Two of the biggest alterations address complaints about the legibility of transfer points at some of the busiest hubs, as well as efforts to make the map feel “inclusive for all,” with clearer depictions of accessibility features

Cool, Accessibility features always improve the user experience.

That might work for other metros, but the New York Subway is the New York Subway. It is how it is. The old style of map works within New York culture for a variety of complicated reasons that nobody fully understands, but we all know it's how it's supposed to be.

hahaha, Delancey-Essex is now waterfront property!

Yea I don't get the point of this. Someone convinced someone that the old one was bad and they need to spend $ on a new one? I personally prefer the old one because it gives you a better idea of how far things are.

The map is optimized on how to USE the subway. It's not like the old map was particularly good at showing relative distance.

You just use the rule of thumb 2-3 minutes per station and problem solved.

Obligatory: https://www.vanshnookenraggen.com/_index/docs/NYC_full_track...

Detailed track/junction map. (Not my own content).

I've never seen this before! Insane amounts of detail, even for inconsequential items -- see the isolated Brooklyn Navy Yard network

Looks much better. The current map is a nightmare for readability, especially when you're squinting from a distance trying to read it inside a subway vehicle without encroaching on the personal space of someone sitting below it. For actual locations in relation to other points of interest, consult a general-purpose map, there are more options for that than there are readable and up-to-date alternative renderings of public transit network maps.

If reading from a distance is your complaint, the new map has a similar font size for the stations and therefore about as useless.

Title: The Retro Subway Map That Design Nerds Love Makes a Comeback

No paywall press release:

https://www.mta.info/press-release/mta-unveils-first-fully-r...

The maps:

https://www.mta.info/maps

Not sure how removing geographic information was supposed to increase clarity.

The lines representing the routes now show a more schematic view which enables you to more easily tell how the lines connect and where/how to transfer trains. For better or worse, it prioritizes showing the routes and connections over landmarks and scale.

Map vs wayfinding

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