Why are French public transport maps so distinctive compared with those of Germany and Spain?

Abstract

AbstractFrench public transport maps have a uniform style, in that they attempt to show each bus line by a different colour. Maps of different French towns attempt different solutions to the obvious problems which result, according to the number of different bus services, the service numbering conventions, and the spatial pattern of bus lines. Colours fade differentially in the Mediterranean sun. Digital methods have been recently introduced. These can facilitate the deliberate distortion of scale as an aid to legibility. In contrast, German and Spanish maps of public transport networks differ in style within each country, and from the French maps. The reasons must be sought in differences between the three countries in: (a) the modes of public transport used, (b) the amount of subsidy to public transport, and (c) the degree of political centralisation.