Mind the Map! The Impact of Transit Maps on Travel Decisions in Public Transit

This paper investigates the impact of schematic transit maps on passengers’ travel decisions. It does two things: First, it proposes an analysis framework that defines four types of information conferred from a transit map: distortion, restoration, codification, and cognition, and their potential impact on three types of travel decisions: location, mode, and path choices. Second, it conducts an empirical analysis to explore the impact of the famous London tube map on passengers’ path choice in the London Underground (LUL). Using data collected by LUL from 1998 to 2005, the paper develops a path choice model and compares the influence between the distorted tube map (map distance) and reality (travel time) on passengers’ path choice behavior. Results suggest that passengers often trust the tube map more than their own travel experience on deciding the “best” travel path. This is true even for the most experienced passengers to the system. The codification of transfer connections on the tube map, either as a simple dot or as an extended link, could affect passengers’ transfer decisions. The implications to transit operation and planning, such as trip assignments, overcrowding mitigation, and the deployment of Advanced Transit Information System (ATIS), are also discussed.