A new subway map is slowly appearing in some stations across New York City—and it looks a lot like the one that was scrapped in the 1970s.
The city’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority is testing an alternative to the familiar subway map in use for more than 40 years. The new map distorts the shape of the city more than the current one to better show how the system’s tracks interact with each other, much like Massimo Vignelli’s modernist design did.
For example, the current subway map combines multiple lines into one where they run together, while the new version shows as many as four tracks running parallel to each other, like on the 4, 5 and 6 lines.
The Vignelli version, in use from 1972 to 1979, was discarded for taking too many liberties with geography and was replaced by the design from Michael Hertz Associates that New Yorkers and tourists still use today.
Sarah Meyer, chief customer officer of the MTA, said she eventually hopes to phase out the current map in favor of the new version being tested—but only if it is well received by the public, she said.
“What I’m trying to do is introduce this map in a way that doesn’t cause fear, introducing it gradually so people can get used to it,” Ms. Meyer said.
The new map is on display in nine subway stations, including Times Square, Grand Central and the Fulton Transit Center. Rather than placing them in large frames, like the current maps, the MTA is printing some onto self-adhesive vinyl that can be stuck directly to walls.
“We’ve been able to experiment with putting maps in places that previously did not have any maps at all,” said J.P. Chan, senior director, creative, at the MTA, who led the map design project.
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The maps are accompanied by a QR code that subway riders can scan to access a webpage to give feedback.
Ms. Meyer has been thinking about ways to better communicate how the subway really works, delays and all, since she took the customer chief role in 2018.
Faced with years of planned maintenance work, the MTA last year introduced a live subway map that customers can access on their electronic devices. It lets passengers check exactly where trains are in the system, and which lines might be closed or diverted, offering a visual alternative to the paper maintenance notices pinned up around stations.
Ms. Meyer’s team wanted to better convey some of the same information through static maps in stations, for example making it instantly clear which lines aren’t operating on the weekend.
The map designed by Michael Hertz Associates has been in use for more than 40 years.
Photo: MTABut the design of the current map—which combines multiple lines into one wherever they run parallel and separates out trains that in reality sometimes run on the same tracks—makes that “redrawing” harder, Ms. Meyer said.
And despite the criticism of the Vignelli map for taking too many liberties with geography, the Hertz map also subtly distorts the shape of the city. Manhattan, particularly downtown, was enlarged by the design team at Hertz, while the outer boroughs shrank.
“Before I worked here, I did not know that the subway map that we have is not geographic, so I was like an hour and a half late for something once because I had to walk much farther than I expected,” Mr. Chan said.
The MTA’s solution is to display a new, geographically accurate map of the city, overlaid with subway lines and Select Bus Service routes, alongside the Vignelli-like map. The agency is also testing two other types of maps: a local bus map and maps of stations’ surrounding neighborhoods.
The new subway map differs slightly from the Vignelli original. The revamped version includes Staten Island and its railway, for example, which were left off the map entirely in 1972. The new map is rectangular rather than square, and its waters are blue, not beige.
The Vignelli version was in use from 1972 to 1979.
Photo: Massimo Vignelli/MoMAFeedback so far has been positive, but Ms. Meyer said her team at the MTA still has some way to go before it can retire the Hertz map.
“I still have stakeholders I haven’t won over. New Yorkers are a stubborn bunch, and their focus right now is getting back to work, rebuilding the city, and making sure everyone’s healthy,” Ms. Meyer said. “But I’d like to move this forward, because I think it solves a crucial business need on the part of our customers.”
Write to Katie Deighton at katie.deighton@wsj.com
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