Comments on: Montreal by Bus: Is Your Route Legible? http://www.urbanphoto.net/blog/2009/02/09/montreal-by-bus-is-your-route-legible/ Exploring urban life through word and photography Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:47:15 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Kay O. Sweaver http://www.urbanphoto.net/blog/2009/02/09/montreal-by-bus-is-your-route-legible/comment-page-1/#comment-266517 Kay O. Sweaver Tue, 17 Feb 2009 16:25:56 +0000 http://www.urbanphoto.net/blog/2009/02/09/montreal-by-bus-is-your-route-legible/#comment-266517 One thing that's always bothered me is numbering routes the same regardless of direction. For instance there's a 211 east and a 211 west with no differentiation at all on the marquee. One could easily end up in the west island when trying to get downtown (like me my second time in Montreal). Something as simple as changing them to 211 and 212 would solve the problem. Imagine, odd numbered routes are all more or less north/west bound and all even numbered routes more or less south/east bound. Or something to that effect. This is just like the first digit indicating express service, night service, etc. Of course the number of routes might limit this technique, but damn wouldn't it make sense? One thing that’s always bothered me is numbering routes the same regardless of direction. For instance there’s a 211 east and a 211 west with no differentiation at all on the marquee. One could easily end up in the west island when trying to get downtown (like me my second time in Montreal).

Something as simple as changing them to 211 and 212 would solve the problem. Imagine, odd numbered routes are all more or less north/west bound and all even numbered routes more or less south/east bound. Or something to that effect.

This is just like the first digit indicating express service, night service, etc.

Of course the number of routes might limit this technique, but damn wouldn’t it make sense?

]]> By: Fagstein http://www.urbanphoto.net/blog/2009/02/09/montreal-by-bus-is-your-route-legible/comment-page-1/#comment-264718 Fagstein Mon, 09 Feb 2009 23:26:46 +0000 http://www.urbanphoto.net/blog/2009/02/09/montreal-by-bus-is-your-route-legible/#comment-264718 The problem with 104 Côte-Saint-Luc is that the 104 doesn't take Côte St. Luc Road. The STL in Laval uses a landmark system like you propose. The displays cycle through names of neighbourhoods, streets, metro/train stations. The only problem is that it takes about 30 seconds to go through it all, far too long to determine as a bus approaches whether to get on it. Really, though, this information needs to be learned at the bus stop, not on the bus. So you have indications on the bus stop itself of what metro and train stations the bus stops at, and a map of the bus's route. Some bus stops even have complete maps of the entire network. The problem with 104 Côte-Saint-Luc is that the 104 doesn’t take Côte St. Luc Road.

The STL in Laval uses a landmark system like you propose. The displays cycle through names of neighbourhoods, streets, metro/train stations. The only problem is that it takes about 30 seconds to go through it all, far too long to determine as a bus approaches whether to get on it.

Really, though, this information needs to be learned at the bus stop, not on the bus. So you have indications on the bus stop itself of what metro and train stations the bus stops at, and a map of the bus’s route. Some bus stops even have complete maps of the entire network.

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