A spider map is a schematic diagram of
bus service
Public transport bus services are generally based on regular operation of transit buses along a route calling at agreed bus stops according to a published public transport timetable.
History of buses Origins
While there are indications ...
s serving a particular locality, as used by
Transport for London since 2002.
The maps were designed by
T-Kartor. Generally mounted on the vertical surfaces of
bus shelters
A bus stop is a place where buses stop for passengers to get on and off the bus. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage, where stops at busy locations may have shelters, seating, and possibly electronic passenger ...
it enables potential travellers to select the correct stop to board a bus, and the correct one to alight at. The maps are designed to be self-explanatory in the same way as the
London Underground
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...
tube map
The Tube map (sometimes called the London Underground map) is a schematic
A schematic, or schematic diagram, is a designed representation of the elements of a system using abstract, graphic symbols rather than realistic pictures. A schematic ...
.
These maps are highly specific to a local area, and it would not be sensible to talk about a spider map for London. About 1500 are needed to describe the London Transport area. The term spider map seems to have come from its users, and although TfL have adopted the term,
they are officially known as "bus route diagrams".
Design
At the centre of the map is a rectangular area with a yellow background which shows the local street layout and bus stops labelled with letters (A to Z, and if necessary AA to ZZ) of all the bus-stops in the local area. Beyond this is a schematic bus map for an area about radius with a pale yellow background, which shows all bus stops in their relative positions. Further out of the map shows the remainder of the route against a white background, but without showing all bus stops. Bus routes themselves are shown as distinctive coloured lines, and are clearly numbered.
In addition there is a table of routes (by route number, destination and local bus stop) leaving from that node, for either
daytime
Daytime as observed on Earth is the period of the day during which a given location experiences natural illumination from direct sunlight. Daytime occurs when the Sun appears above the local horizon, that is, anywhere on the globe's hemis ...
or sometimes
nighttime
Night (also described as night time, unconventionally spelled as "nite") is the period of ambient darkness from sunset to sunrise during each 24-hour day, when the Sun is below the horizon. The exact time when night begins and ends depends o ...
routes.
References
{{reflist
External links
2014-5 archive
Transport design in London
Bus route maps