How's your subway IQ?
January 19, 2015 2:44 PM Subscribe
Really, I thought Boston's was the easiest one on there. Not many cities have an Orange Line, or if they do, it's usually not one of only four lines.
I really wanted the DC Metro to be LA (there are some superficial similarities), but then when I got to the LA map, jeez, even sprawlier than I thought...
I want to go to Moscow and just ride the circle-y one around and around all day.
posted by Sara C. at 2:50 PM on January 19, 2015 [3 favorites]
I really wanted the DC Metro to be LA (there are some superficial similarities), but then when I got to the LA map, jeez, even sprawlier than I thought...
I want to go to Moscow and just ride the circle-y one around and around all day.
posted by Sara C. at 2:50 PM on January 19, 2015 [3 favorites]
The only one I got right was New Orleans.
posted by komara at 2:54 PM on January 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by komara at 2:54 PM on January 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
Got 9/10. I only missed Beijing (I picked Tokyo).
Boston threw me a bit because I was looking for the Silver Line too, but I'm guessing bus rapid transit didn't count.
posted by SisterHavana at 2:56 PM on January 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
Boston threw me a bit because I was looking for the Silver Line too, but I'm guessing bus rapid transit didn't count.
posted by SisterHavana at 2:56 PM on January 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
I got Chicago because it didn't have anything going to the right. Two more were luck.
I swear the maps on the walls in London were a lot simpler than that.
posted by darksasami at 2:56 PM on January 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
I swear the maps on the walls in London were a lot simpler than that.
posted by darksasami at 2:56 PM on January 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
8/10. I'd of gotten 9/10 but my brain refuses to believe that L.A. has a rail line (or that the Rams are in St. Louis).
posted by benito.strauss at 2:59 PM on January 19, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by benito.strauss at 2:59 PM on January 19, 2015 [3 favorites]
Sara C.: "I want to go to Moscow and just ride the circle-y one around and around all day."
or if you're in Berlin, the popular local sport Drink The Ring
posted by mannequito at 3:02 PM on January 19, 2015 [4 favorites]
or if you're in Berlin, the popular local sport Drink The Ring
posted by mannequito at 3:02 PM on January 19, 2015 [4 favorites]
7/10. Glad to see LA represented there and waiting for one of the lines to go all the way to the beach ;-)
posted by viramamunivar at 3:03 PM on January 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by viramamunivar at 3:03 PM on January 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
10/10.
The London one was easy for me because I spotted the Docklands Light Railway and the Emirates Air Line on the map. Moscow was easy too because of the circle and New York was easy to spot as well because of the blue line in the bottom left corner that represented Staten Island. A lot of the rest were guesses. I'm surprised that the Tokyo map isn't on there.
posted by I-baLL at 3:05 PM on January 19, 2015
The London one was easy for me because I spotted the Docklands Light Railway and the Emirates Air Line on the map. Moscow was easy too because of the circle and New York was easy to spot as well because of the blue line in the bottom left corner that represented Staten Island. A lot of the rest were guesses. I'm surprised that the Tokyo map isn't on there.
posted by I-baLL at 3:05 PM on January 19, 2015
7/10. I got Moscow!
posted by Splunge at 3:05 PM on January 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Splunge at 3:05 PM on January 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
I want to go to Moscow and just ride the circle-y one around and around all day.
The circle route's ugly. You want the red one across the middle. Line 5 IIRC.
posted by ambrosen at 3:06 PM on January 19, 2015
The circle route's ugly. You want the red one across the middle. Line 5 IIRC.
posted by ambrosen at 3:06 PM on January 19, 2015
9/10
Only been on two of them...I love subways/tubes though.
I didn't know LA even had a "subway!" Rail lines with a tunnel here and there, sure, but subway?
And not sure about BART either: most of it is a rail line. They have that tube under the bay though, so big points there.
What's the differentiation for rail system vs subway? London is almost all underground and it's rare to come up...SF is almost all above ground and rare to go down....
posted by CrowGoat at 3:06 PM on January 19, 2015
Only been on two of them...I love subways/tubes though.
I didn't know LA even had a "subway!" Rail lines with a tunnel here and there, sure, but subway?
And not sure about BART either: most of it is a rail line. They have that tube under the bay though, so big points there.
What's the differentiation for rail system vs subway? London is almost all underground and it's rare to come up...SF is almost all above ground and rare to go down....
posted by CrowGoat at 3:06 PM on January 19, 2015
10/10 :) But I did live in Beijing, which seems to have been one of the tricky ones.
my brain refuses to believe L.A. has a rail line
I didn't know LA even had a "subway!"
Fun fact: LA's two heavy rail lines, the Red and Purple -- which, granted, are only 17 miles in length -- actually see heavier ridership per mile than Philadelphia's SEPTA heavy rail, the Chicago L, the Washington Metro or the San Francisco Bay Area's BART (although I'll admit the last two comparisons are a bit unfair as both the Metro and the BART have lines that are far-flung into less-dense suburbia.) Sort the table by "rider per mile".
posted by andrewesque at 3:10 PM on January 19, 2015 [3 favorites]
my brain refuses to believe L.A. has a rail line
I didn't know LA even had a "subway!"
Fun fact: LA's two heavy rail lines, the Red and Purple -- which, granted, are only 17 miles in length -- actually see heavier ridership per mile than Philadelphia's SEPTA heavy rail, the Chicago L, the Washington Metro or the San Francisco Bay Area's BART (although I'll admit the last two comparisons are a bit unfair as both the Metro and the BART have lines that are far-flung into less-dense suburbia.) Sort the table by "rider per mile".
posted by andrewesque at 3:10 PM on January 19, 2015 [3 favorites]
I got 8/10 and then I was annoyed by being labeled a "Wonkblog-Certified Transit Ninja." "Ninja" is so aughty and kind of racist to boot. I just like transit.
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:11 PM on January 19, 2015
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:11 PM on January 19, 2015
The street-grid quiz from the previous week is fun, too, although they go overboard with the clues.
And they left out the beautifully regular Minneapolis grid (well, south of the river).
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:15 PM on January 19, 2015
And they left out the beautifully regular Minneapolis grid (well, south of the river).
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:15 PM on January 19, 2015
Wonkblog-Certified Transit Ninja
That's what you get for 10/10 too.
London is almost all underground and it's rare to come up...
Just over half the Underground's length is actually above ground.
posted by Thing at 3:17 PM on January 19, 2015
That's what you get for 10/10 too.
London is almost all underground and it's rare to come up...
Just over half the Underground's length is actually above ground.
posted by Thing at 3:17 PM on January 19, 2015
10 out of 10, because I have 3 and 5 year old boys who only ever want to talk about trains, especially subways as they are trains that live in tunnels, and do you know how many children's books and youtube videos there are about subways? ENOUGH THAT I GOT TEN OUT OF TEN.
This week, all they have wanted to talk about is the difference between subway tunnels bored through the bedrock and subway tunnels that are "just" cut-and-cover. Have. Stopped. Caring.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 3:19 PM on January 19, 2015 [25 favorites]
This week, all they have wanted to talk about is the difference between subway tunnels bored through the bedrock and subway tunnels that are "just" cut-and-cover. Have. Stopped. Caring.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 3:19 PM on January 19, 2015 [25 favorites]
Just over half the Underground's length is actually above ground.
And in New York, about 40% of the trackage is actually at ground level or aboveground. I think though, that since the core parts of the system in both New York and London are almost entirely underground (in this NYC map, red tracks are underground), many people's perceptions of the system are that they are overwhelmingly underground when that's not quite the case.
posted by andrewesque at 3:22 PM on January 19, 2015 [4 favorites]
And in New York, about 40% of the trackage is actually at ground level or aboveground. I think though, that since the core parts of the system in both New York and London are almost entirely underground (in this NYC map, red tracks are underground), many people's perceptions of the system are that they are overwhelmingly underground when that's not quite the case.
posted by andrewesque at 3:22 PM on January 19, 2015 [4 favorites]
And here is a map for London of parts of the Tube that are open-air, although it's not quite as good as the NYC diagram I just posted since this one is of the official Tube map, which is obviously not at all to scale.
posted by andrewesque at 3:24 PM on January 19, 2015
posted by andrewesque at 3:24 PM on January 19, 2015
L.A totally has a subway! It's a great way to get from Union Station to Hollywood.
posted by The Whelk at 3:27 PM on January 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by The Whelk at 3:27 PM on January 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
I got Chicago because they said "okay one more in the US" and duh of course Chicago.
8/10. Missed Moscow and Beijing.
posted by aubilenon at 3:31 PM on January 19, 2015
8/10. Missed Moscow and Beijing.
posted by aubilenon at 3:31 PM on January 19, 2015
Yeah, that Beijing map is a few years old. I'm guessing 2010? It looks a bit different now.
posted by Aiwen at 3:33 PM on January 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Aiwen at 3:33 PM on January 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
I was spot on (kinda); it's 30. december 2010. I found a nice overview over the development of the Beijing subway system.
posted by Aiwen at 3:38 PM on January 19, 2015
posted by Aiwen at 3:38 PM on January 19, 2015
9/10 too easy. A lot of them can be guessed based on geography (cities on coasts can't sprawl evenly) or population (I didn't recognize NYC but it was too complex to be anything else; likewise Seoul just wan't going to be Pyongyang or Christchurch).
But my rules of thumb broke with San Francisco— the BART system doesn't look at all like the layout of the city, and looks way too simple.
posted by zompist at 3:39 PM on January 19, 2015
But my rules of thumb broke with San Francisco— the BART system doesn't look at all like the layout of the city, and looks way too simple.
posted by zompist at 3:39 PM on January 19, 2015
L.A totally has a subway! It's a great way to get from Union Station to Hollywood.
Yes but then you're in Hollywood.
posted by Justinian at 3:43 PM on January 19, 2015 [3 favorites]
Yes but then you're in Hollywood.
posted by Justinian at 3:43 PM on January 19, 2015 [3 favorites]
London looks a lot like Tokyo to me, I also missed Beijing and LA.
posted by bashos_frog at 3:43 PM on January 19, 2015
posted by bashos_frog at 3:43 PM on January 19, 2015
Can I name the cities just by looking at their subway maps? Sure. Spaghetti-town. Gummy-worm-burgh. Squiggly-ville.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 3:48 PM on January 19, 2015 [11 favorites]
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 3:48 PM on January 19, 2015 [11 favorites]
But my rules of thumb broke with San Francisco— the BART system doesn't look at all like the layout of the city, and looks way too simple.
Yeah, well it also left out the entire MUNI train system, so *shrug*.
posted by aubilenon at 3:50 PM on January 19, 2015 [5 favorites]
Yeah, well it also left out the entire MUNI train system, so *shrug*.
posted by aubilenon at 3:50 PM on January 19, 2015 [5 favorites]
5/10, and I've only ever been on the Chicago subway, to and from O'Hare.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:50 PM on January 19, 2015
posted by Thorzdad at 3:50 PM on January 19, 2015
Hurrah! I'm a certified Wonkblog Transit Ninja! This calls for a nice pint of O'Doul's (one part O'Doul's, nine parts water) and some late-period Wilco turned down so my cat won't hear
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 3:51 PM on January 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 3:51 PM on January 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
Your score: 5 / 10I did well on the U.S. ones, and terribly at the overseas systems.
Pretty darn good.
Honestly this is better than I thought you'd do. Not bad!
posted by ob1quixote at 3:52 PM on January 19, 2015
Beijing's looks like a guy dancing with a vaudeville cane. And antennae, I guess.
posted by vytae at 3:53 PM on January 19, 2015
posted by vytae at 3:53 PM on January 19, 2015
I guess Glasgow's would have been too easy. I like "drink the ring" but ours is just called the Subcrawl.
posted by stuartmm at 3:53 PM on January 19, 2015
posted by stuartmm at 3:53 PM on January 19, 2015
Hah, I'm from Christchurch, so it was funny seeing that pop up as the final option.
(we have no subway)
posted by xiw at 3:56 PM on January 19, 2015 [3 favorites]
(we have no subway)
posted by xiw at 3:56 PM on January 19, 2015 [3 favorites]
Chicago is pretty easy to identify by the way you can practically see Lake Michigan to the east
posted by DoctorFedora at 4:06 PM on January 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by DoctorFedora at 4:06 PM on January 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
7/10, despite the fact that the only one I've ever ridden was Washington D.C. A lot of the rest can be guessed by simple test wiseness, whether the coastline is to the right or left, and so on. And if I'd been paying closer attention I wouldn't have missed NYC.
posted by localroger at 4:23 PM on January 19, 2015
posted by localroger at 4:23 PM on January 19, 2015
6/10 but mostly guessing since I've only ridden three of those answers ever.
posted by mathowie at 4:31 PM on January 19, 2015
posted by mathowie at 4:31 PM on January 19, 2015
2/10, which is also how comfortable I am using any transit system. I tend to drive most places and when I am in need of a transit system, I feel lost trying to figure it out.
posted by Fizz at 4:38 PM on January 19, 2015
posted by Fizz at 4:38 PM on January 19, 2015
7/10 through mostly guesswork, despite haven ridden seven different subways in six different countries.
posted by Miss Otis' Egrets at 4:44 PM on January 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Miss Otis' Egrets at 4:44 PM on January 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
9/10, although most of the international ones were just guesses. Have ridden 6/10. Ironically, I missed San Francisco even though I was just out there on BART a couple of times in October. (Couldn't get it straight that only the far left part of that map is actually in San Francisco. Which I guess is appropriate.)
I like how one ‘hint‘ says “It's on the West Coast," and then the choices are in California, Oregon, and Washington State.
posted by LeLiLo at 4:47 PM on January 19, 2015
I like how one ‘hint‘ says “It's on the West Coast," and then the choices are in California, Oregon, and Washington State.
posted by LeLiLo at 4:47 PM on January 19, 2015
But my rules of thumb broke with San Francisco— the BART system doesn't look at all like the layout of the city, and looks way too simple.
Well, the only part of BART in SF proper is where you see all four main lines running together in a straight line - most of it goes to different parts of the East Bay (eventually to be extended south all the way to San Jose).
posted by atoxyl at 4:51 PM on January 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
Well, the only part of BART in SF proper is where you see all four main lines running together in a straight line - most of it goes to different parts of the East Bay (eventually to be extended south all the way to San Jose).
posted by atoxyl at 4:51 PM on January 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
Chicago is pretty easy to identify by the way you can practically see Lake Michigan to the east
"The Loop" gave it away for me, and I've never been to Chicago.
posted by LionIndex at 4:59 PM on January 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
"The Loop" gave it away for me, and I've never been to Chicago.
posted by LionIndex at 4:59 PM on January 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
Can I name the cities just by looking at their subway maps? Sure. Spaghetti-town. Gummy-worm-burgh. Squiggly-ville.
I really wish every user had, like, one "super-favorite" to give out. Because I would have.
posted by threeants at 5:04 PM on January 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
I really wish every user had, like, one "super-favorite" to give out. Because I would have.
posted by threeants at 5:04 PM on January 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
Given what can already be inferred about the likely appearance of each map given even a passing knowledge of the characteristics of the metropolitan areas, the hints are a bit overkill. I'm only directly familiar with D.C.'s Metro and Boston's T, but I still got every one right up to Moscow.
posted by The Confessor at 5:06 PM on January 19, 2015
posted by The Confessor at 5:06 PM on January 19, 2015
10/10, but the hints made it way too easy. Seoul was the only one I didn't know and couldn't get off of hints - it was a 50/50 guess.
posted by maryr at 5:18 PM on January 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by maryr at 5:18 PM on January 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
9/10. Missed Beijing -- would have thought they would have a larger one at this point. I grew up outside DC and live near SF, so those were gimmies, and most of the others can be worked out by logic; the Chicago one was clearly bounded by a large body of water to the east, the last one was far too large to belong a city in NK or NZ, and even Sydney seemed likely too small, so Seoul. A few were prior knowledge -- I knew that Moscow has a ring in the subway.
posted by tavella at 5:21 PM on January 19, 2015
posted by tavella at 5:21 PM on January 19, 2015
Hmm, didn't even realize there were hints, I was just looking at the maps.
posted by tavella at 5:21 PM on January 19, 2015
posted by tavella at 5:21 PM on January 19, 2015
Ah, wait, I did see the bits about going across the ocean but missed some of the more specific things.
posted by tavella at 5:23 PM on January 19, 2015
posted by tavella at 5:23 PM on January 19, 2015
9/10 because Beijing's looked too small to be Beijing.
Eyebrows McGee should be amused that the term of art for the non-cut-and-cover tunnel is "deep bore."
posted by fedward at 5:43 PM on January 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
Eyebrows McGee should be amused that the term of art for the non-cut-and-cover tunnel is "deep bore."
posted by fedward at 5:43 PM on January 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
10/10. The hints made it too easy. I would have got 1/10 without hints.
posted by monotreme at 5:47 PM on January 19, 2015
posted by monotreme at 5:47 PM on January 19, 2015
I got 7. I had to get London, because I have the map on a pair of black dress socks. And yes, when someone asks, I say: "These? These are Tube socks."
posted by Ella Fynoe at 5:51 PM on January 19, 2015 [13 favorites]
posted by Ella Fynoe at 5:51 PM on January 19, 2015 [13 favorites]
I kept an eye out for Portland as I scrolled, forgetting that--but for a short stretch with a single stop underground--our rail system is all above-ground.
posted by blueberry at 6:17 PM on January 19, 2015
posted by blueberry at 6:17 PM on January 19, 2015
The giveaway for Moscow is the brown ring line, which is so obviously a product of central planning rather than more chaotic and democratic expansion (or London's mass of multiple private operators all building lines willy-nilly), without a lot of bother over private property rights and complaints about noise and political considerations about which neighborhoods to serve and whatnot. It's very circular even on a "real" map.
It was built at the height of Stalin's power and most of the crazy-beautiful Moscow metro stations are on that line.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:39 PM on January 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
It was built at the height of Stalin's power and most of the crazy-beautiful Moscow metro stations are on that line.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:39 PM on January 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
I got almost all of these! I love subway systems. I grew up in a small town in New Hampshire, and idolized cities and their infrastructure when I was a kid. They were just so darn magical with their hustle and bustle, and people who came from all over the world. Despite being in my 30s, and living in a city these adult days, I STILL get a rush of SQUEE! when on a subway.
posted by missmary6 at 6:42 PM on January 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by missmary6 at 6:42 PM on January 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
Re: Boston's map. The one he used is actually the old new one. The new new one, which has been slowly replacing other maps, is here; sort of similar to the one it replaced, but the Green Line assumes gigantic size to fit in all the station names.
posted by adamg at 6:46 PM on January 19, 2015
posted by adamg at 6:46 PM on January 19, 2015
10/10 but I have more than one book on the design and function of the London Underground system and I once happily discovered a left-over Klippekorte in my pocket at a party and talked to the person next to me about the Danish urban transit system. I've spent too much time in Hong Kong in summer and in Singapore (anytime) to not have become a master of subterranean peregrination.
My wallet is a map of the London Underground.
Hey, come back!
posted by nfalkner at 6:47 PM on January 19, 2015 [3 favorites]
My wallet is a map of the London Underground.
Hey, come back!
posted by nfalkner at 6:47 PM on January 19, 2015 [3 favorites]
9/10 and have ridden 6 of these, missed Moscow.
Seoul surprised me by the size of the place, the city has about 10M people, with a correspondingly large subway. I took one subway ride there that I realized was going to take half an hour, and I spent the time learning the Korean alphabet (well, temporarily anyway). The station map on the train had every stop in both Korean and English, so it acted as a Rosetta stone of sorts.
posted by A dead Quaker at 6:49 PM on January 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
Seoul surprised me by the size of the place, the city has about 10M people, with a correspondingly large subway. I took one subway ride there that I realized was going to take half an hour, and I spent the time learning the Korean alphabet (well, temporarily anyway). The station map on the train had every stop in both Korean and English, so it acted as a Rosetta stone of sorts.
posted by A dead Quaker at 6:49 PM on January 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
Timely cuteness! I just snapped this pic of a fabric shop window en route to the laundromat! SF Bay Area BART.
posted by missmary6 at 6:52 PM on January 19, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by missmary6 at 6:52 PM on January 19, 2015 [3 favorites]
7/10 'cause my foreign rail knowledge needs work.
posted by evidenceofabsence at 7:02 PM on January 19, 2015
posted by evidenceofabsence at 7:02 PM on January 19, 2015
> I took one subway ride there that I realized was going to take half an hour, and I spent the time learning the Korean alphabet
I was told it should only take half that time.
posted by benito.strauss at 7:13 PM on January 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
I was told it should only take half that time.
posted by benito.strauss at 7:13 PM on January 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
7/10 in a row; failed the last three. I've only ridden the subway in Boston, NYC, and Mexico City.
posted by Fuzzypumper at 7:23 PM on January 19, 2015
posted by Fuzzypumper at 7:23 PM on January 19, 2015
10/10 but I'm a bit of a transit geek.
The Green Line in Boston is very identifiable, as is the Loop in Chicago. New York is also obvious, with the spaghetti stretching north and east but turning into a dense regular grid in Manhattan. BART is identifiable by every single line interlining on the same section. I've pored over the map of the Underground so often that it's almost impossible not to recognize it. Finally, Moscow's perfect circle is also immediately recognizable.
I wasn't 100% sure it was Washington, but I knew it definitely wasn't any of the other cities. I knew Los Angeles has a sparse system, but that's about it. It was easy to eliminate the other options though. I wasn't sure about Beijing, but I do know that circle lines are relative uncommon features and remembered seeing that on a Beijing subway map. The yellow line forming an extension of the circle also rang a bell. I also wasn't familiar with Seoul's system, but once again, I could eliminate the other options and Seoul is really the only city that is at a scale for a system like that.
posted by jamincan at 8:06 PM on January 19, 2015
The Green Line in Boston is very identifiable, as is the Loop in Chicago. New York is also obvious, with the spaghetti stretching north and east but turning into a dense regular grid in Manhattan. BART is identifiable by every single line interlining on the same section. I've pored over the map of the Underground so often that it's almost impossible not to recognize it. Finally, Moscow's perfect circle is also immediately recognizable.
I wasn't 100% sure it was Washington, but I knew it definitely wasn't any of the other cities. I knew Los Angeles has a sparse system, but that's about it. It was easy to eliminate the other options though. I wasn't sure about Beijing, but I do know that circle lines are relative uncommon features and remembered seeing that on a Beijing subway map. The yellow line forming an extension of the circle also rang a bell. I also wasn't familiar with Seoul's system, but once again, I could eliminate the other options and Seoul is really the only city that is at a scale for a system like that.
posted by jamincan at 8:06 PM on January 19, 2015
GenjiandProust: ""Ninja" is so aughty and kind of racist to boot."
Racist?
posted by Bugbread at 8:06 PM on January 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
Racist?
posted by Bugbread at 8:06 PM on January 19, 2015 [2 favorites]
9/10. Surprised myself a bit, have only ridden 4 of them.
posted by scottymac at 8:24 PM on January 19, 2015
posted by scottymac at 8:24 PM on January 19, 2015
BART is identifiable by every single line interlining on the same section.
Overlooked once more, the Richmond-Fremont line sheds a single lonely tear.
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 8:25 PM on January 19, 2015 [5 favorites]
Overlooked once more, the Richmond-Fremont line sheds a single lonely tear.
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 8:25 PM on January 19, 2015 [5 favorites]
This is the San Francisco metro system (which also doesn't do a good job of connecting a significant part of the city, but at least you can see that the east side is downtown.) BART is a strange commuter rail/subway hybrid that connects a lot larger area.
posted by aspo at 8:30 PM on January 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by aspo at 8:30 PM on January 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
7/10 here. I guessed on most of them.
In LA, all of the Purple & Red lines are underground. :)
posted by luckynerd at 8:35 PM on January 19, 2015
In LA, all of the Purple & Red lines are underground. :)
posted by luckynerd at 8:35 PM on January 19, 2015
9/10, missing Beijing. The hints are indeed pretty hinty, but you can get a lot of them just by the shape without any text (NYC, Boston, Chicago, and Moscow are the most distinctive looking IMHO).
To be completely persnickety, though, calling BART the San Francisco subway seems kind of misleading to me -- the majority of the stops are outside of SF. It's more like a combination of PATH and NJ Transit, to use an East Coast analogy. And, on preview, upstaged by aspo!
posted by en forme de poire at 8:56 PM on January 19, 2015
To be completely persnickety, though, calling BART the San Francisco subway seems kind of misleading to me -- the majority of the stops are outside of SF. It's more like a combination of PATH and NJ Transit, to use an East Coast analogy. And, on preview, upstaged by aspo!
posted by en forme de poire at 8:56 PM on January 19, 2015
Bay Area Rapid Transit. Which bay? San Francisco Bay.
It's the MUNI that provides transit to the municipality of San Francisco
(Just my guesses.)
posted by benito.strauss at 11:01 PM on January 19, 2015
It's the MUNI that provides transit to the municipality of San Francisco
(Just my guesses.)
posted by benito.strauss at 11:01 PM on January 19, 2015
I've ridden 5 of these: Chicago (of course), NYC, Boston, DC, and London. I've been to LA and SF, but didn't ride the subways there. (I was a kid on vacation with my family at the time.)
posted by SisterHavana at 2:24 AM on January 20, 2015
posted by SisterHavana at 2:24 AM on January 20, 2015
I missed Beijing. And have ridden on most of them.
How many places have a purple line? How culturally determined are the colors? What's the most frequently used color? Any of the transit nerds out there know much about the selection process?
posted by gingerbeer at 3:46 AM on January 20, 2015
How many places have a purple line? How culturally determined are the colors? What's the most frequently used color? Any of the transit nerds out there know much about the selection process?
posted by gingerbeer at 3:46 AM on January 20, 2015
9 out of 10. I guessed Singapore for Beijing (the hint led me astray, because do you really think of Beijing as "orderly"?) Not sure I could have gotten London if I hadn't been there.
I'm wondering if I would have gotten Atlanta, had it been on the quiz. I live in Atlanta, within walking distance of a MARTA station, but I tend to forget MARTA exists because it doesn't go anywhere else I want to go.
How many places have a purple line? How culturally determined are the colors? What's the most frequently used color? Any of the transit nerds out there know much about the selection process?
It wouldn't surprise me to find out that colors roughly come with the hierarchy of basic color terms. So purple should come pretty late. (In Boston, for example, there's something called the "purple line" but it's actually not a subway line at all, it's the commuter rail. So there are actually a dozen or so lines which are all purple.)
posted by madcaptenor at 7:11 AM on January 20, 2015
I'm wondering if I would have gotten Atlanta, had it been on the quiz. I live in Atlanta, within walking distance of a MARTA station, but I tend to forget MARTA exists because it doesn't go anywhere else I want to go.
How many places have a purple line? How culturally determined are the colors? What's the most frequently used color? Any of the transit nerds out there know much about the selection process?
It wouldn't surprise me to find out that colors roughly come with the hierarchy of basic color terms. So purple should come pretty late. (In Boston, for example, there's something called the "purple line" but it's actually not a subway line at all, it's the commuter rail. So there are actually a dozen or so lines which are all purple.)
posted by madcaptenor at 7:11 AM on January 20, 2015
>GenjiandProust: ""Ninja" is so aughty and kind of racist to boot."
Racist?
Yeah, it's a Japanese historical thing which has been widely co-opted for all sorts of purposes, which is kind of not OK. (Andrew Ti discusses it here on Yo, Is This Racist?). It's also getting some traction as a replacement for another word that begins with "N," which is also.... well.
I don't think it's the most racist thing ever, but that doesn't make it non-racist.
posted by GenjiandProust at 7:19 AM on January 20, 2015 [2 favorites]
Racist?
Yeah, it's a Japanese historical thing which has been widely co-opted for all sorts of purposes, which is kind of not OK. (Andrew Ti discusses it here on Yo, Is This Racist?). It's also getting some traction as a replacement for another word that begins with "N," which is also.... well.
I don't think it's the most racist thing ever, but that doesn't make it non-racist.
posted by GenjiandProust at 7:19 AM on January 20, 2015 [2 favorites]
10/10! This is easier than the Starbucks map quiz.
posted by of strange foe at 7:48 AM on January 20, 2015
posted by of strange foe at 7:48 AM on January 20, 2015
10/10, always fancied myself a certified transit ninja.
posted by ferret branca at 9:28 AM on January 20, 2015
posted by ferret branca at 9:28 AM on January 20, 2015
How many places have a purple line? How culturally determined are the colors? What's the most frequently used color? Any of the transit nerds out there know much about the selection process?
L.A. has a line that is purple colored, but it's known as the Expo Line (the other lines are known by their colors, though). London has some purple on their tube map, but I'm pretty sure their lines aren't known by color names. NYC has purple as well, but ditto (lines are known by letters and numbers, or they have old-school location based names, e.g. the Lexington Avenue Line)
I'm curious to know how many cities with a purple line call it The Purple Line.
In re other colors, I'm confident that every subway system I've ever used, on three continents, had a red line. I'd be willing to go to bat for a blue or green line in every city, too.
I'm unfortunately not familiar enough with non-Anglophone subway line naming conventions to know if the purple lines in Moscow, Beijing, and Seoul are called Purple Line or just known by some other name and represented by the color violet on the map.
posted by Sara C. at 10:09 AM on January 20, 2015
L.A. has a line that is purple colored, but it's known as the Expo Line (the other lines are known by their colors, though). London has some purple on their tube map, but I'm pretty sure their lines aren't known by color names. NYC has purple as well, but ditto (lines are known by letters and numbers, or they have old-school location based names, e.g. the Lexington Avenue Line)
I'm curious to know how many cities with a purple line call it The Purple Line.
In re other colors, I'm confident that every subway system I've ever used, on three continents, had a red line. I'd be willing to go to bat for a blue or green line in every city, too.
I'm unfortunately not familiar enough with non-Anglophone subway line naming conventions to know if the purple lines in Moscow, Beijing, and Seoul are called Purple Line or just known by some other name and represented by the color violet on the map.
posted by Sara C. at 10:09 AM on January 20, 2015
The lines in Seoul are named and the ones in Moscow are numbered. Looking on Wikipedia, the Beijing ones are numbered.
posted by ambrosen at 10:29 AM on January 20, 2015
posted by ambrosen at 10:29 AM on January 20, 2015
It wouldn't surprise me to find out that colors roughly come with the hierarchy of basic color terms. So purple should come pretty late.
While I do believe you are right, you raise something which has lately bothered me about the Manchester Metrolink (a tram system, not subway). They have lines of pink, brown, and purple, yet no red or orange. The person who chooses the hues must either have a good reason or be wicked obtuse.
posted by Thing at 10:54 AM on January 20, 2015
While I do believe you are right, you raise something which has lately bothered me about the Manchester Metrolink (a tram system, not subway). They have lines of pink, brown, and purple, yet no red or orange. The person who chooses the hues must either have a good reason or be wicked obtuse.
posted by Thing at 10:54 AM on January 20, 2015
I feel like pink, brown, and purple would fade out into identical impossible-to-distinguish smudges on signs, so UGGHHHHHHHHH why
The nice thing about Red/Blue/Orange/Green is that they all look really different, even if the paint fades or the maps get weathered.
posted by Sara C. at 12:11 PM on January 20, 2015
The nice thing about Red/Blue/Orange/Green is that they all look really different, even if the paint fades or the maps get weathered.
posted by Sara C. at 12:11 PM on January 20, 2015
This is the San Francisco metro system (which also doesn't do a good job of connecting a significant part of the city, but at least you can see that the east side is downtown.) BART is a strange commuter rail/subway hybrid that connects a lot larger area.
Yeah, but it's inexplicable that SF's local BART routes aren't on the MUNI Metro map (or that the MUNI map doesn't even try to include any landmarks or points of reference. It's diagrammatic to the point where it barely qualifies as a map)
Putting all of the Bay Area's transit systems on one map is not difficult, but God Forbid somebody place Marin County and Oakland together on the same sheet of paper...
posted by schmod at 1:19 PM on January 20, 2015 [3 favorites]
Yeah, but it's inexplicable that SF's local BART routes aren't on the MUNI Metro map (or that the MUNI map doesn't even try to include any landmarks or points of reference. It's diagrammatic to the point where it barely qualifies as a map)
Putting all of the Bay Area's transit systems on one map is not difficult, but God Forbid somebody place Marin County and Oakland together on the same sheet of paper...
posted by schmod at 1:19 PM on January 20, 2015 [3 favorites]
What's the differentiation for rail system vs subway? London is almost all underground and it's rare to come up...SF is almost all above ground and rare to go down....
I was hoping it was an easy answer, then started looking in Wikipedia. Technically, everything is rail transit, and subways are a location for a chosen form of rail transit.
posted by ZeusHumms at 1:29 PM on January 20, 2015
I was hoping it was an easy answer, then started looking in Wikipedia. Technically, everything is rail transit, and subways are a location for a chosen form of rail transit.
posted by ZeusHumms at 1:29 PM on January 20, 2015
Uhghh, if only SF had a "real" subway. BART only serves a single corridor within the city and Muni is -- well, I know it's a little gauche to pick on a city you just moved to, but the way I've been describing the Muni Metro to East Coasters is that it's like if Boston only had the Green Line.
posted by en forme de poire at 3:26 PM on January 20, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by en forme de poire at 3:26 PM on January 20, 2015 [2 favorites]
Boston's Red/Green/Blue/Orange lines originally referenced their termini. The Red line ended at Harvard (the Crimson). The Green line traveled arounf parts of the Emerald necklace (parks). The Blue line runs along the coast (water). And the Orange line was so named for Orange Street, which no longer exists. And the Silver line was going to be fast, but now it is buses? Hm.
(Boston has a "purple" line - it's the commuter rail. Nobody really calls it that, except to make fun.)
posted by maryr at 4:03 PM on January 20, 2015 [2 favorites]
(Boston has a "purple" line - it's the commuter rail. Nobody really calls it that, except to make fun.)
posted by maryr at 4:03 PM on January 20, 2015 [2 favorites]
Oh man, I just went down a really depressing rabbit hole reading about how low-quality and overpriced the USA's infrastructure projects are. (It sounds basically of a piece with the health care situation, in that there too, we get out of control costs from, among other things, scores of unaccountable middlemen hiring other middlemen plus totally opaque spending).
posted by en forme de poire at 7:42 PM on January 20, 2015
posted by en forme de poire at 7:42 PM on January 20, 2015
(Boston has a "purple" line - it's the commuter rail. Nobody really calls it that, except to make fun.)
"Line" also needs to be in quotes, because the MBTA Commuter system has several distinct lines.
posted by schmod at 7:14 AM on January 21, 2015
"Line" also needs to be in quotes, because the MBTA Commuter system has several distinct lines.
posted by schmod at 7:14 AM on January 21, 2015
Yeah, the North Station-South Station disconnect is unfortunate, persistant, and probably irresolvable.
posted by maryr at 8:45 AM on January 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by maryr at 8:45 AM on January 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
L.A. has a line that is purple colored, but it's known as the Expo Line (the other lines are known by their colors, though).
Actually LA's purple line is called, well, the Purple Line. The Expo Line is colored this sort of aquamarine blue color. (Both the Purple and Expo lines are supposed to be extended through the Westside and on some mythical day in the far future both reach the ocean.)
posted by andrewesque at 6:05 AM on January 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
Actually LA's purple line is called, well, the Purple Line. The Expo Line is colored this sort of aquamarine blue color. (Both the Purple and Expo lines are supposed to be extended through the Westside and on some mythical day in the far future both reach the ocean.)
posted by andrewesque at 6:05 AM on January 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
Wait, the purple line and the expo line aren't the same thing?
The West Side is weird.
posted by Sara C. at 10:05 AM on January 24, 2015
The West Side is weird.
posted by Sara C. at 10:05 AM on January 24, 2015
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The MBTA one is a bit tricksy; we just adopted that redesign, like, this year.
posted by threeants at 2:48 PM on January 19, 2015