Spatial Orientation in a Subway System

Abstract

The absence of a clear structural legibility within the New York City subway system tends to make its users dependent on other informational aids about its structural design and operations-such as signs, announcements, and especially the official New York City subway map and guide. The effectiveness of the New York City subway guide was tested by assigning 20 Ss a travel route which consisted of four trip-segments of varying difficulty. Of the total 80 trip segments, only 37 were traveled via acceptable (as determined by authors) solutions, with subjects having more difficulty planning acceptable solutions for more complex trip-segments. Interviews revealed that subjects felt insecure traveling the subway because the graphics in the system did not serve to reinforce their train selections. The findings suggest that the New York City subway system needs an improved map to guide its passengers as well as better systemwide graphics.