Xu – MAP SENSITIVITY VS MAP DEPENDENCY 2017

Description

This study tests the common planning assumption that frequent transit riders are less influenced by schematic maps than novices. Using the Washington DC Metro as a case study, the author ran online route-choice experiments with seven map variants and 30 origin–destination pairs, sampling frequent commuters (via a station newspaper) and general residents (via Amazon Mechanical Turk). Results contradict the assumption: frequent riders were often more sensitive to subtle, familiarity-related map changes (e.g., streamlining the Yellow Line or presenting the true map), while less-familiar residents responded more to large, obvious distortions (e.g., substantially lengthening the Blue Line). Certain redesigns (notably Map Y1) shifted significant shares of trips between crossings, implying map changes could reallocate thousands of riders and help relieve chokepoints like the Rosslyn Tunnel at low cost. Interviews indicated strong public and planner openness to such “visual nudges” if they reduce travel time. The paper argues that sensitivity differs from dependency and promotes schematic map design as a practical tool for demand management.