A university lecturer who has a viral London Underground map has said the original TfL map is 'truly awful' and needs a major change.
Whether you like it or not, there is no denying that the London The metro map is iconic.
Now Dr Max Roberts, a map enthusiast and psychology lecturer, has delighted Londoners with his latest version of the London Underground map: an unusual circular map that he claims is less cluttered than the official one.
He said the original map doesn't keep track of how many new stations have been added since Harry Beck first created it in 1931.
Max told Metro.co.uk: 'If you look at the map now it's worse than it was in 2013, it's really awful now.'
While the online viral response to his circular map was “a surprise,” people were “urgently looking for a good map, and this one has that wow factor,” he said.
The 57-year-old has always loved maps and has been collecting them since he was a child in South London, where there was “obviously no Tube”.
An earlier circular map he created in 2013 also made headlines when he redesigned it in an attempt to de-clutter London's public transport network.
He explained what prompted him to go back: 'The reason I'm going back now is that TfL have changed the walking distances and are displaying the walking distances. It's more important now where you put the stations in relation to each other.
'If the stations are close enough to walk to, then they should also be close enough on the map.'
“People say it's just a diagram and you shouldn't take it literally, but people can't help it and want to read it anyway,” he added.
What made the original map so messy for Max was the “disorganised” space, the proportions and the “spatial distortions” that “don't really represent London,” he said.
'If your part of London is really no good, you become alienated from it, so to speak.'
He said the huge interest in his alternative map should convince TfL that 'this map is not just a piece of corporate wallpaper, but that it must be usable to basic accessibility standards.'
Max was also not happy about the metro map, saying it was 'really horrible to look at'.
He explained: 'It's exactly the same as the original, but it has more stations. We're supposed to empty it out and start over, but for some reason they don't and they just stuff it fuller.'
The reason for not changing the original is that it would be 'a step too far', according to Max.
'Cultural-wise, TfL has been committed to the Harry Beck card for over 90 years, so a separation would be too radical a step.'
Transport for London says there are no plans to change the appearance of the Tube map.
A TfL spokesman said: 'The Tube map is an iconic piece of world-famous design, first created by Harry Beck in 1933 and has grown and evolved along with the city it represents. It is used by millions of people every day and we have no plans to change the design.'
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