You're reading: New metro maps hope to create modern look

The Kyiv metro is ready to test a new metro map.

The new Kyiv Rapid Transit Map has a modern look and represents the location of the stations more accurately. Unlike those in use, the updated one also includes the speed tram and city train routes.
The map was created by a team of enthusiastic Ukrainian designers under the guidance of Ihor Sklyarevskiy.

“The former authorities didn’t listen to the opinion of the citizens, thus the idea was rejected,” Sklyarevskiy, team leader of the designer group Agents of Change said. “But after the EuroMaidan Revolution, the management of  the Kyiv metro was replaced and the new one gave way for the metro map design made by active citizens.”

The story of the new map goes back to 2011, when Skliarevsky first started to work on it. In 2014 he revived the project with the help of the Agents of Change group of some 15 designers, translators and editors.

The group has been consulting with their Facebook audience about every feature of the map. In October, Kyiv metro managers agreed to try out the new map.

The Kyiv metro has already placed part of the scheme, featuring only the red line, inside a few cars. If it gets positive reactions from passengers, the full map will be approved. But even if it gets the green light, the map may not be put in trains soon. The metro has no money for printing, according to metro spokeswoman Nataliya Makogon.

The new map has more accurate transliterations of station names. It features custom-designed font by Andriy Konstantynov, an artist. The authors also added the icons for Boryspil and Zhulyany airports, which are not on the current metro map.

The Agents of Change team plans to develop a new interface for the token machines and guide signs for the stations. Besides that, Sklyarevskiy’s redesign of street signs is being considered by the Kyiv City Council. If approved, the signs will be brown and green, colors that blend in better with the natural environment.

Kyiv Post staff writer Yuliana Romanyshyn can be reached at [email protected]