Three entities — the MTA, the Transit Innovation Partnership, and Work & Co — came together in 2018 with the goal of creating a new digital tool to help riders better plan their journeys. What resulted 18 months later was the release of the first real-time, live map of the subway system. This ambitious project marks the network’s first major redesign in four decades.

The MTA Live Subway Map is a web-based digital product that evolves the iconic New York City subway maps by Unimark International and Michael Hertz Associates. It uses the geometric clarity of Massimo Vignelli’s diagram with the geographical and organic curves by Hertz, but powers it with technology to make a map more appropriate for our time.

Using the MTA’s data, the map dynamically redraws itself to ensure train lines are up to date and move in real-time. Rather than using paragraphs of copy, service-change information is represented visually to make it simpler for millions of New Yorkers and tourists to navigate the system.

To go inside the process, Work & Co collaborated with Gary Hustwit —the acclaimed filmmaker and director of design documentaries including Helvetica, Objectified, and Rams— to produce a short documentary titled "The Map." The film dives into the 18-month partnership between the MTA and Work & Co, and the challenges and complexity of creating this first-of-its-kind live map. Our hope is to lay the groundwork for other cities around the world to adopt real-time digital tools that encourage the use of public transportation.