Data shows new signs, maps make transit easier to use

Newly released results from the Regional Mapping and Wayfinding Project’s test locations in El Cerrito and Santa Rosa confirmed that the new test maps and signs, designed to help make transit journeys easier to understand for both existing and new riders, significantly improved riders’ ability to use transit and find needed information. 

Nearly 90% of survey respondents said it is now “easy" or "very easy" to find their way around the two test locations with the new signs and maps — an improvement of up to 32 percentage points.

The Regional Mapping and Wayfinding Project aims to increase transit ridership by making Bay Area transit easy to navigate for riders of all ages and abilities. By delivering information that is clear, predictable and consistent across service areas and modes, including bus, rail and ferry, the project seeks to make transit service more visible and familiar wherever a rider may travel in the Bay Area.

MTC and transit agency partners unveiled new test transit maps and signs in December 2024 in El Cerrito and in February 2025 in Santa Rosa. The installation of these test maps and signs also kicked off the start of an evaluation period for the project, during which MTC and its partners invited Bay Area residents and visitors to share their thoughts about the test signs and maps.

In late summer 2024, over 150 on-site intercept surveys and 16 test journeys at El Cerrito and Santa Rosa were conducted to provide baseline data before the new test materials were installed. Riders at two key bus transit locations — El Cerrito del Norte and the Santa Rosa Transit Mall — were asked six questions about the ease of transit use with existing signage. Riders were then asked the same questions after the test signs and maps were installed.

The evaluation report found a significant benefit from the new maps and signage. Survey respondents reported a much easier time using transit after the test materials were in place than at the time of the baseline survey. This result was consistent for all six questions at both locations. For example, at El Cerrito del Norte there was a 30 percentage point increase in the number of respondents who reported that the signs and maps made the overall experience of finding their way around the transit facility, understanding when a bus is arriving, and understanding where a bus route goes “easy” or “very easy.” 

At the Santa Rosa Transit Mall, there was a 20 percentage point increase in survey respondents that said understanding when a bus is arriving and where a bus route goes were “easy” or “very easy."

Other key takeaways from the evaluation include:  

• Customers use frequency information to plan trips, confirming its utility on signs and maps.
• Customers primarily look for the route number and destination on an approaching bus, affirming the prioritization of service information on bus stop signs.
• Agency logos are often proxies for information like fares, so the design of bus stop signs could be changed to accommodate larger logos and agency-specific customer service information.
• Customers could successfully associate a single train icon with most rail services. 

Staff asked for public feedback on the test signs and maps via an online survey, which was offered in Spanish, Chinese and English, as well as through on-site intercept surveys. The project received 3,215 online survey responses and conducted 586 on-site intercept surveys. 

The evaluation also featured five online focus groups, including groups with Chinese and Spanish speakers and people with cognitive disabilities; 19 on-site individual test journeys, including Chinese and Spanish speakers and people with disabilities; two on-site Accessibility Working Group tours; and three on-site tours for transit agency staff. 

Public feedback on the new test signs and maps will help inform the next stages of the project, in which regional wayfinding design guidelines will be refined based on the comments that were received, and maps and wayfinding materials are expected to be installed at seven additional locations across the Bay Area starting in 2026.  

The new maps and signs are part of the larger Regional Mapping and Wayfinding initiative aimed at making it easier to ride transit in the Bay Area. Whether a rider is traveling by bus, rail, ferry or a combination, the signs, maps, screens and other communication systems will be consistent and easy to identify across all nine Bay Area counties. 

More than 90% of Bay Area residents polled by MTC in 2021 identified uniform and easy-to-use transit maps and signage as an important priority for improving the region’s transit network.