MTC Launches Regional Mapping and Wayfinding Project

Design and installation of the new wayfinding system is scheduled to begin in 2024. Photo by Noah Berger, via MTC.

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s (MTC) Operations Committee on July 8 approved a $6 million contract with Applied Wayfinding Inc. to develop a single mapping and wayfinding system for use by all Bay Area (San Francisco) transit agencies. The launch of the Regional Mapping and Wayfinding project marks the first implementation of a 27-point action plan recommended last year by the 32-member Blue Ribbon Transit Recovery Task Force, convened by the MTC in 2020 to “guide the post-pandemic future of public transportation in the Bay Area and to make the regional transit network more equitable, efficient, connected and customer-focused.”

The goal of the Regional Mapping and Wayfinding project, which is expected to deliver prototypes for physical maps and signs by early 2024, MTC says, is to design and deploy a fully harmonized suite of maps, signs and transit information in all Bay Area transit locations–from individual bus stops to major hubs like the Salesforce Transit Center, Eastridge Transit Center or the El Cerrito Del Norte Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station–and to provide “practical, predictable guidance” to the walkable destinations and local shuttles that extend from these transit stops.

“This is a great step forward in making transit more accessible and understandable for regular new riders alike,” said MTC Chair and Napa County Supervisor Alfredo Pedroza. “As more people come back to public transit after the pandemic, a unified system of maps and signage will make it easier for Bay Area residents to feel comfortable riding transit wherever they find themselves in the nine counties.”

Design and installation of the new wayfinding system is scheduled to begin in 2024 and continue into 2025 at transit locations in Sonoma County before expanding first into Solano County and then the rest of the Bay Area in 2026 and beyond.