Using StarMetro Maps
How to Read a Schedule Map
People who are familiar with transit can usually find their way around StarMetro's system pretty well. However, StarMetro recognizes that there are a lot of folks who may be using transit for the first time. This page has been provided to help patrons understand how to read a StarMetro route map. If you have any questions about this information, please contact StarMetro at 891-5200.
Each of StarMetro's routes has an individual map that shows the layout of the route and provides some other pertinent information to help you navigate. We try to strike a balance between not making the maps too busy but still providing essential information. The sections below describe what you see when you look at a StarMetro route map. Refer to the sample map, at the bottom of the page, as an example.
1. The street map and North arrow
The underlying map is just a city street map. This street map shows the relevant streets, land marks, and other features that help you orient yourself. Like all good maps, it includes a North arrow. In the near future, we may generate these maps using our Geographic Information System, but we're not there yet with that technology. Until then, you may notice that not all streets are included on the maps -- just the major streets.
2. The route line and direction arrows
The bus route is shown as a heavy, dark line. The route is traced along the streets that the bus travels. Note the arrows alongside the route line. These indicate the direction of travel of the route at that point. Double-headed arrows indicate that the bus travels in both directions along that section of the route. This is important, because it helps you know which side of the street you need to be on to catch the bus. In the sample map below, notice that the bus travels in both directions along Mahan Drive between Magnolia and Riggins, but it goes eastbound only between Riggins and Capital Circle NE. Usually a bus going in only one direction is making a loop, so that it can turn around and return to the Plaza
Downtown. If a bus is going in only one direction on the street, you need to be on that side of the street to catch that bus.
3. Insets
The online maps, such as the sample map below, include an inset of the area around the CK Steele Plaza. This indicates how the bus is routed in the downtown area, which is usually too small to show at the scale of the full map. If you plan to catch the bus downtown at some location other than the Plaza, you will need to know this information. But be careful, because downtown streets are often closed or detoured for various reasons, so a bus may be re-routed. If you are thinking of taking a route you don't normally use, it might be prudent to call StarMetro at 891-5200 just be sure the downtown route is still accurate.
On the paper Ride Guide maps, there is an additional inset called the "Legend" which describes all the different symbols on the map. We don't include the legend on the on-line maps, because we shrink the maps for the Internet and the legend becomes unreadable.
4. Bus Stops and Time Points
So the map shows you where the bus goes. The next question is where can you catch it, and when can you catch it?
There are a total of about 25 different bus stops on Route 12, which are far too many to put on one map -- the map would be covered with dots! Instead of showing all the bus stops, we show you the main streets, so you can guestimate where your bus stop is, based on where your street is. As you'll see below, the exact location of your bus stop on the map is not critical -- what you really need to know is the location of the "timepoints".
Instead of showing each individual bus stop, we show a series of timepoints along the route. There are usually between three and five time points on a route. These are points where the drivers are supposed to be at a certain time (thus "time point" -- clever, eh?) The time points are spaced out about every five to ten minutes along the route. The time points are numbered in the order the bus reaches them. On the sample map below, notice the big asterisk at the intersection of Miccosukee Road and Capital Circle NE. That's a special timepoint, called the End Of he Line, or EOL for short. There is only one EOL on each route, and it is the point where the bus turns around and starts back toward downtown.
So, to find out when the bus will be at your particular bus stop, all you need to know is which timepoints bracket your bus stop. By knowing when the bus is due at the timepoint before your stop, you can fix the earliest possible time you would need to be at your bus stop. By knowing when the bus is due at the next timepoint after your bus stop, you can estimate how long it will take the bus to reach your bus stop. For instance, if there is six minutes between your two time points, and your bus stop is in the middle between them, then you might assume that the bus would be at your bus stop three minutes after the earlier timepoint and three minutes before the later timepoint.
In practice, a very safe way to plan is to be at the bus stop by the time the bus is due at the timepoint prior to that bus stop. Unless the bus is running early (which is Cardinal Sin Number One in transit), you will never miss the bus that way.
5. Transfer Points
On the sample map below, take a look at Timepoint 4. Notice the little symbol next to it that looks like a black cross with a white center? That indicates a Satellite Transfer Point. Notice the numbers "4,18" next to the Satellite Transfer Point? Those are the routes you can connect with at that point. If you would like to transfer at a Satellite Transfer Point, let your driver know. The driver will give you a special transfer and will also notify the other bus that you intend to transfer. NOTE: Use this StarMetro feature with caution.
Depending on where you are going, transferring at a Satellite Transfer Point may not be as convenient as going downtown to transfer. Your bus driver can advise you on the best course of action.
6. Is there any way to get a more accurate bus arrival time estimate?
With our current traffic conditions and frequency of service on most StarMetro routes, this level of time estimation is about the best you can expect. StarMetro is planning to implement a high-tech system in the next few years that will provide much more accurate information, through interactive mapping or through an interactive voice response telephone system. But for now, the maps and schedules tell the story about as accurately as it can be told. And to be perfectly honest, we can't predict to the minute when a bus will arrive with our current technology. And even if we could, unless we all wore radio time signal wristwatches, it's unlikely that our watches would even match up to the minute. So we have the system we have, with a few minutes of "slush" in the schedule.
But wait, there's more. The timetables in the ride guide and on the StarMetro website are static, lifeless bits of data. What if we had a computer system that could answer your questions in plain language, and find answers to your questions based on your specific needs? Wouldn't that be cool? Well, we don't have computers like that, but we do have real live human beings who provide that very same service.
When you call StarMetro Information at 891-5200 and select "Route and Schedule Information", you will be connected to an operator who is also a veteran bus driver. Our telephone information staff have driven all the routes and know all the streets in town. They can tell you pretty accurately when a bus will be by your particular stop, wherever that stop may be, as well as answer any other transit questions you might have. In fact, many people will just phone us from a bus stop using a cell phone and say "This is where I am. When will the bus be here?" That's a perfectly good way to get your transit information.
Sample Map
Map Legend
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Shopping Center Routes |  |
C K Steele Transfer Plaza |
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School Routes |  |
End of Route |
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City Parks Routes |  |
Satelite Transfer |
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Hospital Routes |  |
Direction of Travel |
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Health Department Routes |  |
Travel Both Directions |