TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- An American cartographer has created his own, more geographically accurate map of the Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) network.

The designer, Jacob Berman, 32, is an attorney but works on cartography in his spare time creating maps of mass transit systems around the website fiftythree.studio. In the case of the Taipei MRT map, Berman says he created it at the request of a friend of his who was born in Taipei, but immigrated to the U.S., and "wanted something that would look cool on her parents' wall."

Berman said the map was an interesting challenge because Taipei's street layout is so tangled and its geography is so mountainous. Berman's version presents the map in a wider format to more accurately depict the distances and directions that the lines travel.

The most obvious difference is that the Taoyuan Airport MRT is shown stretching far to the west, more accurately depicting its westerly path to Taoyuan and the much greater distance it extends away from the capital city in comparison with other lines. One notable aspect that Berman's map excluded was the new naming system which delineates stations with number codes, however its key does include the new color system for lines.

Berman created the map last week and on Oct. 10 posted it on the social media platform Reddit, where it has gained 162 upvotes within 24 hours.

The following is Berman's map of the Taipei Metro system, click on it to see an expanded view.



(Map by fiftythree.studio)

In comparison, the following is the official Taipei Metro map. Click on it to see a larger version.



(Image from Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation)