Why can't we have one of these?

A business trip to Washington, D.C. earlier this week made me extra nostalgic for the Tube. And also reminded me how much I'd love having a transportation system like DC's Metro or London's Underground here in San Antonio.

Waiting for a connecting train in DC's Metro Center station

I'd love not to have to drive to work, like a DC friend I saw, who doesn't own a car. Or like how I got around last fall in London. Sigh. Dallas and Houston are just getting their toes wet in the light rail waters. Which means it'll probably be too late for me, at least as a working member of San Antonio society, when/if we finally take the plunge. How much does gas have to cost before Texans wake up and smell the railroad?

The short time I had to spend studying DC's map for connections reminded me, too, of what neat pieces of graphic art these train maps are. London's is more extensive and convoluted than DC's somewhat chunky ribbons, but that's understandable given its much longer history, having been built up from a patchwork of different train companies (as I learned in the Transport Museum). But they're both supremely functional and very attractive, and you can't beat that combination:

London's tube map

Washington's Metro map

I particularly like the way the designers abstractified the Thames and the Potomac on the maps, to make them fit better with the rail lines. Nice touch!