Choosing the Right Map Question Type

The four map question types at a glance

Route Display — "What do you think of this?"

Route Display shows one preset route on the map and (by default) gives the Traveler a feedback text box below it. There's nothing to click or drag — it's a structured way to ask a qualitative question about a specific proposal.

Use it when…

• You have a single proposed alignment and you want gut reactions.
• You're presenting one option per page and asking different framed questions about each one ("Is this convenient?", "Would you use this on a weekend?", "What stop would you add?").
• You want to pair a visual with a free-form question and the answer matters more than which-route-they-picked.

Example use cases

• Public comment on a proposed bus route. "Here is the proposed Route 47 extension. What concerns do you have?"
• Stakeholder review of an engineering alignment. Send a single, well-drawn alignment to a list of agency partners and ask them to flag conflicts.
• Walking-tour or accessibility feedback. Show a proposed pedestrian route and ask Travelers what makes them feel unsafe along it.

Route Selector — "Which of these would you take?"

Route Selector shows two or more preset routes on the same map, each in its own color with a letter label (A, B, C…). The Traveler clicks a pill to pick exactly one. This is a multiple-choice question with visual alternatives instead of text.

Use it when…

• You have a small slate of known alternatives and you want a winner.
• The differences between options are geographic — a textual description ("via Main St" vs "via the bypass") wouldn't communicate as well as a picture.
• You want a clean bar-chart result on the report page.

Example use cases

• Choosing between corridor alternatives. "We're weighing two alignments for the next light-rail extension — which do you prefer?"
• School-route preference. Show parents three possible school-bus routes and ask which one they'd use.
• Detour validation. "During the bridge closure, we will route buses one of these three ways. Which keeps you closest to your stop?"

Route Creator — "Show us where you actually want to go."

Route Creator hands the pen to the Traveler. They click points on the map (up to ten waypoints per route) to draw their own route, name it, and save it. They can add more than one if your survey allows. This is the highest-leverage map question type, because it captures information that doesn't exist in any other tool you have.

Use it when…

• You want to discover demand you don't already know about.
• You want a heat map of where Travelers cluster, not just which of your guesses won.
• You need actual coordinates for GIS analysis, federal grant applications, or planning model input.

Example use cases

• Demand discovery before a new service launches. "Draw the trip you take most often." Aggregate the results and the highest-density corridors become your candidate routes.
• Documenting public input for a federal grant. The GeoJSON export is admissible evidence of demand — you can attach it directly to a Title VI or RAISE application.
• Bike or pedestrian network planning. "Draw your commute by bike, even the parts you wish had a protected lane." Density tells you which connections matter.

Route Creator is the only map type that requires a Map Boundary, so the Traveler can't accidentally place a waypoint in the next state over.

Route Ranker — "Put these in order."

Route Ranker shows two to ten preset routes and lets the Traveler drag pills into priority order — 1st favorite, 2nd, and so on. Every route gets a rank, so unlike Selector, you don't just learn who won — you learn the relative standing of every option.

Use it when…

• You have a fixed slate of options and budget for some of them but not all. Ranking tells you what to build first, second, and last.
• You want to detect strong consensus vs. a true split — the pie chart per route makes both visible at a glance.
• Selecting just one option would throw away signal you actually want.

Example use cases

• Capital-program prioritization. "Of these five capital projects, which should we fund first?"
• Transit improvement basket. Eight possible service enhancements drawn on a map; rank them so the agency board sees what riders value most.
• Pilot route selection. "We can pilot one new microtransit zone next year. Rank these five candidate zones."

Picking the right one: a quick decision guide

• You want open-ended feedback on a specific proposal → Route Display.
• You want a single winner from a known set → Route Selector.
• You want to discover what you don't know yet → Route Creator.
• You want a full ordering of known options → Route Ranker.

Combining a map question with other question types

TIPS treats a page break as just another survey field. Anything you put on the same page as a map question shares that map's context. This is where you can ask nearly any question you want about a route, because you're not asking it in isolation — you're asking it next to a real picture of where the route goes.

A few patterns that come up over and over:

• Map + a follow-up "why" textarea. Pair a Route Selector with a Long Text field on the same page. Travelers pick the route they prefer, then explain why in their own words. You get a clean bar chart AND the rationale.
• Map + a frequency Range / Scale. Pair a Route Display with a Range field labeled "How often would you use this route?" (1 = never, 5 = daily). Two clean numbers and a picture of the alignment they were grading.
• Map + a multi-select Checkboxes question. Pair a Route Creator with a Checkboxes field of trip purposes ("Work", "School", "Medical", "Shopping…"). Now your heat map can be filtered by purpose at analysis time.
• Map + a Date question. Pair a Route Display with a Date asking "When would you most need this service?" Helpful for seasonal or event-driven planning.
• Map + a Radio for time-of-day. AM peak, midday, PM peak, evening, weekend. Combined with a Route Ranker, you learn not just which routes matter most, but when.

Conversely, you can put two map questions on the same page if it makes sense — a Route Display of the proposed alignment and a Route Selector asking which connecting service they'd use. Travelers see both maps; the data lands in the report independently.

A word about Map Boundaries

Every Route Creator question requires a Map Boundary — an area you define ahead of time that says "stay inside this region while drawing." Boundaries are optional for the other three map types, but if you do set one, the map opens framed on that area instead of auto-fitting to your preset routes. That's a small detail with a big UX impact when your routes are clustered tightly within a larger metropolitan study area.

Boundaries can be a rectangle you draw, a polygon you draw, or a pre-fetched US Census shape (state, county, or place) looked up by name. Each approach has its place — we'll cover the trade-offs in detail in a separate guide.

Common questions about map question types

How many map question types does TIPS offer?

Four: Route Display, Route Selector, Route Creator, and Route Ranker. Each captures a different kind of feedback — qualitative reaction to one route, choice among preset routes, free-form route drawing, or ranked priority across preset routes.

When should I use Route Creator instead of Route Selector?

Use Route Creator when you want to discover demand you don't already know about. Use Route Selector when you have a small slate of known alternatives and want a single winner. Creator captures latent demand; Selector validates known options.

When is Route Ranker the right choice?

Use Route Ranker when you have a fixed slate of options and budget for some of them but not all. Ranking tells you what to build first, second, and last — useful for capital-program prioritization, transit improvement baskets, and pilot route selection.

Do I have to set a Map Boundary?

A boundary is required for Route Creator (so Travelers can't place waypoints outside your study area) and optional for the other three map types. When set, the map opens framed on that area instead of auto-fitting to your preset routes.

Can I put more than one map question on the same page?

Yes. You can also pair a map question with non-map questions on the same page — a Long Text "why" follow-up, a Range frequency rating, a Checkboxes trip-purpose multi-select, or a Radio time-of-day picker. The data is captured independently per question.

What does the Report page show for each map type?

Route Display shows the most recent text excerpts. Route Selector shows a bar chart of which route won. Route Creator shows a density heat map with ~5 clustered "corridors" plus a full GeoJSON export. Route Ranker shows a pie chart per route with the 1st / 2nd / 3rd share.

Which map question type produces data I can use in QGIS or ArcGIS?

Route Creator is the only type that captures Traveler-drawn geometry. Export it as GeoJSON from the Report page and open it directly in QGIS, ArcGIS, kepler.gl, or any other GIS tool. See the Working with GeoJSON Route Data guide for the full analysis workflow.