I was going to say the same thing, not from personal long-term experience with the NYC subway system, but from regular experience with the London Underground, w

I was going to say the same thing, not from personal long-term experience with the NYC subway system, but from regular experience with the London Underground, which is quite similar in terms of size and passenger numbers. Then I had a look at the subway map and I can see why one might refrain from memorising the various lines and relevant stops: There are few significant features for distinguishing the lines, even the colours are very similar in some cases, and the stops often have cryptic or very similar names. The London Underground map on the other hand is incredibly well-designed: The colours for the different lines are optimised for recognisability to the point they're almost iconic. On seeing a pink colour on the underground for example you can immediately tell "Hammersmith & City". The lines and stops usually have easily memorable, often quirky names, too. This of course is in part due to London's long history, rather than a deliberate design decision. However, usability still seems to have played a role when individual stops were named. For example, "Elephant & Castle" could've been easily named a far less memorable "London Rd." as well.