Creating Bus Route Maps

[computerSaysNo]

I'm trying to create a geographically-accurate map of the bus network in Edinburgh; what software would folks recommend for this?
In the past I have used Inkscape; this worked but took a long time as I had to paste in a screenshot of the City from OpenStreetMap and then trace all the roads. I'm looking for something that can let you draw routes which snap to the roads.
I've tried using MyMaps from Google Maps, but this only lets you create a limited number of lines, and limits the colours you can use. I've also tried various other web apps but none that I've found do what I'm looking for. I've also checked this thread from 2012 but none of the suggestions there seem to work.

 

[NorthOxonian]

I've tended to use GIS software for this sort of thing in the past - specifically QGIS which is free. These are very powerful but there is a bit of a learning curve (though once you get started they're pretty simple, and there's a lot of documentation online).

For drawing the routes I use a website called plotaroute.com which allows you to snap to roads (but you'll want to turn this off for pedestrianised streets or areas like the Forth Road Bridge where normal cars are prohibited) - then I download them and add them as layers to QGIS.

 

[Nicholas43]

I assume this doesn't help?: ÖPNV map

 

[computerSaysNo]

I assume this doesn't help?: ÖPNV map

Unfortunately not, I'm wanting a map with each route being a different coloured line.
The best examples I can think of are the New York Subway map, or some of the FirstBus area maps.

I've tended to use GIS software for this sort of thing in the past - specifically QGIS which is free. These are very powerful but there is a bit of a learning curve (though once you get started they're pretty simple, and there's a lot of documentation online).

For drawing the routes I use a website called plotaroute.com which allows you to snap to roads (but you'll want to turn this off for pedestrianised streets or areas like the Forth Road Bridge where normal cars are prohibited) - then I download them and add them as layers to QGIS.

Thanks for those suggestions, I've managed to download the QGIS (what a long time it takes to download and install!!) and got it to work with plotaroute.com.
How do you get it to look right when there are multiple routes over the same section of road? As by default each route is just drawn directly over the top of others, down the centre of the road.