Google launches mass transit directions for NYC

More than a year after announcing plans to roll out transit directions for New York City, Google has finally made good on its promise. Now Google Maps is at least as useful as HopStop when you're trying to get from place to place in New York, a city where taking a train or bus is often faster and easier than hopping in a car.

To find public transit directions in New York, just search for directions from one location to another and choose "by public transit" from the drop down menu. Google will pull up suggested routes and even offer estimated departure times.

At this point, I think HopStop still has the edge. While Google Transit technically covers more cities, HopStop covers more major cities. And it makes it easier to choose alternate routes if you'd rather take a bus, or if you'd rather avoid the G train. But Google is certainly catching up. And it's nice to be able to find walking, driving, and mass transit directions all in one place. Even if it's only for New York City and a handful of other locations at the moment.

[via Official Google Blog]

Tags: google-maps, google-transit, google-transit-nyc