TechBeta

Google has debuted a test version of a service that tries to map out the most direct route for public-transportation users.

Google’s transit trip planner, launched Wednesday, is currently limited to Portland, Ore., but may eventually launch on a global scale, according to its Web site.

Although Google’s transit trip planner is not integrated into its local-search feature, it provides people with information that could dovetail into its local-search efforts. Google and competitors, such as Yahoo and Microsoft’s MSN, are jumping into local search and mining the lucrative local-advertising market.

Read more: C|net