It just got easier for people to use public transit to get around the college town of Davis, Calif. Riders of Unitrans, the student-run bus system that serves UC Davis and the city of Davis, can now use Google Transit to plan their trips.

With Unitrans' participation, Davis becomes one of about 50 cities worldwide for which Google offers public transit information over the Web. In the same way that Google Maps provides driving directions between two points, Google Transit gives people detailed transit information for travel between their starting point and destination.

"We want to make it as easy as possible for people considering public transit as a way of travel," said Anthony Palmere, assistant general manager of Unitrans.

As part of its commitment to sustainability, UC Davis encourages students and employees to use public transit, bicycles and other transportation alternatives to single-occupant vehicles. Unitrans provides about 20,000 passenger rides on a typical day.

The new service is available at http://maps.google.com/transit. "Take Public Transit" is also offered as an option when someone goes to http://maps.google.com and searches for driving directions between two points. It draws the recommended transit route on a city map and provides bus stops, schedule options and travel times.

Unitrans makes data available to Google through the Sacramento Regional Transit District as part of a regional coordination program, funded by a federal grant to the Sacramento Area Council of Governments.

Palmere said the transit recommendations provided by Google are sound for simple trips, but more complex routing may introduce some glitches. Unitrans is providing feedback to improve the computer search programs.

The Unitrans Web site at http://www.unitrans.com provides tips for using the new service. Unitrans also offers route and schedule information on its Web site, and assistance is available at (530) 752-BUSS.