Two years after moving to the city, one of the things that helps me feel more like a real New Yorker is when out-of-towners stop me on the street or the subway and I'm able to give them detailed directions. Now Google wants to take that away from me!

Actually, I'm sure that humans will still be a necessary part of the equation (at least until we're all equipped with a GPS system at birth), but this morning, Google unveiled something else that might help those out-of-towners get around: Google Transit. (It had previously been available in many other cities).

Here's an excerpt from The New York Times' City Room blog:

A host of public officials and the founders of Google assembled at Grand Central Terminal this morning to announce the start of New York's version of Google Transit, an online feature that they said would transform the experience of navigating New York City's transit system, the nation's busiest.

"It is a very complicated transit system, and it just got less complicated today with the advent of Google Maps for Transit," Gov. David A. Paterson said, noting that the subway system opened with 9.1 miles of lines in 1904, and now serves a territory of 5,000 square miles.

The array of public officials present reflected Google's economic might, particularly at a time when Wall Street's meltdown has left the city and state economy reeling. Not only did the governor and leaders of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority attend the Grand Central news conference, but so did Deputy Mayor Edward Skyler, representing the Bloomberg administration, and officials of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and of New Jersey Transit.

"It just gives me great personal pleasure to be able to help even in a tiny way this fantastic public transportation system," Sergey Brin, one of Google's founders, said at the news conference. The company's other founder, Larry Page, said he even hoped the tool would "help congestion, help the economy overall."

New York already has several helpful online mapping services. I use Hopstop for transit and Ride the City for bike routes. But if you're not from around these parts, Google's name recognition and global reach will probably make it your preferred choice. And transit officials have thrown their support behind it, even linking to Google Transit from the MTA website.

I played around with it some this morning, inputting some of my favorite destinations, and it seems to offer pretty good advice on routes. (It's fun to compare the driving, transit and walking options, all of which Google now offers in New York City.) What's important, I think, is that one of the world's most influential companies is recognizing that there are a lot of options out there besides driving, and putting them on equal footing -- at least when it comes to mapping.

Now when are we going to get Google Bike?