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Partnerships with National Express, Traveline and local tram and ferry firms have provided 17,000 routes across the country through Google's popular mapping tool

Travellers across Great Britain can now use Google Maps to plan their journeys on public transport as the tech giant extends train and bus information across England, Scotland and Wales.

Users can currently access public transport information for London and the south east, but from Wednesday users on iOS and Android apps and on the desktop version will all be able to search National Express and Traveline data, as well as 1,500 local and national operators such as Centro and Merseyside. Nearly 17,000 routes are included and 34,000 stopping points, ferry ports and stations.

Options include searching for routes, departures and interchanges, including how far the distance is between each station, which route has the fewest transfers, and what time the next departure leaves. The update is one of Google^s biggest integrations of public transport data.

^In Britain, public transport is part of the national psyche," said David Tattersall, product manager for public transport in Google Maps. "The biggest changes will be on mobile, as devices are becoming more and more powerful and they^re things we spend a lot of time with. We^re aiming to really improve users^ lives.^ Mobile is an increasing focus for Google Maps, with roughly one third of Google Maps use taking place on mobile devices.

Tattersall said that data for Northern Ireland will eventually be added, but that those data sources had not yet opened up.

The update comes as competition increases in the mapping space. London-based app Citymapper recently secured $10m funding and is building a following among commuters, though Google estimates that more than one billion monthly users access its maps service.