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Figure 6.15 Google Maps transit view of London, United Kingdom

• Transit
The transit layer allows you to see the public transport network of your
city overlaid on the map (figure 6.15).

Getting Started

Today, Google Maps is the single interface to what used to be two separate
searching interfaces: Google’s mapping service and the Google Local search-
ing service. You can use either http://maps.google.com or http://local.google
.com to get to the service’s home page, as shown in figure 6.16.
Once there you are presented with a map of the United States on which
you can pan and zoom as described in the previous section. (Alternatively,
if you’re using a browser such as Chrome that has access to your location
information, the map you are presented with is of your general area.) You can
change this view to your immediate area by using the “Set default location”
link. At the top of the page, you’ll see a search box that you can use to search
the interface. A “Get Directions” button is available on the top left.
Each of these represents a different method of searching Google Maps. Using
the search box, you can actually change the method of your search through
the way you type your search. For example, typing an address will do a map
search, while typing two addresses with the word to between them will do a