Julio wrote about this last month for the Pioneer Press (here’s a link to Google’s cache of Julio’s article since the link is otherwise dead). I finally had a chance to try it today and, dang, it’s pretty darn cool and easier to use than the route planning offered on MetroTransit.org.
Google Transit can be found here.
Type in your start and end address along with your planned departure or arrival time. Google will map out your route and provide bus (or LRT) numbers.
I think the coolest thing about it is that you’ve got a common way to search in many major cities. If you’ve ever tried searching for public transit while traveling you know it can be time-consuming and frustrating to learn a new system. (And most I’ve seen aren’t that great).