Metrolinx has unveiled a new tool to help residents in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area plan their routes across various public transit services.

The tool, called Triplinx, launched in a beta version earlier this week and aims to be a “one-stop transportation information resource” for GTHA residents.

The tool allows users to figure out the best way to get from one point to another using various interconnecting transit agencies, such as the TTC, GO Transit and other municipal agencies such as York Region Transit or Oakville Transit.

Triplinx also includes options for planning a route with cycling and walking components and contains information about getting around during the 2015 Pan Am / Parapan Am Games.

The tool was developed under a five-year $8.6 million contract between Metrolinx and Cityway Canada inked in 2014. Under the arrangement, Metrolinx covers the cost of the central system while various partner transit agencies cover the costs of providing the data required for the system to be accurate.

Metrolinx says future phases of the tool will include real-time departure information and service alerts.

At the moment the service doesn’t include information on Durham or Milton transit, but Metrolinx says they are working to integrate trip information from those agencies.

Prior to the project, Metrolinx was simply encouraging municipalities to provide transit planning information to Google, which provides its own free trip-planning service through Google Maps.

However, The Big Move, the provincial document that governs transit planning in the GTHA, calls for “an information source for travelers, where and when they need it,” an objective that Triplinx is meant to satisfy.

Metrolinx says it is looking for user feedback in the beta phase so that it can improve the service.

The agency did not provide a timeline for a full launch of the service.

@Josh_F is on Twitter. Remember for instant breaking news follow @cp24 on Twitter.