Faster by bike or car?

DavidTQ

We all know about the top gear test, but does it work outside of london? What about down in Devon?

Well I had a good chance to test whether or not cycling to work is faster than car commuting today, had a nice easily identifiable car to use as a "hare" and counted cars later on my helmet cam . Ive long suspected that It it faster to cycle than to drive, just based on the number of cars I pass vs passing me, but its good to be able to sit back and have a definite count up of cars passing me vs me passing cars

spotted a herbie decorated beetle early on my commute (2:37 in) who overtook (in a considerate manner at 4:42) but kept him in view several times before eventually passing him later in the journey (11:05) and then proceeded to pass 164 more cars than passed me (yes moving cars not road side parked cars)along the same route before turning off. (20:32) so in roughly 18 minutes I was 164 car lengths faster..

Remind me again how cyclists hold up car drivers... Traffic lights roundabouts and general traffic conditions hold cars up far more than a cyclist! holding back a few seconds to be able to give a cyclist space isnt likely to add any time to their total journey length. Perhaps a decent campaign to improve cycling safety would focus on that concept.

Gambatte

Doesn't work for me. I take a different route with the car and even if I didn't, it'd take longer on the bike.

Who cares tho? I'm swapping 40 mins on my backside for 50 mins of exercise, each way. Cheaper than a gym!

niblue

Both my current and previous commutes took about twice as long by bike as by car, and that's excluding additional time spent on changing & packing when travelling by bike.

alfablue

My commute of 14 miles mostly on the Bristol to Bath Railway Path takes about 50 to 55 minutes by bike and 35 minutes by car, I think the bike journey is well worth it. The road route doesn't suffer too much from traffic so the bike journey doesn't save much on that account, the mileage is about the same either way, though the road route is hillier. The Railway Path is a beautiful ride through the countryside which I really enjoy.

dirk_van_gently

I recently had to modify one of my routes, as there was some forestry work that was messing up my off road route. So I had to use tarmac all the way. One of my neighbours works very close to where I work, and one morning I see the car leave just ahead of me, I then catch, pass, and drop said car in the traffic. Didn't see it again that morning. This has happened on more than one occassion, so it's not a fluke.

I agree with Gambatte, who cares, it's way more fun, and good exercise.

DavidTQ

My whole journey takes around 25 minutes as its only 7 miles each way, but its along busy routes, and its rare that a car overtakes me and I dont overtake or catch up with them again later in the journey. I had thought for some time that my average speed was higher than the cars along my current route. There is another route that I would normally use in a car but that would be deadly to cycle... But even so Im still leaving home at the same time as when I drove and getting home a good bit earlier than when I was driving...

Of course when I started cycling it was all about saving money and recovering fitness. Whilst im far from super fit, Im far fitter than I have been for years. Rapidly coming up on my first year of cycle commuting since school \ college age.

niblue

Dirk Van Gently wrote:

I agree with Gambatte, who cares, it's way more fun, and good exercise.

Also the reason why I do it, despite my commute being considerably longer by bike.

Commute time alone doesn't tell the full story anyway as you'd need to exercise in some other way if not cycling to work.

alfablue

Yes, is like exercise time for free!

El Capitano

I'm 10 minutes each way faster by bike.

squired

In many cases, wherever you are, I think other modes of transport will be quicker. The difference is what else you are getting from cycling - fitness, enjoyment, weight-loss, etc.

My commute into Knightsbridge is just under 20km. If I go by train and fold up bike I can do 40 minutes door to door. If I ride the whole way by bike it will take maybe 50 minutes at a relaxed pace (excluding time to get changed). In terms of car journey time - who knows, as I don't have a car. I'm betting that the quickest option would actually be by motorbike, which is probably the best form of transportation to compare times with.

tardington

Well, cars are generally faster except in the Edinburgh rush hour. I.e. 7.30am till 9.30 and 5.00 til 6ish...

But for buses, I can leave 15 mins later if I cycle to work in the morning, and coming back, 45 mins on the bus becomes 20 minutes tops - my best time is 13 minutes when I was lucky with the lights!

DavidTQ

squired wrote:

In many cases, wherever you are, I think other modes of transport will be quicker. The difference is what else you are getting from cycling - fitness, enjoyment, weight-loss, etc.

My commute into Knightsbridge is just under 20km. If I go by train and fold up bike I can do 40 minutes door to door. If I ride the whole way by bike it will take maybe 50 minutes at a relaxed pace (excluding time to get changed). In terms of car journey time - who knows, as I don't have a car. I'm betting that the quickest option would actually be by motorbike, which is probably the best form of transportation to compare times with.

Along my route Ive found myself setting the same pace as motorbikes \ mopeds over long distance.

niblue

I've commuted from the edge of Edinburgh (Balerno) to central Edinburgh by bus, bicycle, motorbike and car. In rush hour there probaby isn't much in it between bike and car and both are faster than the bus (especially once you factor in wait time and the walk at either end). The motorcycle is significantly quicker than anything else I've encountered though, including folks faster than me on bicycles who're jumping lights etc.

Cycling is probably the least stressfull option though as most of the route can be done on off-road cycle paths so there are fewer people trying to kill you...

redddraggon

If I get (very) lucky with lights and lightless junctions, I can do my commute in 21mins (6miles - but quite bumpy). If I went in a car the journey would probably take me 15mins if I was lucky with lights (slightly different route though). If I take the bus it'd take an hour (no wonder public transport is in such a mess)

fossyant

My 8 mile route is quicker by bike - takes 25-30 mins in heavby traffic - car would be about 40-45 mins.

One old commute of mine took about 55 mins for about 19 miles, mainly rural, and about 45 by car, so hardly quicker.

AidanR

My commute from south to west Edinburgh is only about 5 miles but takes 25 - 30 mins depending on traffic lights and the prevailing wind. In a car it's typically 5 mins quicker but if I get really bogged down in traffic (rare) it can take 35 mins.

I'm still rather glad my bike's back on the road now though!

chewa

niblue wrote:

I've commuted from the edge of Edinburgh (Balerno) to central Edinburgh by bus, bicycle, motorbike and car. In rush hour there probaby isn't much in it between bike and car and both are faster than the bus (especially once you factor in wait time and the walk at either end). The motorcycle is significantly quicker than anything else I've encountered though, including folks faster than me on bicycles who're jumping lights etc.

...

I'm quicker on my 13 mile commute from Fife to Edinburgh than the bus (not much in it), than the train (if I include the time taken to walk to and from the station), than the car, but maybe just a bit slower than the motorbike.

When we used to be able to use the A90 dual I was not much slower than when I commuted by motorbike because I filter faster on my bike than on my motorbike (Viffer).

I catch motorbikes when filtering and thankfully virtually all move over, but come the open road....

niblue

chewa wrote:

I catch motorbikes when filtering and thankfully virtually all move over, but come the open road....

On my commute there aren't any significant areas where a bicycle can filter faster than a motorbike although I expect there are plenty of places where that would be the case - especially if the cyclist is willing to filter down the inside of the traffic.

Most of my in-town motorbike commuting was on either a Deauville or a using a trail bike - I used to have a Honda CRM250 that was a fantastic fun commuter. I've got a CBR as well but I don't find sports bikes as good for commuting on.

magibob

My commute is only a mile and a half each way.
By the time I've messed about getting the company "Bleeper" to open the car park gate, and parked etc, I would say at least as fast on bike if not faster.

Cheaper too

Andy

DavidTQ

chewa wrote:

I'm quicker on my 13 mile commute from Fife to Edinburgh than the bus (not much in it), than the train (if I include the time taken to walk to and from the station), than the car, but maybe just a bit slower than the motorbike.

When we used to be able to use the A90 dual I was not much slower than when I commuted by motorbike because I filter faster on my bike than on my motorbike (Viffer).

I catch motorbikes when filtering and thankfully virtually all move over, but come the open road....

Thats exactly why I keep up with motorbikes and mopeds, I can filter that bit faster, down the right or in the cycle lane on the left when theres solid white lines on the right etc etc.

Despite filtering down the right a lot im not opposed to using the cycle lane where I feel theres a benefit.

Alibran

Down here in rural Cornwall, it's much quicker by car (15 minutes as opposed to 45 by bike), but it's great to arrive at work feeling relaxed, not stressed, and knowing I've got the ride home to look forward to when I finish. I've only recently started cycling to work, and on Saturday, when it was such lovely weather, I spent the whole day looking forward to my ride home. That's where the car can't compete.

redddraggon

Work? A period of time, normally 8 hours, separating two bike rides.

(Can't remember who I should attribute that to, but it wasn't me)

nicchick

Not much in it really either way for me.... I cycle the route I would drive pretty much and it has a couple of long wait traffic lights with a fair amount of traffic and the roads are mostly 20mph limit.

I get changed whilst my computer is booting so dont lose time there... sort of

If you factor in the amount of ice that was on my car this morning (I was glad I didnt have to defrost it, it was like a big ice cube!) its definately quicker by bike!

nic

Bassjunkieuk

redddraggon wrote:

Work? A period of time, normally 8 hours, separating two bike rides.

(Can't remember who I should attribute that to, but it wasn't me)

Excellent quote :-D

My various commutes into from Croydon in central London are far quicker then going by car, plus I have the added advantage of being able to park right outside where I'm working! With a couple of site's I worked at the nearest car park's (bearing in mind I need to leave the car there for 8 hours, so on-street pay-n-display is out of the question) are about 10 minutes walk away!

For me though it's not just about saving time, but the enjoyment I get out of the cycling and the fact that I'm keeping fit and saving a ton of money (I can claim parking and mileage from my employer but that's besides the point!). There have been days where I have been sitting there itching to get back on my bike for the commute home - compared to the feeling of dread I have when I'm using the car (like this week as I'm working in Woking - 25+ miles each way is a bit much!) or even worse public transport!!!!

Outside of built up urban area's I should imagine the cars win but much like a quote I saw yesterday:

"Happiness isn't the destination but the way you get there"

Bikes are just more fun!

CheapSkate

On clear roads, driving is five minutes quicker, perhaps a little more. However, in order to be able to park when I get there, on the half dozen times a year I drive, I have to leave the better part of 90 minutes earlier to be confident of finding a space, and at that time of day/traffic there is certainly no time benefit in driving over cycling. And compared to the reduced sleep, the discipline required to get up to do that and the stress that comes with every minute I'm later in starting the drive, the known quantities of dealing with a bit of weather on the bike are an immensely preferable alternative.

DavidTQ

Funnily enough the local newspaper today ran this article which towards the end says this :-

Sustainable transport officer Mark Wilson said with the closure of the St Marychurch/Milber road and the seafront closed at Rock Walk, more commuters are taking to two wheels to speed up their journey around Torbay.

Fine weather has also played a part in persuading people on to their bikes, with a record-breaking count of 51 cyclists per hour recorded along Torquay seafront during the first week of February, he said.

"This upsurge in commuter cycling demonstrates how quick it can be to get through traffic on two wheels. Regular cyclists say it takes around 20 minutes to cycle from Penn Inn roundabout to Torquay town centre, and the same time to ride from the Hookhills estate in Paignton to the centre of Torquay.

"It is well known that cycling over distances of less than five miles can be just as quick or quicker than a car, so when the sheer volume of traffic hinders progress by car, a cyclist has a greater advantage," said Mr Wilson.


http://www.thisissouthdevon.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=134822&command=displayContent&sourceNode=237837&home=yes&more_nodeId1=134831&contentPK=19847365

marchant

Definitely quicker for me by bike, although it's a far from heroic 1.5 to 2.5 miles, depending on route/mood. It amazes me that there are some people at work who arrive for shifts up to an hour early because they can't be certain of a parking space (and that not finding a parking space is an acceptable excuse for being late).

Professorlandslide

In plymouth, from the tamar bridge to derriford hospital takes me around 30 minutes by bike and about 20-25 back (its up a big hill...) and about 30 minutes both ways by car (during term time - its a lot quicker at the moment!).

Unfortunately, from where i live to the tamar bridge takes around 30 minutes by car and an hour by train...