Cyclists are faster than buses.

DonDaddyD

English fry up, who are you arguing with and the journey is from where to where?

mybreakfastconsisted

A penis. Any London bus route.

roger_merriman

mybreakfastconsisted wrote:

I should have said in London. Door-to-door means your own front door, not when the bus door closes. Estate agents use journey times from when the bus or train door closes so they're promoting the new flats at Stratford as being "Ten minutes from Canary Wharf". Yes, on the Jubilee, but only if you start timing when the train door closes.


I can't imagine any bus journey in London being faster than cycling even if the bus stop's outside your front door.

My house is on or just off the 111 Bus route, the bus is quicker most days into Kingston than my wife, on a quiet day give me a fair run for the money helped by a 1 mile stretch at 40mph with no stops.

redvee

meanredspider wrote:

Is there still such a thing as a bus timetable? That would show pretty clearly. That, or ride a bus with your GPS device running and record it.

Did that when I went to the dentist last week. 9.4mph average speed. My commute is along the same route for 2 miles and much quicker.

Blacktemplar

I live just over 12 miles from my office (by bike, slightly longer by car);

1. Bike: leave at 7.15am, at desk (including shower) by 8.30am - 1hr 15 elapsed
2. Car: showered & dressed, leave 7.15am, car journey takes c. 35 mins - 55 mins elapsed
3. Bus: mile walk to nearest bus, bus journey to nearest point to work, 2.5 mile walk to office - min. 2.5hrs elapsed
4. Train: mile walk to station, have to change trains, station short walk from office - min 1.5 hrs elapsed

Conclusion: car may be marginally faster, but is (a) expensive and (b) makes me fat

Public transport is still much more expensive than using the car (excluding depreciation), and takes a frankly geological period of time to get anywhere, even in a small city like Glasgow with relatively uncongested roads.

Simples

mroli

Most cyclists will be up to 23mph in about 4 - 6 seconds

"Most cyclists"? Think you are over-estimating the no of cyclists that do that...

Blacktemplar

mroli wrote:

Most cyclists will be up to 23mph in about 4 - 6 seconds

"Most cyclists"? Think you are over-estimating the no of cyclists that do that...

Is Cav not "most cyclists" then....?

okgo

I used to often beat someone who lived in Kingston and worked at White City into work, I'd see him on Kings Road in Kingston, and often as I was walking out of the bike store at work, he would come down the ramp in his M3 (which is why I remembered it as its quite tasty).

As for buses, I would imagine biking is mostly quicker. The 111 is only worth getting on well outside of rush hour, otherwise you'd beat it easily.

I'd also say that commuting in Central London by scooter is no quicker than a bike, I joined embankment with a bloke on a scooter ( I remembered him as he was being terrible) and I turned off at Blackfriars at similar time. And in the evening where its been gridlocked recently I think its easily quicker on push bike.

tailwindhome

The TopGear race may be on YouTube

mybreakfastconsisted

TailWindHome wrote:

The TopGear race may be on YouTube

"You've ruined Top Gear!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkOzNK4l8KY

Agent57

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTYon5kitUw

I'm faster than buses, lorries, cars...

I can out-accelerate a Ferrari, too (over the first 5 metres).

supersonic

I used to race my mate on the bus back from Sheffield city centre to Chapeltown - I usually won, but bust a lung doing it!

mbthegreat

Raced my girlfriend from her mother's house back to ours one evening (about 11pm, not much traffic, me in jeans).

My journey should have been about 14miles (Motspur Park to Aldgate), but I got somewhat lost and it ended up coming out as 17miles. Her journey involved a train, a tube and then a walk.

I got distracted talking to her step dad and ended up giving her an inadvertent 25min headstart.

I beat her by a good 15 minutes.

Agent57

My cycle ride to work used to be 5 miles in less than 25 minutes, passing through the city centre; my wife's 2 mile drive into the city centre took 45 minutes. gg wp

zx6man

My 5 mile commute is on the bus route, I tend to be able to beat it as it has to slow down for speed cameras :-)

Applespider

There's a bus from the end of my road to my office (say a 2-3 minute walk either end) and it's reasonably frequent - every 7-10 minutes at rush hour.

According to TFL, the direct bus route at 8am should take 1hr 2 minutes (traffic willing). If I take that route, it takes me 30-35 minutes on the hybrid. Even at non-peak times, TFL suggestions a 46 minute journey so it's still faster to be on the bike.

Can't you just find a video of someone's commute and show your 'friend' how many times they overtake buses compared to the other?

edhornby

surely google maps is your friend here? they have public transport directions, just use that to verify the bus times

the bike time can be either taken from google maps also (using the bike directions) or by plotting the route and calculating at a realistic speed for the terrain, or strava it

right, I'm off to do this for my commute

[edit] GMPTE says 45 mins for the bus, google maps says 36 mins for the bike, 31mins for the tram - and I know that I do the bike in around 25 so accounting for showering, parking I reckon I'm equal with the tram and quicker than bus

rolf_f

If I'm going home the short route (which I rarely do) there is a bus which takes the same route - I can't recall it ever having beaten me from Leeds centre. From Kirkstall it can do but there is little in it.

The shower issue is irrelevant - you do it either when you get in from the cycle ride or before you leave home. If you are taking the bus, you'd have to get up earlier to shower and be out at the same time as the cyclist. Changing time is not irrelevant as that does involve an extra change but it's hardly a big chunk of time.

rick_chasey

Il Principe wrote:

Peat wrote:

Don't forget to factor in getting kitted up and getting changed/washed the other end.

I never understand that argument. I shower every morning. If I take the bus/train then I shower before leaving, if I cycle I shower when I arrive...

When I take the tube I arrive wearing the clothes I intend to wear in the office.

When I cycle I don't - so I need to factor in time to change out of that and into office gettup.

In summer, that time is negligable. In winter, it's a f*cking ballache.

roger_merriman

Rick Chasey wrote:

Il Principe wrote:

Peat wrote:

Don't forget to factor in getting kitted up and getting changed/washed the other end.

I never understand that argument. I shower every morning. If I take the bus/train then I shower before leaving, if I cycle I shower when I arrive...

When I take the tube I arrive wearing the clothes I intend to wear in the office.

When I cycle I don't - so I need to factor in time to change out of that and into office gettup.

In summer, that time is negligable. In winter, it's a f*cking ballache.

One of my collages changes even though like myself he has a very short commute 2 miles, fair enough if your going on else where, I take a change if I go for 12/13 mile loop before hand. But for a 2 mile roll though Bushy Park? No.

nation

My route to work is basically exactly the same route as one of the buses, save maybe half a mile or so at each end.

The buses are every ten minutes, and I usually pass one on the way. Since I don't often get overtaken by buses I presume I'm beating it into the city centre.

Initialised

Rule of thumb for this, more than half urban, bikes are probably faster, more than one bus bikes are probably faster, more than a few rural miles bus is probably quicker.

For me it's mostly urban, I wear baggies so changing is minimal, and I'd have to take two busses and allow up to an hour. On a good day if I'm lucky with the lights and push it I can do it in under 22minutes at the moment its more like 30 and typicall is 25, in the car the quickest is about 15minutes typically its more like 20 so on balance the bike is almost as quick as the car was.

jimmypippa

Initialised wrote:

Rule of thumb for this, more than half urban, bikes are probably faster, more than one bus bikes are probably faster, more than a few rural miles bus is probably quicker.

For me it's mostly urban, I wear baggies so changing is minimal, and I'd have to take two busses and allow up to an hour. On a good day if I'm lucky with the lights and push it I can do it in under 22minutes at the moment its more like 30 and typicall is 25, in the car the quickest is about 15minutes typically its more like 20 so on balance the bike is almost as quick as the car was.

Fair comment,

For me I am about the same average speed as the bus on the way in (sometimes I pass it, other times the converse) but don't need to wait for the twice-hourly bus, and win on the mile walk at the work end of my commute.

12.5 mile bike commute mixture of rural and suburban - the Bus route is also urban but the bike misses that, 13-miles by other vehicles

fossyant

Bus - Home to work, 6 miles, half mile walk to bus stop, 2 x buses, bus stop outside work - 50-60 minutes.

Bike 11 mile route - 35 minutes what ever the traffic

Car 40-60 minutes 6 miles.

il_principe

In the interest of science, I took my Garmin on the bus this morning (out to dinner tonight). Here's a comparison between my cycle commute (almost door to door) and my Bus commute, not including walking time (5 mins to home stop, 8 mins walk to office). Route is Wandsworth (SW London) to Fleet Street (Central London):

Bus

Distance: 5.92 mi
Time: 33:35
Moving Time: 31:07
Elapsed Time: 58:58
Avg Speed: 10.6 mph
Avg Moving Speed: 11.4 mph
Max Speed: 29.8 mph

Bike

Distance: 6.34 mi
Time: 21:12
Moving Time: 20:34
Elapsed Time: 25:15
Avg Speed: 17.9 mph
Avg Moving Speed: 18.5 mph
Max Speed: 31.6 mph

Bike is far far quicker.

DonDaddyD

Different time of the day in it - and that is a variable you can control.

Dellsinho

I cycle down Wilmslow Rd/Oxford Rd in Manchester on my commute, on a short 5 mile length, I tend to pass about 10 buses on an average day. The buses do run very regularly on that road, but it's no question that cycling is way faster on that route.

Before I got hold of a swipe card for the cycle store at work I used to have to get the bus in. I'd set off 15mins before the other half, who then set off by bike along the same route. She'd stick her tongue out as she flew past each morning, and I'd receive a text saying she'd arrived safely long before I'd even got off the bus, only a mile beyond her work.

Front door to desk:
Bike - 25mins
Bus - 45mins (on a good day)

EKE_38BPM

Forget buses, I know I'm faster than a taxi, door to door.
I raced Mrs EKE from a friend's house and beat her. The taxi driver couldn't believe it as it wasn't in rush hour (it was about 11PM) so the roads were relatively clear, I took the same route as the taxi (they could see me as I overtook/was overtaken) and I didn't RLJ.

Yesterday I had to drive from Dalston to St Pauls. According to Google it is 3.6 miles and should take 15 minutes to drive. It took at least 45 minutes at 8PM and the return journey was quicker at about 40 minutes. I sat in traffic wishing I was on the bike.

tgotb

My daughter is too young to travel around on her own, and sometimes I have to pick her up from friends' houses in the evening on the way home from work, and take her home on the bus.

Rather than taking the Brompton to work in the morning and then folding it up for the evening bus ride, I normally take my road bike. I wait at the bus stop with my daughter, and when the bus arrives I put her on board and have a quick word with the driver, before getting back on my bike and riding (same route as the bus) to the drop-off point, about a mile and a half away. When I arrive I sit down at the bus stop, catch up with emails, read the headlines on my phone etc, and 5 minutes later my daughter's bus arrives...

It's a perfect arrangement: I save £1.30, don't have to go on a bus, and my daughter gets to be independent and have a bit of an adventure. Worst-case scenario, if I get a p*ncture, I'll just flag the bus down when it comes past...

EKE_38BPM

TGOTB wrote:

My daughter is too young to travel around on her own, and sometimes I have to pick her up from friends' houses in the evening on the way home from work, and take her home on the bus.

Rather than taking the Brompton to work in the morning and then folding it up for the evening bus ride, I normally take my road bike. I wait at the bus stop with my daughter, and when the bus arrives I put her on board and have a quick word with the driver, before getting back on my bike and riding (same route as the bus) to the drop-off point, about a mile and a half away. When I arrive I sit down at the bus stop, catch up with emails, read the headlines on my phone etc, and 5 minutes later my daughter's bus arrives...

It's a perfect arrangement: I save £1.30, don't have to go on a bus, and my daughter gets to be independent and have a bit of an adventure. Worst-case scenario, if I get a p*ncture, I'll just flag the bus down when it comes past...

How young is your daughter? I bet she loves travelling on her own.
You may have created a monster though. Next thing you know, she'll be traveling around India on a motorbike on her gap year.