Commuting - Cycling proven again

Just saw this on www.cyclingnews.com


Cyclists faster than cars in Auckland

Once again, cyclists have proved themselves to be faster than cars in traffic congested cities. This was shown by the first Auckland Commuter Challenge held in New Zealand on Wednesday morning. Four races between bicycles, buses and cars were held, starting at 7:35am from four points on the outskirts of Auckland. The object was to make it to the centre of the city in the shortest possible time. With an average time of 26.51 minutes, the cyclists won comfortably. The cars came second with an average time of 31.32 minutes, while the buses finished a distant third with a time of 53.10 minutes.

Currently, 87 percent of Auckland commuters travel by car, while only 6 percent use a bicycle or travel on foot. The remainder use public transport. The organisers of the Challenge said that the cities increasing traffic problems would be eased if more people rode their bikes to work.

Source: NZ Herald

Interesting contest, Chris.

On the one hand I'm glad to see the cyclist come out ahead.

On the other hand, I'm glad I don't live in a city where the cyclist can win a contest like this.

hmmmm I am thiinking of joining the group that ran the event. I was going to help out but now that I live too far away I couldn't. That's Auckland traffic for you!

Brendon

Found a report on the NZ Herald site.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?thesection=news&thesubsection=&storyID=3550101&reportID=52008

Cyclists win rush-hour challenge

19.02.2004
By RENEE KIRIONA
Cyclists left racing car drivers in the dust yesterday as they pedalled their bikes through Auckland's slow traffic.

In the Auckland Commuter Challenge four sets of cyclists, racing car drivers and buses raced across Auckland.

The cyclists' wins, with an average time of 26m51s, is the latest demonstration of Auckland's traffic crisis, says Cycle Action Auckland, which organised the event.

Jon Bridges was the first to reach Aotea Square, cycling 10km from the Lynnmall in west Auckland.

The TV3 presenter and producer, who clocked in at 23m49s, was delighted to pass outright New Zealand land speed record holder Owen Evans on Great North Rd.

But Mr Evans, who was driving his wife's Audi V6 Turbo, said the cyclist would have been in for some "real competition" if he had not needed to find a carpark.

But while they were having their battle, Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey and his Stagecoach bus driver were content to cruise along.

"It took us for 40 minutes but then that's understandable given that we made about 20 stops," Mr Harvey said.

"In my last campaign I said I would not use the mayoral car and would start biking to work but I have to admit that I'm eating my own words."

The cars came in second at an average of 31m32s while the buses averaged 53m10s.

Professional rally driver Stig Blomqvist of Sweden, driving a Subaru, was passed by cyclist Ron King in the east Auckland race.

In one for the racing car drivers, technical New Zealand land speed record holder Ray Williams won the south Auckland race in 27m37s.

In the North Shore race cyclist Maureen Thompson won after getting permission from Transit and the North Shore City Council to ride over the Harbour Bridge.

Event co-ordinator Leonard Bloksberg, of Cycle AA, said the event proved that if more commuters rode bicycles, traffic congestion would be less of a headache.

However, he believed many chose not to because they feared being hurt.

"If riding a bike you are probably more likely to get a skinned knee but if you're in a car you are more likely to be killed," Dr Bloksberg said.

A cyclist who was not part of the challenge was hit at about 8am yesterday on Greys Ave.

"I saw that cyclist pass our bus then a few minutes later I saw him lying on the road. It brought back to us the reality of what we were doing to a whole different level," Mr Harvey said.

According to Transfund 366 motorists died last year, seven cyclists and no bus passengers.

About 6 per cent of commuters travel by bike or foot, 7 per cent by public transport and the rest in their cars.

Transit strategy and traffic director Terry Brown said traffic congestion was getting worse as 3 per cent more cars each year were using roads that had not been significantly improved.

Tuesday's announcement of a $1.6 billion funding package to improve the road network is hoped to get Auckland moving.

Commuting costs

Car: $1990 a year (includes petrol, oil, registration, WOF, tyres, repairs, maintenance).

Cycle: $180 a year (two services, helmet, rear light, pump).

Bus: $124 to $159 a month.

More:

Although the Southern section was won by the car, it was only by a matter of less than 30 seconds. If this event was run at other times of the day, say when all the kids are being dropped off, it could of been different.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/pics/20rushhourchallenge.gif

MORE!!!

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/pics/19jonbridges.JPG

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3550100&thesection=news&thesubsection=general&thesecondsubsection=

Lovely morning for a quick ride past the traffic jams

19.02.2004
JON BRIDGES, a TV3 presenter-producer, writes of his winning ride.
I knew this challenge could be mine. Anyone who rides a bike through Auckland, past lines of people sitting in their cars, knows that you'd have to get up pretty early to beat a bike to work from within a range of about 15 kilometres.

So I agreed to take part in this madcap traffic stunt.

From Lynnmall, at 7.35am, the car and I took off and immediately waited at a set of lights. The traffic was really light, rush hour was only just starting and I was worried that the devilish race car driver might get an easy run and beat me.

I'm not too hot at choosing the best route but I went up Great North Rd to Avondale where there was a bit of a jam at the roundabout. I rode up, over the railway then up New North Rd through Mt Albert where I cruised past the first really big line of traffic to Kingsland.

I turned left and went over Bond St, up the little rise to Great North Rd which got my blood pumping then at Ponsonby, past another line of traffic, then over the Hopetoun Bridge. I then coasted down to the Aotea Centre. I don't know which route the driver took, but he arrived about 10 minutes later. And it was such a beautiful morning!

I've been interested in cycling since I got a Raleigh Sport for my seventh birthday and mum taught me to ride it on the front lawn. As kids in Auckland and then in Palmerston North it was just how we got around, and I've tried to make that no different as an adult.

I've never been knocked off my bike but I've had to yell at drivers and sometime abuse them. Sometimes giving them a fright with my words, like they gave me with their cars, is a necessary means of communication.

Many drivers have no patience, they won't even stop and think for a half-second what that cyclist is doing.

I see a lot of inconsiderate driver behaviour on Auckland roads so cyclists have to have all their wits about them.

I've had some close calls with opening car doors.

At the end of the day I'm saving money, not needing to go to the gym, arriving at work on time and helping the environment.

I do love bikes - they are the most efficient method of transport ever invented by man and there is something so free about them.

With an average time of 26.51 minutes, the cyclists won comfortably. The cars came second with an average time of 31.32 minutes, while the buses finished a distant third with a time of 53.10 minutes.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

:roflmao:

:roflmao:

:roflmao:

:roflmao:

Occasionally, when one bike is being serviced or the situation doesn't allow it, I'll ride to work while my partner drives in. We both leave at the same time +/- a few minutes and I'll always arrive 10 minutes earlier+. Don't need to find a carpark and no delays with traffic congestion...

Apparently Brisbane has got public transport that works like a charm, and INDIVIDUAL lanes for cyclists and pedestrians?? hundreds of KMs of the things? We need that here.......

Brendon

I use bus and bike to get to work I live 27 miles from work. The commute is through some of the worst traffic in our area. When I bus I leave the house around 6:20 AM When I drive 6:30 and I get to read or take a nap. On the bus I tend to arrive 20 minutes early, drive maybe 5. Return is about the same and I usually have to wait longer for the bus at night so if it was there when I got there I would beat a car home. Of course we have bus/carpool lanes on the freeway and for the most part those lanes run much faster than the car single passenger car lanes.

Apparently Brisbane has got public transport that works like a charm,

Ummm, no it doesn't actually. The train is pretty good, but as far as catching a bus in Brisbane, forget it. I remember a day up there attending job interviews a while back. Of the five buses I had to catch that day, three didn't show at all, and one was 15 minutes late.



and INDIVIDUAL lanes for cyclists and pedestrians?? hundreds of KMs of the things? We need that here.......


The Gold Coast probably has a higher percentage of bike lanes than Brisbane does, but then we've got noticeably worse drivers who can't be relied upon to stay out of them. In anycase, an on-road bike lane is the same as any other shoulder on the road for practical purposes. As far as off-road bikepaths are concerned -- give me gridlocked traffic anyday! It's much safer.

On the other hand, I'm glad I don't live in a city where the cyclist can win a contest like this.

It's actually not so bad. Here on the Gold Coast I get to see both "worlds" (depending on how many tourists are here at any given time). In the school holidays, I win these "contests" everyday. At other times, it's really a 50/50 call. The thing is, as a 365-day cycle commuter, I'm not affected by these fluctuations in traffic the way everyone else is. If I have a 30 minute commute, that's how long it takes -- regardless of what the traffic is doing. It's the main reason I use a bicycle as transport.

On the other hand, I'm glad I don't live in a city where the cyclist can win a contest like this.
i disagree. in the article it says "from four points on the outskirts of Auckland" to downtown and the cyclists had an average time of 26.51 minutes - which is not a bad commute (my commute in munich has been 25-35 minutes for almost 3 years)

any city where you can get "from four points on the outskirts of Auckland" to downtown in less than 30 minutes by bike is a good place for a cyclist to live. contrast this with almost any US city with more than 500,000 people, say Houston, Philadelphia, LA... where auto-sprawl makes a 30 minute bike commute from the outskirts of town to downtown virtually impossible (a 25 minute bike trip in the city equals significantly less than 10 miles --- a less than 10 mile commute in Houston is a dream for most people - i lived in the hell-hole 3 years!).

i think a simliar contest in Munich would result in about 25-30 minutes for cyclists, 40-45 minutes by car, 30-60 minutes for subway (depends on if you are near a line and how many changes) and 40-60 for bus... i think Portland Oregon is one of the few US cities that would have a decent chance becuase the sprawl is less server there becuase of land-use planning.

If I have a 30 minute commute, that's how long it takes -- regardless of what the traffic is doing. It's the main reason I use a bicycle as transport.

yep, i think the same way. if i'm running late or feeling strong can maybe shave 3-4 minutes off... if i'm feeling relaxed i might make a stop in a park or something... and in the winter it takes a little longer (but somehow in January I know that it will be winter the next day before i go to bed) but basically my commute always takes the same amount of time... not true with bus or car.

i also don't have to think about what time i go to work (to avoid traffic) or when i leave (again to avoid traffic) as most auto-commuters do, "hm, if i don't leave now my comute's gonna be 30 minutes longer b/c of traffic"

On the other hand, I'm glad I don't live in a city where the cyclist can win a contest like this.
(followup)
obviously living in the city is not the same as in the country...

but if you have to live in an urban/suburban/Exurban area (most Americans do), then for me the best is a relatively small (max 25 mile diameter) urban area so that you can get around well by bike and it can be adaquaetely served by transit PLUS countryside surrounding the city --- contrast this with the typical US city which has a MASSIVE urban/suburban/exurban area where 1) distances are great and traffic horrible so driving is unpleasant, 2) distances are great so biking not so good, and 3) it is a LONG way to get out of the city.

this is the basic premise of the planning in Portland Oregon: set the urban growht boundary (1973 i think it was), and preserve open space outside the city for agriculture and recreation, encourage growth in certain areas IN the city and build a good insfrastructure for transit and biking and walking (MAX light rail) which the increased density and shorter distances allows to be more effective. many parts of (mostly northern) California have also attempted a more loose interpretation of this same philosophy, plus a few other places like Boulder CO...

i think one important point that has yet to be mentioned is that cyclists often (not always) require extra time once they arrive at their jobs to get ready for work. whether thats a shower or just changing clothes. i think given that, the times would be more comparable. now, im not arguing against bike commuting, and an increase in cyclist would definitely ease some traffic woes around the world (DC has 2 of the 20 worst traffic intersections in the US, and is definitely the kind of city nathank was describing) but i have found that while my actual travel time is faster than a cars would be on my commute, i spend extra tiem once i get here to get ready for work.

kiingfinny,

good point. in my Munich commute times i WAS including time to change (another reason winter takes longer). of course "change" for me is not a suit and tie, but casual dress. for "business attire" it would be longer.

but, UNLESS you pay for parking (or your company already has) most people spend as much time looking for parking as changing... ok, so many people at home have a garage. for the Munich comparison, where i live in the city it usually takes 2-5 minutes to find a nearby parking space and then walk to my door -- when i lived in urban NW Portland it was worse! i roomed with a colleage and he had to FIGHT for parking and when we left work at the same time (including changing) i was already home and had eaten a snack (abot 15 minutes) when he would arrive.

but, yes, it does vary... but in general Parking is very comparable to cycle-changing time. of course many people have already "paid" this cost by having a garage/driveway and many companies pay this cost to have excessive pakring so that it is never full.

in munich this is not the case and employees that drive either have to fight to get a good spot (arrive after 8:00 and you're outta luck) or pay.

i think one important point that has yet to be mentioned is that cyclists often (not always) require extra time once they arrive at their jobs to get ready for work. whether thats a shower or just changing clothes. i think given that, the times would be more comparable. now, im not arguing against bike commuting, and an increase in cyclist would definitely ease some traffic woes around the world (DC has 2 of the 20 worst traffic intersections in the US, and is definitely the kind of city nathank was describing) but i have found that while my actual travel time is faster than a cars would be on my commute, i spend extra tiem once i get here to get ready for work.

Nope. I'm betting (hoping?) that even people driving to work shower/change before they leave - this means they just take more time preparing before they leave. I don't do anything prior to leaving; I wake up, throw on my cycling regalia, pedal to work, then shower and change. Same time taken for hygiene, just done after the trip, rather than before.

Good point, ChezJfrey. I figure I'm going to take a shower each morning. On days when I'm combining my commute with training, it's at work. On days when I'm just riding to work like most Fridays, I take a shower at home, put on clothes and leisurely ride to work.

BTW, I live 4 miles from the office and at 7:45 am, it takes 15-20min by bike, 15-20min by car. I'll pick the bike 99 times out of 100.

cyclists often (not always) require extra time once they arrive at their jobs to get ready for work. whether thats a shower or just changing clothes.


Bikes totally beat cars, in my opinion. I get paid by how many shifts I work, and if I drove all the time, I'd have to work more, to pay for it. My wife says that I have to shower once a day, so I do it at work. That's no extra time. When I bike, I don't stop at the YMCA to work out because I have my work out built into my daily routine. These are real time savers that make me think that healthy car drivers are just stupid.

Of course, if everyone became enlightened, and biked, there wouldn't be the gridlock, and I couldn't feel superior. So I guess its a good thing that they are out there poluting and stuff.

They do something like that in Chicago when they kick off Bike to Work month- take a bike and a hummer and see who can get downtown first. I have no idea who wins.

Koffee

(followup)
obviously living in the city is not the same as in the country...

this is the basic premise of the planning in Portland Oregon: set the urban growht boundary (1973 i think it was), and preserve open space outside the city for agriculture and recreation, encourage growth in certain areas IN the city and build a good insfrastructure for transit and biking and walking (MAX light rail) which the increased density and shorter distances allows to be more effective. many parts of (mostly northern) California have also attempted a more loose interpretation of this same philosophy, plus a few other places like Boulder CO...

The Minneapolis/St Paul area is pretty good too. By the way, we've run these races before also (a few times over the years) and the bike always wins. I think that's why we have such a good infrastructure for biking (we've gotten "honorable mention" from bicycling for being one of the "best cities for biking". The city officials and MNDOT listened.

Damn, I hate living in the suburbs...wish I lived closer to the city center...

i think one important point that has yet to be mentioned is that cyclists often (not always) require extra time once they arrive at their jobs to get ready for work.
I can only speak for myself. When I drive in, I generally have less to do to get ready for work. It's a real lazy-man's day, then.

But I think it's all about quality time, anyway. When I drive to work, it's about 40 minutes of very poor-quality time wasted, both to, and from, work. When I ride, that's at least an hour of very high-quality time, probably one of the highlights of my day (who else gets in over 2 hours of tremendous fun on a work day?)

The time I spend preparing for the event is just a labor of love.

While we can all feel pretty smug about this, don't forget this quote from the article:


Transit strategy and traffic director Terry Brown said traffic congestion was getting worse as 3 per cent more cars each year were using roads that had not been significantly improved.

'Tuesday's announcement of a $1.6 billion funding package to improve the road network is hoped to get Auckland moving.

It seems the purpose of the exercise is not to show the benefits of cycling to work, but to pressurise government into building more roads.

Damn, I hate living in the suburbs...wish I lived closer to the city center...

When we relocated to MN Itold my wife that one of the most important things to me was to be close enough to work, that I could commute, year round.

I have a friend who lives close to Plymouth who would bike, if he lived closer to work, but his wife teaches in a district in the other dirrection, so he feels stuck.

I think a lot of people have this kind of problem.

It seems the purpose of the exercise is not to show the benefits of cycling to work, but to pressurise government into building more roads.
Denial of addiction. The proof is right under their nose, but they still can't see it.

It seems the purpose of the exercise is not to show the benefits of cycling to work, but to pressurise government into building more roads.

Good point, but I don't think simply building more roads is going to change this particular equation too much - as shown by the debacle of the Pacific Motorway (they've been calling for a second one for almost five years - starting about three years after the original one was finished as I recall).

More roads=more traffic=more clogged roads. Of course, this will stop when they run out of space to simply build more roads, as has happened in Surfers Paradise, but people will still complain about traffic.

i think one important point that has yet to be mentioned is that cyclists often (not always) require extra time once they arrive at their jobs to get ready for work. whether thats a shower or just changing clothes. i think given that, the times would be more comparable. now, im not arguing against bike commuting, and an increase in cyclist would definitely ease some traffic woes around the world (DC has 2 of the 20 worst traffic intersections in the US, and is definitely the kind of city nathank was describing) but i have found that while my actual travel time is faster than a cars would be on my commute, i spend extra tiem once i get here to get ready for work.

Very good point! Right now, I am still driving to work. In two weeks, I will start commuting again and I will have to leave home 2 hours early, comparable to 25 minutes early by car. It normally takes me 40 minutes by bike. When I get to work, I take a shower and then eat breakfast. So yes, cars are much faster, but I still love getting out cycling over driving!!!! :D :D :D

Problem is, they did not conduct this thing from what I would call the outskirts of Auckland. New Lynn, in the west, It's still another 15km from there to where I lived. (Triangle) straight line it was a bout 30-40mins to CBD. Much longer in a car though, still!

Im not sure of distances for other areas, but I will try and find a map of the sprawl, so you can compare it to the earlier map of where the race took part.

Auckland is apparently one of the largest cities in the world in terms of area per person. We build out not up it seems! Although the craze of 8 storey apartment blocks is taking hold.....

Brendon


i disagree. in the article it says "from four points on the outskirts of Auckland" to downtown and the cyclists had an average time of 26.51 minutes - which is not a bad commute (my commute in munich has been 25-35 minutes for almost 3 years)

any city where you can get "from four points on the outskirts of Auckland" to downtown in less than 30 minutes by bike is a good place for a cyclist to live.

While we can all feel pretty smug about this, don't forget this quote from the article:


Transit strategy and traffic director Terry Brown said traffic congestion was getting worse as 3 per cent more cars each year were using roads that had not been significantly improved.

'Tuesday's announcement of a $1.6 billion funding package to improve the road network is hoped to get Auckland moving.

It seems the purpose of the exercise is not to show the benefits of cycling to work, but to pressurise government into building more roads.

Not entirely. The Get Auckland Moving projects involve initiatives to improve roading, train routes, bus lanes, cycling, bridges.

Problem is, they did not conduct this thing from what I would call the outskirts of Auckland. New Lynn, in the west, It's still another 15km from there to where I lived. (Triangle) straight line it was a bout 30-40mins to CBD. Much longer in a car though, still!

Im not sure of distances for other areas, but I will try and find a map of the sprawl, so you can compare it to the earlier map of where the race took part.

Auckland is apparently one of the largest cities in the world in terms of area per person. We build out not up it seems! Although the craze of 8 storey apartment blocks is taking hold.....

Brendon

I agree. For our 1.25 million people the urban expanse of the Auckland region is possibly one of the largest in the world.

Most of the startpoints were closer to the CBD than they were to the outskirts of the urban sprawl. People further east tend to take the ferry as there isn't a nearby bridge over the inlet. going much futher east you hit the Pacific ocean. West I think is about half-way, which NZLcyclist can confirm.

The cyclist from the north had special permission to go over the Harbour Bridge, which is usually forbidden. Of the routes used, only hers would have had the cars using the motorway (freeway).

Where in Auckland are you Shadow? Still in SL? I am formerly of Massey and Te Atatu in the west. I am loving the countryside out here in Pukekohe! You'll have to come for a ride? I might go and do some of my own commuter challenging later....missing that feeling when you pass lots of cars!

Brendon

Where in Auckland are you Shadow? Still in SL? I am formerly of Massey and Te Atatu in the west. I am loving the countryside out here in Pukekohe! You'll have to come for a ride? I might go and do some of my own commuter challenging later....missing that feeling when you pass lots of cars!

yep, still here, doing my feeble 5km commute twice a day. I like living here so maybe I need to change jobs and get something further away to improve my commute.

Here in California traffic congestion can spread way out into the suburbs..Taking I-15 into San Diego traffic can crawl at about 15 mph for a good 15 miles. I know eventually urban crawl evens out..But, with the way So Cal freeways are filling we might be surprised that we might be more competitive than we might imagine.
You used to travel the 50 miles to San Diego in less than one hour..Now, I would give it between an 1 and a half hours, maybe even two- during the worst traffic congestion.
Bet going down I-5 San Diego corridor, with practice Lance Armstrong could almost beat out a 40 mile city commuter.

i think one important point that has yet to be mentioned is that cyclists often (not always) require extra time once they arrive at their jobs to get ready for work. whether thats a shower or just changing clothes. i think given that, the times would be more comparable. now, im not arguing against bike commuting, and an increase in cyclist would definitely ease some traffic woes around the world (DC has 2 of the 20 worst traffic intersections in the US, and is definitely the kind of city nathank was describing) but i have found that while my actual travel time is faster than a cars would be on my commute, i spend extra tiem once i get here to get ready for work.

For me, I get up, through on my bike clothes and ride to work. The time I spend at work getting ready is the time I would have spent at home doing the same thing.
;)

Damn, I hate living in the suburbs...wish I lived closer to the city center...

Hey, don't feel to bad, I live "next door" in New Hope and it works for me ;)

Good point, but I don't think simply building more roads is going to change this particular equation too much - as shown by the debacle of the Pacific Motorway (they've been calling for a second one for almost five years - starting about three years after the original one was finished as I recall).

More roads=more traffic=more clogged roads. Of course, this will stop when they run out of space to simply build more roads, as has happened in Surfers Paradise, but people will still complain about traffic.

I once heard that building more roads to fight congestion is like loosening your belt to fight obesity.