Commuting - Always wonder, Am I actually faster than the car traffic.

I've always wondered if my commuting by bike 15miles across LA was actually faster than driving. Last night I had found out that at least part of it is.

I was riding down Santa Monica Blvd and a bright new bright yellow Fiat 500, with dark haired female driver passed me at La Cienaga. This car stood out because it was a bright yellow the Fiat 500's are still pretty rare. She was also heavy on the revs so it brought a lot of attention to her.
Shortly after she passed me I continued on my usually route and turned off the street we were both on, eventually my route meets back up with Santa Monica Blvd, but I don't take it the whole way. 5.5 miles later, when my route meets back up at a stop light, I roll up to the stop light and stop, and a few moments later, there she she is. Same Fiat 500 as 5.5 miles earlier. We both gave each other a look and went on our way.

Any hits on the missed connection post?



Srsly, I've noticed this as well. Any time I ride in the city I'm close to moving just as fast as the vehicular traffic.

I guess it depends on your location,
in my area bikes are definitely faster than cars:D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0slPlNDxBi0

I guess it depends on your location,
in my area bikes are definitely faster than cars:D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0slPlNDxBi0

I definitively have some segments like that in LA. That is part of the reason I started riding my commute. I cross 15miles of city so some areas are terrible like above but then clear up after a bit.

After those guys demonstrated that biking across LA was faster than taking a plane, I thought bike vs. car would be a no brainer.

For me, driving is about 10-15 minutes faster, depending on traffic. If I leave work at about 5:15, the first street away from my office complex is usually backed up close to half a mile with cars waiting to get through a single traffic light, while I cruise past them on the bike, but within a mile roads open up significantly and a car from the back of the line going the same way I am would probably pass me about the time I'm halfway home. I'm OK with that because I didn't spend the first 15 minutes of my commute wishing I was doing something else. I see the way they look at me while they're stuck at that red light, and I know that they're jealous -- not jealous enough to give up their precious car, but still jealous.

After those guys demonstrated that biking across LA was faster than taking a plane, I thought bike vs. car would be a no brainer.

For me, driving is about 10-15 minutes faster, depending on traffic. If I leave work at about 5:15, the first street away from my office complex is usually backed up close to half a mile with cars waiting to get through a single traffic light, while I cruise past them on the bike, but within a mile roads open up significantly and a car from the back of the line going the same way I am would probably pass me about the time I'm halfway home. I'm OK with that because I didn't spend the first 15 minutes of my commute wishing I was doing something else. I see the way they look at me while they're stuck at that red light, and I know that they're jealous -- not jealous enough to give up their precious car, but still jealous.

A car probably could have beaten them on that day because traffic ended up being super light. Everyone stayed home that day instead of risking the traffic. Those guys (Wolfpack Hustle) are great though.

It all really depends on time of day and location. When I do drive to work, I take the freeway which is longer distance, but short time(sometimes).

Door-to-door, I'm about 25 minutes faster by car. That said, I usually dawdle on days I drive, so I rarely save time by driving. ;)

- Scott

My commute is rural roads and much slower than driving....but worth every second.
Getting around Coupeville or Oak Harbor point to point is way faster by bike. I can take a lot of "shortcuts" that are not an option in a car and there is almost always a way to avoid a red light. ;)

More than likely, the girl in the bright yellow fiat stopped and had a pizza and a couple of beers.:)

Within the downtown area, I find cycling to be much faster at peak hours. The other route I travel (not downtown) regularly is about even, because I can cut off a few major intersections and some distance using a short, conveniently placed MUP.

time of day and level of traffic congestion is key. there are times when i'm absolutely faster than car traffic on my bike. but in off peak hours, it's probably faster to get around the city by car, though not by a whole lot i imagine, unless you're talking about going the full 20 mile distance from one end of chicago to the other.

a big chunk of my commute takes me along chicago's lakefront path which parallels lake shore drive (an expressway). if traffic is backed up, i'm faster on my bike than the cars stuck on LSD.

I guess it depends on your location,
in my area bikes are definitely faster than cars:D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0slPlNDxBi0

cool song on the video. I was looking up some videos with the GoPro Hero cos the new Hero 2 is coming out this winter. Sure, the quality of the video was better but the soundtracks just wrecked it. What did you use to record this?

Sometimes I'm faster than rush hour traffic, and sometimes not. But it always takes about the same amount of time to get home, so I can plan my social life reliably if I commute by bike. Plus, if I don't commute by bike, I'll be going for an evening ride anyway, so I can kill two birds with the same hour.

Most of the time I am not. But some days, like this morning, I'll ride underneath the I-90 or I-190, and they'll both be backed up with standstill traffic, meaning my commute in a car would have taken 2 hours, whereas my commute on the bike takes 1:15. I love these kind of days.

cool song on the video. I was looking up some videos with the GoPro Hero cos the new Hero 2 is coming out this winter. Sure, the quality of the video was better but the soundtracks just wrecked it. What did you use to record this?

I mounted my Nikon COOLPIX P100 on the bars, it's a bit bigger than a compact camera.
Song used was "Où Veux tu qu' je r'garde", originally composed and sung by the group Noir Désir. The version I used was a remake by the group Nouvelle Vague.
I guess the heft of the camera contributed to the shakiness, I had both optical and elctronic image stabilizers on but the footage is still shaky. Gopro on the helmet is definitely more stable:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYLoMM5Pxq0&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

In downtown Toronto, most of the time I'm quicker than traffic, or at least catch the same cars at the lights. With better bike infrastructure, cycling here could be even quicker. Most of the time I'm travelling at about half my top speed so that I can stop for the unexpected (lots of cars parked to the right, pedestrians, long-boarders, crazy-rule-breaking-cyclists).

I'm definitely faster than the streetcars, which only travel at ~15-20 km/hr and stop every two blocks! :P

I guess it depends on your location,
in my area bikes are definitely faster than cars:D


In San Francisco, for some reason, people in cars, always arrive about five minutes before me. No matter what the occasion or where it's located.

- Slim :)

PS.

Interceptor!

You've always got the coolest videos!

Thanx

Top Gear proved a bike was faster across London than a car, boat, or public transit.

Interceptor!

You've always got the coolest videos!

Thanx

- Slim :)

Thanks, you keep watching - I'll keep taping :D

I guess it depends on your location,
in my area bikes are definitely faster than cars:D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0slPlNDxBi0

Bravo 1nterceptor... et j'aime la musique.

Bravo 1nterceptor... et j'aime la musique.

Thanks, I was going to use this one but changed my mind :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx2O13f40SE

The fastest way to get across South Minneapolis during rush hour is the Greenway. To my girlfriend's: 24 minutes on the bike, 30 something in the car, close to an hour on the bus.

In San Francisco, for some reason, people in cars, always arrive about five minutes before me. No matter what the occasion or where it's located.

- Slim :)

PS.

Interceptor!

You've always got the coolest videos!

Thanx

From Ferry Building to Ocean Beach, I'm definitely slower than automobile, even in the midst of the evening commute at 5:30pm. I am, however, just as fast at taking the express bus. Driving takes about 20 minutes less.

back up at a stop light, I roll up to the stop light and stop, and a few moments later, there she she is. Same Fiat 500 as 5.5 miles earlier. We both gave each other a look and went on our way.

Stoplights are the equalizers! Its funny 'cause the other day, I was driving on the way back from a tune-up on El Cajon Blvd. where I passed up a cyclist. Then he quickly caught up and passed my group of cars after the light.

Stoplights are the equalizers! Its funny 'cause the other day, I was driving on the way back from a tune-up on El Cajon Blvd. where I passed up a cyclist. Then he quickly caught up and passed my group of cars after the light.

lol. So true, even on the expressways in my area. Depending on the hour of the day and traffic density, I can continually catch the same groups of cars at the lights. I don't ride that fast either.

On my suburban commute there is often a mile or more between controlled intersections, and cars can usually drive over 40 mph... not even Lance is going to beat them. Still, the bike is way more fun!

I live in L.A. too. I find that whether i'm faster depends on my destination. I used to travel west to get to work, from east of Hollywood. That was almost always a faster bike ride, to and from, often by 15-30 minutes or so, but after our office moved to Culver City, a more north/south route, the bike is nearly always slower..but still more fun.

I had the same thought the other day. Rode 18 miles to my tempe office. Later had to go downtown, which is another 8 miles. I decided to take the train cause I was pretty beat. Walked 5 minutes to the train stop, then waited 10 minutes for it to come, and it took at least 30 minutes to get there. Surely I could have ridden there faster. Think I will next time!

On my old 13km commute I could usually beat my driving time by 10 minutes since the drive was circuitous and my ride was a straight line.

When I ride to the bike co-op it is 8km and have driven this route and found that by cycling I can usually save at least 10 minutes during rush hour traffic.

I can keep up, but I keep it slower because I live in an area where everyone parks on the shoulder and we have no bike lanes. :(

Top Gear proved a bike was faster across London than a car, boat, or public transit.

Faster than public transport too, and ours is pretty good most of the time.

My 12 miles to the centre of London takes 45 mins with no red light jumping, 15mins to lock up and have a shower and total time from home to desk 60 mins.

Compare that to 15 mins walk to railway station, 5 mins waiting for a train, 25 mins on train, 15 mins walk at the far end to the office. Total time 60 mins assuming you are only waiting 5 mins for a train. Anything more than that and the bike is a clear winner on time, never mind cost or the benefits of 1hr 30 mins exercise every day I'm in the office.

Most days it is faster for me to drive. However, my office just moved to a new location downtown and I was shocked to find that it took me 5 minutes longer to drive home yesterday than cycling to work this morning in the dark -- even though my commute distance increased about 5 miles. I have to park my truck a block away from my new office on the 9th floor of a parking deck, and it takes at least 10 minutes to drive up or down the deck ramps and walk to or from my office.

I was talking to someone at work this morning, and she saw me cycling about 5 miles north of our office and I got to work sooner than she did.

One night last week my division manager came to visit the office. He wanted to take us out to dinner after work, so in order to avoid being "that guy" who holds everyone up, I opted to drive to work that day instead of cycle.

After work I left the building and drove past a guy in my building (different company) who bikes to work. About 5 miles later I was nearing the restaurant... and the guy on the bike passed me. I didn't realise that traffic had slowed me down to a point where I was actually driving slower than a bicycle.

After that, I instantly regretted not cycling. The $5 parking fee near the restaurant only rubbed it in even more. Add in the 10 minutes spent trying to find parking in the first place, then cycling was a clear winner.

I drove in today (for the second time in about a month) because I'm sick with a cold. And still regretted it. I'd rather be blowing snot rockets and sneezing in 45F than be stuck in traffic and having that stress on my body/mind. Took me >1 hr for <10 miles. If I rode that it would be 35 mins. Of course if I'd gotten up earlier I could've driven in 25 mins.

Faster than public transport too, and ours is pretty good most of the time.

My 12 miles to the centre of London takes 45 mins with no red light jumping, 15mins to lock up and have a shower and total time from home to desk 60 mins.

Compare that to 15 mins walk to railway station, 5 mins waiting for a train, 25 mins on train, 15 mins walk at the far end to the office. Total time 60 mins assuming you are only waiting 5 mins for a train. Anything more than that and the bike is a clear winner on time, never mind cost or the benefits of 1hr 30 mins exercise every day I'm in the office.

The best part of that was listening to Hammond curse at the bus drivers. That's exactly what I do, but in an American accent and on the other side of the street. ;)

For me, my commute is about twice the time as a car. I live in quite open countryside and just touch some of the busy streets for a few minutes. I just look at my ride as a good exuse to get a good ride and to keep me fit.

Almost never for me. I have about a 20 mile commute, and door-to-door time in a car is usually right at 30 minutes. I am guessing that there aren't many cyclist who can average 40 mph including stoplights, etc.

Of course, in an ice storm a couple of years ago, it took some folks 12-18 hours to make that trip. Walking would have been faster, and a bike with studded snow tires a dream.

I would guess that other than low mileage commutes in crowded urban areas, a car is almost always going to be faster.

For me, normal day (driving in rush hours) it is about the same, on weekends it is much faster to drive as there are no cars (or very minimal amount of cars) as it is all business buildings, I can also hop on the interstate which shaves off time as well.

M-F S-S
Car 30-35 15-20
Bike 25-30

I can't beat 15-20 minutes by car on the weekends by bike. On holiday weekends (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Memorial and Independence Days) I can drive in about 20-25 minutes the day before the weekend starts.

Awe...I can't do a chart?

So many variables.

When I see co-workers on the road, we usually meet up at the last traffic light before I get home. They usually live further away from work, so...

But if I'm traveling longer distances around the city, I usually count on the bike taking about 60% longer than I expect the car to take. Make it double if I'm riding with my wife. In a denser city this probably wouldn't be the case, but here, once you leave the core - which really isn't very big, maybe 20 blocks by 5 blocks - cars do get moving much faster.

Sometimes I'm faster. Usually, though, I see a pretty sunset, some birds, or a shiny rock and I slow or stop to enjoy them. Part of the cycling lifestyle, for me at least, is the ability to slow down and enjoy what's around me.

Commuting by car takes me about 20-25 minutes. By bike is about 15-20 minutes. I live in a small, but sparsely populated city (250,000 people), so the drive to work in the morning and at the end of the day is just a lot of sitting in traffic on the "major" streets leading in/out of downtown. On my bike, other than lights, I basically don't wait (MUP leads to downtown, followed by 2 downtown streets). My co-workers think I'm kidding when I say my commute is faster than theirs AND I get better parking. We have a heated and locked bike room on the 2nd level of our parkade. Parkade spots are at a premium, so I'd say 90% of my co-workers park 5-10 blocks away.

My commute from central Queens to Lower Manhattan is usually faster on a bike. Even when a car is faster, the difference is more than made up for by the search for parking.

I'm faster than public transit, but I don't know about by car as I don't have one and parking at my work is non-existent.

I'm faster than public transit...

Cycling is way faster than public transit in my city as well. There is no train system or direct bus line from my neighborhood to downtown (which doesn't make a lot of sense). So, to ride the bus to work I would have to transfer between bus routes, which would take at least 90 minutes -- about 30 minutes longer than my bike commute. I suspect that even if there was a direct bus route it would take longer due to all of the stops, plus I would have to walk about 1/2 mile to the nearest bus stop in my neighborhood.

I guess I should qualify. If I go the most direct route or only one or two miles out of my way I'm faster than public transit. My preferred route is more like 7-8 miles vs 4 for public transit. In that case, I'm only faster if you don't count the time it takes to change/freshen up at either end.

The best part of that was listening to Hammond curse at the bus drivers. That's exactly what I do, but in an American accent and on the other side of the street. ;)

That was a great episode. I suspect there are a number of us that enjoy bikes, cars, ships etc so Top Gear can be good escapism. I liked the fact that Hammond obviously does ride to keep fit so he was going to go for it and push himself to win. I was urging him on to win, despite the little racing boat beign very cool. Now non-cyclists in the office know how fast we can cover the ground in the city.

I lived in Brooklyn for 3 years recently and riding on NYC streets does seem to be russian roulette with regards to driving standards. Despite my best efforts, I did get knocked off once by, of all people, the NYPD! Fortunately only a low speed biff but the old saying of the US and UK being seperated by a common language was true that day. I think I got away with some stuff that would have got me a ticket otherwise as the officers simply didn't understand some of the words I used :)

I don't have the stamina to do a 15 mile commute each way. Mine is 3 miles. Takes 15 minutes by bike, 10 minutes by car, and 40 minutes by bus because I have to walk a distance just to get to the stop. The only way I can beat traffic by bike is if there is a home game or the trip goes through campus town.

....I would guess that other than low mileage commutes in crowded urban areas, a car is almost always going to be faster.

Yep.

Astoria to Midtown

Car: 20-45mins depending on traffic (20-35$) *Bonus: could be fastest means

Subway: 40mins door to door ($2.25) *Bonus: least expensive motorized means

Bike: 30mins or less ("Free") *Bonus: Cardiovascular Health and many more....

During much of the day the average speed of an automobile in cities like London or New York is not much faster than a horse and buggy was over 100 years ago. I believe the average speed tends to be around 10.6 mph.

Edit: just did a little search and I was a little fast. This from a New York Times article about New York traffic speeds (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/nyregion/24traffic.html):


In that 12-month period, weekday traffic in the district moved at an average of 9.5 miles per hour — about the speed of a farmyard chicken at full gallop.

Thursday, Nov. 13 was the slowest weekday of the year studied, with an average speed of 7.5 m.p.h. — about the speed of the typical jogger in Central Park. Excluding federal holidays, the fastest weekday: Monday, Sept. 28, at a speed of 11.7 m.p.h.

And in London, from This is Local London (http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/topstories/804876.london_cars_move_no_faster_than_chickens/):



Despite the congestion charge, traffic in central London moves at just 10mph - the same speed as horse-drawn carriages a century ago.

Average traffic speed has improved by only 1.5mph since the toll's introduction in 2003, mayor Ken Livingstone has admitted before the London Assembly.

That means cars in central London now travel at the speed of a running chicken, instead of a running house mouse.