Places Where It's Faster to Bike or Walk than Drive
#1
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Places Where It's Faster to Bike or Walk than Drive
Here's how a scientist looks at the question of whether it's faster to walk, drive, or ride a bike:
Cities Where It's Faster to Walk than Drive - Plugged In - Scientific American Blog Network
What are your own thoughts and observations?
Cities Where It's Faster to Walk than Drive - Plugged In - Scientific American Blog Network
What are your own thoughts and observations?
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A couple of weeks ago they had a "rush hour race" event from somewhere or other in downtown Boston to Union Square in Somerville. It's only a one-time (well, I think maybe it's annual?) thing, so not scientific, but interesting anyway. The fastest was a bicyclist on a Hubway (bike share) bike, followed closely by a bicyclist on their own bike, at around 24 minutes. The car and the public transit rider came in over ten minutes later. Before you ask, the cyclists did follow the rules of the road and stop at red lights.
Timing makes a big difference too. In many places around Boston a car would be faster than a bike at 3AM when there's no traffic, but a bike would be faster at rush hour. Likewise, in many places a car might be faster in the summer when there's less traffic (Boston has a lot of universities) and a bike might be faster in February when there's tons of traffic plus snow on the ground.
EDIT:
Also, it's worth pointing out how intersections affect average speeds. If a car's average speed while moving is higher than a bike's average speed while moving, but there are enough stop lights that the speed differential doesn't let the car through on green while the bike gets caught with red very often, they'll end up where they're going in exactly the same amount of time, practically speaking. At that point the big time-saving advantage of the bike is that it might be easier to find a parking space closer to the door.
Timing makes a big difference too. In many places around Boston a car would be faster than a bike at 3AM when there's no traffic, but a bike would be faster at rush hour. Likewise, in many places a car might be faster in the summer when there's less traffic (Boston has a lot of universities) and a bike might be faster in February when there's tons of traffic plus snow on the ground.
EDIT:
Also, it's worth pointing out how intersections affect average speeds. If a car's average speed while moving is higher than a bike's average speed while moving, but there are enough stop lights that the speed differential doesn't let the car through on green while the bike gets caught with red very often, they'll end up where they're going in exactly the same amount of time, practically speaking. At that point the big time-saving advantage of the bike is that it might be easier to find a parking space closer to the door.
Last edited by Coluber42; 05-20-15 at 11:29 AM.
#3
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A part of it will depend on what alternate routes are available. My drive home in the evening gets slow sometimes, but I'm driving on freeways, and there are not very good alternate cycling route. Another issue is that car traffic speeds tend to be variable, so one day, it may take me 50 minutes to get home, the next day, 2 hours, etc. If it was exactly 2 hours every day, it'd be different. And lastly, in order to go home, I have to go to work, and traffic is not bad then, so any potential advantage in the afternoons is overcome by the disadvantage in the mornings.
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#4
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Parking is something that should be considered by the traveler as well.
So in a place like New York City where parking is a premium; getting
around faster in on a bicycle really is the way to go:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0slP...6zPoymgKaIoDLA
So in a place like New York City where parking is a premium; getting
around faster in on a bicycle really is the way to go:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0slP...6zPoymgKaIoDLA
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A couple of weeks ago they had a "rush hour race" event from somewhere or other in downtown Boston to Union Square in Somerville. It's only a one-time (well, I think maybe it's annual?) thing, so not scientific, but interesting anyway. The fastest was a bicyclist on a Hubway (bike share) bike, followed closely by a bicyclist on their own bike, at around 24 minutes. The car and the public transit rider came in over ten minutes later. Before you ask, the cyclists did follow the rules of the road and stop at red lights.
Timing makes a big difference too. In many places around Boston a car would be faster than a bike at 3AM when there's no traffic, but a bike would be faster at rush hour. Likewise, in many places a car might be faster in the summer when there's less traffic (Boston has a lot of universities) and a bike might be faster in February when there's tons of traffic plus snow on the ground.
EDIT:
Also, it's worth pointing out how intersections affect average speeds. If a car's average speed while moving is higher than a bike's average speed while moving, but there are enough stop lights that the speed differential doesn't let the car through on green while the bike gets caught with red very often, they'll end up where they're going in exactly the same amount of time, practically speaking. At that point the big time-saving advantage of the bike is that it might be easier to find a parking space closer to the door.
Timing makes a big difference too. In many places around Boston a car would be faster than a bike at 3AM when there's no traffic, but a bike would be faster at rush hour. Likewise, in many places a car might be faster in the summer when there's less traffic (Boston has a lot of universities) and a bike might be faster in February when there's tons of traffic plus snow on the ground.
EDIT:
Also, it's worth pointing out how intersections affect average speeds. If a car's average speed while moving is higher than a bike's average speed while moving, but there are enough stop lights that the speed differential doesn't let the car through on green while the bike gets caught with red very often, they'll end up where they're going in exactly the same amount of time, practically speaking. At that point the big time-saving advantage of the bike is that it might be easier to find a parking space closer to the door.
And as note by Coluber, parking itself can markedly add to the time (and cost) of travel in the city.
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Here's how a scientist looks at the question of whether it's faster to walk, drive, or ride a bike:
Cities Where It's Faster to Walk than Drive - Plugged In - Scientific American Blog Network
What are your own thoughts and observations?
Cities Where It's Faster to Walk than Drive - Plugged In - Scientific American Blog Network
What are your own thoughts and observations?
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Here's how a scientist looks at the question of whether it's faster to walk, drive, or ride a bike:
Cities Where It's Faster to Walk than Drive - Plugged In - Scientific American Blog Network
What are your own thoughts and observations?
Cities Where It's Faster to Walk than Drive - Plugged In - Scientific American Blog Network
What are your own thoughts and observations?
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In my city, there are plenty of destinations where the difference between bike and car is negligible. This encourages me to bike.
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In my youth, I worked for a major aerospace contractor carrying stuff from point A to point B. Some times this would be an IC chip or circuit card to go from our repair facility to the production floor about 2.5 miles away on the other side of LAX. My bike was the absolute fastest way to do it, especially because I just rode up to the corporate gate and wheeled my bike in. Drivers would have to walk to the parking lot, then drive, then park and walk to the gate. They were huge parking lots. So I could do point to point delivery about 10 minutes faster than if I had driven.
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#10
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Here in Tokyo few things are faster to get around on than a bicycle. The laws here allow lane splitting, and bikes can go two ways on one-way streets. They are technically not allowed on sidewalks, but the 2008 law requiring bikes to ride on streets is "officially" not enforced. My bike commute takes 7 minutes, a taxi takes 10 minutes, a bus takes 20 minutes, walking takes 25 minutes.
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What does your source () say about the free time of people who spend money on transportation other than motor transport?
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There is a cool map for Washington DC (maybe there are some for other cities?) that let's you click a district, and it will give you the fastest way to go about the city. It adds parking time into the equation, which makes biking the fasted way to get around a big chunk of the city.
Fastest Mode of Transport - Washington DC
Fastest Mode of Transport - Washington DC
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Another thing that needs to be factored into the "travel time" is car "warm-up" time in the winter. In the winter around here, most people let their car idle for 10 minutes. It takes me 15 minutes to bike to work. Even if they DON'T let their car warm up, they still have to scrape the ice off of their windshield, which takes at least 5 minutes with the crappy ice we have around here.
I had to drive in the morning ONCE this winter. I hated it. With a passion. I never want to scrape the ice off of my window again.
I had to drive in the morning ONCE this winter. I hated it. With a passion. I never want to scrape the ice off of my window again.
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Thanks.
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I'm gonna be the grinch here and tell everyone I recently read a book by this guy and I've come to enjoy being the slowest vehicle on the road. I even like it when other cyclists pass me on trails. I've thrown away my bike computer and I don't have a wrist watch. (Although admittedly I do have a cell phone with a clock app in my pannier.)
Carl Honoré: In praise of slowness | Talk Video | TED.com
Carl Honoré: In praise of slowness | Talk Video | TED.com
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Albuquerque ought to be on that list, at least part time. Albuquerque has no bypass. That means the "secondary" routes are already being used as main arteries. APD also has a habit of stopping ALL traffic while they work out who hit who in every case from fender bender to fatal wreck. (NM seriously needs to become a no-fault state!) Add that to the fact that a road repair contract is a career path for many construction companies--- some intersections and some stretches of road have been under construction for 15 years--- and traveling in the city is pretty "iffy."
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Another thing that needs to be factored into the "travel time" is car "warm-up" time in the winter. In the winter around here, most people let their car idle for 10 minutes. It takes me 15 minutes to bike to work. Even if they DON'T let their car warm up, they still have to scrape the ice off of their windshield, which takes at least 5 minutes with the crappy ice we have around here.
I had to drive in the morning ONCE this winter. I hated it. With a passion. I never want to scrape the ice off of my window again.
I had to drive in the morning ONCE this winter. I hated it. With a passion. I never want to scrape the ice off of my window again.
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I'm gonna be the grinch here and tell everyone I recently read a book by this guy and I've come to enjoy being the slowest vehicle on the road. I even like it when other cyclists pass me on trails. I've thrown away my bike computer and I don't have a wrist watch. (Although admittedly I do have a cell phone with a clock app in my pannier.)
Carl Honoré: In praise of slowness | Talk Video | TED.com
Carl Honoré: In praise of slowness | Talk Video | TED.com
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Great! At least some group is trying to confront the horrible racer mentality that pervades cycling. It's still the case that even when you buy commuting and touring bikes, people are comparing them to their uber fast racing machines... I mean racing machines where you can't add a rear rack and the only place to store your wallet in in a pouch on the back of your shirt.
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Around here we have a good number of shops that cater more to people who want to bike but aren't interested in the sporty mentality - upright city bikes, cargo bikes, etc.
But as far as a "slow bicycle movement" goes... well, it's a nice idea, but I'm in a hurry too much of the time for that. If I'm riding hard on my commuter bike, it isn't because I'm trying to race or get a workout, it's because I'm running late. I like my bike for other reasons too obviously, but the fact that it's also the fastest (and by far most predictable) way of getting around town really does matter to me. In principle, I like the idea of relaxing, taking life at a slower pace, cruising easy on the bike path, etc... but in practice, I'm usually too busy and too often five or ten minutes behind schedule.
But as far as a "slow bicycle movement" goes... well, it's a nice idea, but I'm in a hurry too much of the time for that. If I'm riding hard on my commuter bike, it isn't because I'm trying to race or get a workout, it's because I'm running late. I like my bike for other reasons too obviously, but the fact that it's also the fastest (and by far most predictable) way of getting around town really does matter to me. In principle, I like the idea of relaxing, taking life at a slower pace, cruising easy on the bike path, etc... but in practice, I'm usually too busy and too often five or ten minutes behind schedule.
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The author is not a scientist, but his assessment seems spot on for downtown during rush hour. Leaving work around 4:15 during the school year, I pass around 50ish cars waiting in line at various lights and stop signs. If I am riding through the downtown district during even moderate traffic I have no trouble keeping up with and moving ahead of traffic.