I can easily beat the bus for my 1.75 mile commute, even if you back out the 1 or .5 block walk to the stop. (I can choose from two buses near my house) and the 1 or 2 block walk to my office. That is due in large part to the bus stopping at every dam corner, which I think is totally ridiculous and a total waste of time and fuel. There was a proposal to experiment with every other block stops, but I think the people who regularly rode the routes where it was tried nearly rioted.