For 14 years, I had driven to work that was only 4km away. Then when I discovered a safe route to get to work, I bicycled for three years until I retired.
Initially my cycling took longer than my driving as is usually expected. Then when I had appendicitis, took time off and was instructed by the doctor not to ride for 30 days, I realized that in the course of three years, traffic had gotten worse. My previous 15 min drive was now almost 30 minutes making my cycle commute time at 20minutes faster.
Of course comuting is not a race. But I do feel smug when I ride past all those cars congested in traffic and especially when I coast through a collision site.