apollored

(L-R) Ruhubia Akbor travelled by bus, Wayne Ankers won the race on his bike, Steve Robson travelled by car and Jennifer Williams on the tram.

The results of the great Manchester Evening News transport race are in... and pedal power won. Our contest between bike, tram, bus and car saw cycling emerge victorious in a dash from Oldham to Manchester.

We pitted M.E.N reporters Steve Robson (car), Ruhubia Akbor (bus), Wayne Ankers (bike) and Jennifer Williams (tram) against each other to see how fast we could do the morning commute.

The bike made it in just 28 minutes – shooting into north Manchester and down Oldham Road through the mounting rush hour traffic. Motorist Steve arrived at the finish line in Piccadilly Gardens five minutes later, his walk from the car park creating a crucial delay.

The tram – from the new Oldham Mumps stop – came in third, taking 42 minutes. And on the number 83 bus, Ruhubia arrived earlier than timetabled, but still came last at 45 minutes.

The contestants left Oldham town hall on Yorkshire Street at 8.02am in an attempt to recreate four daily commutes. Ruhubia was able to jump on the bus right next door, thanks to the Yorkshire Street bus station recently reopening.

Her bus sped down bus lanes into Manchester – but stopped at every single stop along the way, adding time.

Bus, bike and car all got caught in traffic when they hit Failsworth, however, due to several sets of traffic lights. But while the brand new tram cleared that hurdle – delayed only for a few moments outside Newton Heath and Moston – the walk from Oldham town hall to the temporary Mumps tram stop provided a setback. See tomorrow's MEN for a full report.

Read more at: https://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereven...transport-race

Matt Gaunt

Good post.