For 15 of the 16 years that I lived in Boston/Brookline Massachusetts while not owning a car, my bicycle commutes were always faster than taking the Greenline trolleys or other subway lines. I could ride door to door to my teaching jobs in half the amount of time, and arrive feeling very awake and alert.
When I moved one hour north of Boston, I had to purchase a car, and I fell into the convenient habit of driving everywhere--even for short errands of a mile or less.
However, I have awoken from the petroleum-induced slumber, and my new bicycle commute which I hope to begin within the next week or so (when the ice has melted) will be 20 miles round-trip on a rail trail which passes right by my workplace.
This time, bicycle commuting will take quite a bit longer than driving the highway route, but I will be oh-so-much-for-the-better for it !