salcedo

https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlton.../#4a98db363794

JoeyBike

Amen.

JW Fas

I take this with a grain of salt. The data tracked couriers who are undoubtedly filtering between cars and taking various shortcuts. I'd wager they weren't obeying all traffic laws either. Anecdotally, my commutes were only as fast as cars in areas with many traffic lights. I probably would've been faster if I ran some reds, but we all know the gamble that exercise is.

Hoopdriver

The statement about bikes being faster is imprecise because, first, the data is primarily from delivery riders in London. Cars obviously have the potential for higher speeds; however the combination of algorithm-driven routing and a likely a few more liberties with traffic laws allow the delivery cyclist to arrive at a particular destination in less time (and time is money). Not the same as "faster".

Links for perspective:

https://www.phcmag.com/deliveroo-cyc...ausing-mayhem/
https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/n...lists-a-280750
https://www.chichester.co.uk/news/yo...ster-1-8668792

JoeyBike

Haha! You guys!

One day I counted 254 cars/trucks I passed in gridlock traffic and ZERO passed me (I shot video and counted them later). I don't need a fancy study to tell me I am getting through the city grid faster than the shiny metal boxes that are the exact WRONG shape for that job. Yes, I am taking shortcuts, breaking rules, and splitting lanes. Precisely WHY i use a bicycle Downtown in the first place. Even if motorists were allowed to run red lights they would have no chance against a seasoned delivery guy/gal. Don't even get me started on PARKING! HAHAHAhahahahaha! What a joke. Passing less than 100 cars would be a bad day for me Downtown. Passing me ONCE would be a good day for cars.

atbman

When I was National Bike Week Co-ordinator for my local city back in the Noughties, we ran a bike v car v bus v train (where relevant) and the bike won every time. the routes ranged from about 3 to 5/6 miles. Traffic rules had to be obeyed.

Maelochs

Gee ... it is almost like the phrase "depending on rider, route, road condition, and time of day" was accidentally left out of the title.

To get clicks from people who needed their lies reinforced.

noglider 

New York City has used bicycles for deliveries since bicycles were invented. Well, at least since the safety bicycle was invented. We know they are the fastest for trips up to a certain distance.

@Hoopdriver, some laws that cyclists break don't serve anyone, so I think the data is still valid. And I said "some" laws, not all. I'm not advocating mayhem, but when I consider that no one is hurt if I stop at a red light and then proceed if no one is there, I see nothing wrong with it. I am not only safe, but I am careful not to rattle anyone's nerves.

JoeyBike

The article I read following the OP link suggested that the data was compiled 24-7-365 and the bicycles did best overall, regardless of rider, route, conditions, or time of day. Correct me if i am wrong (like I nee to add that). They only tracked pro delivery riders tho.

Maelochs

------------------------------------------------------ "depending on rider, route, road condition, and time of day"

Yeah .... that's like saying "Cyclists cruise at 28 mph .... but we only tracked riders in the the Pro Tour peloton."

As I said .... "depending on rider, route, road condition, and time of day."

wphamilton

Well I was faster than cars on my commute home yesterday. I had taken careful note of a car passing me obnoxiously close and fast, gave him the stink-eye when I caught him at the next light, and then caught him again just before home. And this was a low-energy no-sweating ride where I was being cautious in the rain. I don't really doubt that bikes can be faster in the city with higher density and more lights.

wphamilton

You can look at Google Maps, set it to the bicycle, and check the estimated time for the trip, Google takes into account the road, grade, lights, and current traffic. I knock off 35% for my time, not bragging just how I plan it and it usually works out. Driving times are pretty accurate for average drivers. You can compare the two, and in rush hour it's not hard to be faster by bike.

jon c. 

I have an 18 mile commute that I usually drive. But when I ride, I beat auto time on the way home for the first three miles every time without fail. Under the right conditions, a bike is always faster. Don't need a study to tell you that.

The next fifteen miles are a lot faster in the truck.

Gresp15C

My impression is that Google estimates cycling trips at a constant 12 mph, whereas their algorithms for car trips seem to take prevailing conditions into account. For me, these are both fairly realistic. Traffic affects my overall speed when I'm in a car, but has little impact on how fast I can get somewhere by bike. I always trust my bike to get me somewhere in my little hamlet, even when there's something like a home football game, rush our, or the occasional riot.

genec

I was always "faster" on my bike than in my car during commute times... that was part of my whole motivation for cycling... that and getting exercise while commuting. It didn't hurt that I also enjoyed cycling.

Sure, in a car, I could physically go faster... when I could actually move... But on the bike, while physically slower, I was rarely impeded in traffic... thus I arrived sooner if I cycled vice drove.

KraneXL

I could have told you that for free.

Daniel4

Some people are criticizing the study because bicycles filter through traffic. Well, duh, that's the point. Bicycles have the flexibility of passing slow moving traffic without getting in their way or being part of it. They can even get off the road and be walked on the sidewalk until a specific jam is cleared.

And all that is done legally so I didn't even count the red light runners.

Maelochs

As said above ... under certain circumstances, at certain times, on certain routes, for certain riders, one vehicle or another might get to its destination more quickly.

About the only time a bike might be quicker, in my experience, is when traffic is really bad, and in high-traffic zones, with a lot of lights and intersections. And the only way a bike can keep up in those situations is by lane-splitting---riding through stopped traffic. And the longer the commute, the more opportunities for cars to hit stretches of open road and crank it up to 50 mph until the next knot of traffic.

Like many here, I have decades of commuting experience and of course, we all have different experiences ... which is pretty much my point. Every rider, every route, every ride at each different time, is different. Any generality is always imprecise ... and also, a lot of pro-cycling writers like to tout the superiority of cycling.

Cyclign is Not "better." It is cycling. Driving a car is not driving a truck is not riding a motorcycle, either. Choose what meets the needs and desires at the given moment ... the "best" is what you choose to see as best at a given time.

even those cycle couriers who were tracked for this test ... put me in the same situation, and I will be half a s fast as any of them. Would that 'disprove" the study?

noglider 

Right, saying that it's not fair because bikes can filter is like saying it's not fair because cars can go faster.

One reason bikes are faster than cars here in NYC is parking. It can take 30 minutes to find a spot, and then there is the walk between the car and the destination. Because of this, you're definitely not going to take a car for a one-mile trip. Pizza doesn't arrive in cars here!

Actually, e-bikes are faster, and I believe the majority of delivery bikes are now e-bikes. I have mixed feelings about that, which I'll share another time.

Leisesturm

We should all do the following experiment. I was skeptical but I've done it myself: most people do not erase the trip data in their GPS devices. Take a look at the AVERAGE speed over whatever time span has elapsed. It will be, or VERY close to 17.5 mph. This is regardless of whether you live in the city or the burbs. As long as the elapsed time is greater than a week, and is an average of the normal mix of urban, freeway, parking lot driving most people do. A driver can never exceed the 17.5mph moving average and keep his/her license. A cyclist keeping a GPS running for all their trips has a much more individual moving average. It might be as low as 8mph or as high as 12mph but it will not exceed 17.5mph. Cars are faster*. It's not debatable. But that does not mean there aren't huge advantages in health, finances and sustainability that make giving up driving as a daily activity worth the doing! If you haven't been under a rock for the last week you have no doubt heard the new data coming out that being sedentary is worse for you than smoking!
*On average! There are specific trips (short!) where by use of alleys, sidewalks or plazas I can cut the travel time shorter on a bike than in a car.

Leisesturm

You're kind of right, but as a former NY'er (too bad we never met) there is considerable setup before you can get going on the bike. You have a U-lock and two cables to unlock and stow. You have to re-attach the lights, bell, and seatpost that you took off. The driver has already gotten to their car and is pulling away and you still have to put your wheels back on and inflate the tires. E-bikes seem faster in the way that a Lamborghini seems faster than a Corrolla. What really matters is the GPS moving average, and raw speed is only a tiny component of that. A savvy cyclist on an unpowered bike can easily match an e-bike to an urban destination. The reason e-bikes are so popular as a delivery bike is because people are so unfit in the 21st Century! Back when I was a bike messenger we would have laughed out loud if we had been offered e-bikes. No freaking way.

noglider 

Delivery guys leave their lights on and illuminated to indicate they'll be right back.

How do you figure pedal cyclists are faster than e-bike riders?

How do you figure delivery guys are out of shape? The ones I see are not. They are very tough.

I-Like-To-Bike

The same way he figured that cyclists have a U-lock and two cables to unlock and stow, have to re-attach the lights, bell, and seatpost that they take off [and while] the driver has already gotten to their car and is pulling away and cyclists have to put their wheels back on and inflate the tires.

wphamilton

Here are two Google cycling time estimates on a half-mile hill, one up and one down. Going up is 5 minutes, down is 2 minutes, so it's not a constant estimation and it does take into account grade.



The cycling estimate does NOT take current traffic into account though, that I can tell.

Gresp15C

That's cool. I never thought of checking that. I always assumed that my evening commute is quicker than my morning commute because I'm more motivated.