Gothamist: Taxi vs. Bike: Bike Wins (Again!)

Tim N.

Fri, 19 May 2006 15:46:40 -0500

I was sort of being funny but let's poke at this. Coney Island to Grand Central by subway means at least one change, probably at Atlantic Ave. So 50 minutes might be a tad generous, I'd go with an hour. The bike could get to the Brooklyn Bridge in half an hour, then across, up the East Side path to First, over at 42nd...it'd be close. This brings up a good point about all the variables in the project. Do they pick a good end point for the bikes... like one close to the greenway? Do they pick a bad one for the subway, one that requires a change? What about midtown traffic, or rush hours? When you think about it, it's kind of a goofy thing. But if the point is to show that cycling is competitive time-wise, point made.

krunkymunky

Fri, 19 May 2006 15:30:38 -0500

yeah it's kind of a longboard ... longboard wheels & bearings, slalom board trucks, and a long-ish skateboard deck. still it's small enough that i can carry it around with me no problem.

Nate Dogg

Fri, 19 May 2006 15:19:38 -0500

dang! People who work at the TM are *hot*!

Vin

Fri, 19 May 2006 15:11:52 -0500

#25 - I am not convinced the bike will win. Knowledge of direction is not part of the equation, we assume everyone knows how to get to midtown (let's say 42nd and Park). Let's just say a car driver instead of a taxi, he takes Belt Parkway to Prospect Pkway to BQE and then cross the Bklyn bridge, up FDR and the car is there, discounting traffic jams of course. Subway from Coney to midtown using F to 6 (Grand Central)would most likely take ~50 minutes. Don't know biking so the bikers here would need to fill the route in.

Traci

Fri, 19 May 2006 14:55:33 -0500

The bike ride was free? What, did she steal the bike?

jamon

Fri, 19 May 2006 14:51:17 -0500

waitaminute, 75mm wheels? then it's a longboard right? I thought you were talking about a regular trick board. That I can believe.

Tim N.

Fri, 19 May 2006 14:43:34 -0500

jsf... save it for homeo. At least he's funny.

krunkymunky

Fri, 19 May 2006 14:35:01 -0500

jamon, i wasn't kidding, but i was wrong about one thing. the race was from 110th to battery park, so my bad on that. and granted it was a non-stop. i only stopped for red-lights when cars were coming. still i wasn't joking. 35 minutes. i love my bikes too ... but if i need to get somewhere fast and don't want to worry about my transporation getting stolen ... skateboard it is. if you don't believe me, look up/ask around at a skate shop about the broadway bomb. the guy that has won it the last like 5 years in a row finishes the race in under 30 minutes i think. anyway i ride on seismic 75mm wheels and super swiss bearings.

jsf

Fri, 19 May 2006 14:29:44 -0500

c'mon NYC is MANHATTAN. Anybody who says brooklyn and queens or whatever the fuck is NYC just says that to make themselves feel better. Homeopt where is the most expensive zip code?

Tim N.

Fri, 19 May 2006 14:28:01 -0500

Not for nothing, but the bike would probably win the race to Coney Island as: 1) the Ocean Parkway bike path could get you from Prospect Park to the beach in 15-20 minutes or so... 2) none of the trains to Coney go express in Bklyn... 3) you gotta find a cabbie who knows where it is and how to get there.

Vin

Fri, 19 May 2006 14:18:58 -0500

Last I heard Brooklyn, where Coney Island is, is still a part of NYC, so it counts as NYC. TA should be more careful with their statements. Maybe shorter routes for bikes, longer for subway/cars.

jamon

Fri, 19 May 2006 14:13:00 -0500

umm vin, coney island isn't really NYC. It's the boondocks. who would go to coney island except for july 4th anyway? Bikes Rule!!!

Vin

Fri, 19 May 2006 14:09:46 -0500

Obviously a bias race by TA, you can't generalize that the bike is ALWAYS the fastest way around NYC because of one race. Longer routes like from Coney Island to Midtown, I'd think bike would be dead last.

Dude

Fri, 19 May 2006 14:02:10 -0500

That chick on the bike is HOTT!!!! I'd love to ride her.

jamon

Fri, 19 May 2006 14:01:13 -0500

Krunkymunky where you riding the skateboard on a truck? there is now way that 52mm wheels on a skateboard can travel fast even with abec 9 industrial bearings. What a liar.

Gwin

Fri, 19 May 2006 13:56:21 -0500

I just made a similar comment on Curbed, so apologies to those of you reading both: I live on the LES below Delancey, and work near Grand Central. Subway commute: 45 minutes (due to the lack of transfer between the B/D/F and the 6 uptown) Bike commute: 20 minutes (straight shot up 1st Avenue). It's not a hard bike ride, so there's not much sweat involved... so for me, the clear winner is the bike ride. I ride safely and yield to pedestrians who are themselves obeying the traffic rules (i.e. not jaywalking or crossing against the light), and have discovered that as long as you are vigilant, you can avoid most dangerous situations involving motor vehicles. However, there are obviously many different combinations of bike vs. subway - it all depends on where you live, how many transfers it'd take, etc. It does seem like GAP to Midtown would have the subway as the winner, assuming no transfers are involved.

Tim N.

Fri, 19 May 2006 13:50:45 -0500

Love to know what routes they all took.

Rocknrope

Fri, 19 May 2006 13:37:51 -0500

When I was a kid, I raced two of my friends down the length of Kings Highway in Brooklyn. After reaching Ocean Avenue, we heard one of our friends let out a shrieking "GAHHHH!" and I turned to see him plow down a ped. At the time, it was quite funny. Oh, and cyclists should look out for PC Richards trucks: http://armchairathlete.blogspot.com/2005/06/brooklyn-cyclist-killed.html

bikahhhhhhhh

Fri, 19 May 2006 13:34:15 -0500

yup, one gets a bit sweaty though there are ways to minimize it to some extent. nevetheless, what is wrong with a little sweat and b.o.? we do not need to be so obsessed with smelling nice and fresh ALL the time.

Jane Minty

Fri, 19 May 2006 13:18:20 -0500

I totally agree with bthirsch and Samantha. I'd love nothing more than to bike around Brooklyn with my friends, but these accidents are heartbreaking. They always seem to include a driver shrugging his shoulders and saying, "I didn't see a cyclist." Lobbying is great, but the possibility of losing my life in the meantime becaue of some careless asshole isn't worth it. It's dangerous even for a pedestrian in the few block radius around the 94th Pct (for instance, the crosswalk at Lorimer and Calyer). If the NYPD can't enforce existing motorist rules in their own neighborhood, how can I trust them to make these drivers accountable anywhere else?

JMoney

Fri, 19 May 2006 12:58:31 -0500

Does the race include time for the biker to towel off and change into dry clothes?

bthirsch

Fri, 19 May 2006 12:52:03 -0500

Instead of not biking due to the dangerous road conditions, why not lobby the police to do something about dangerous drivers? Brooklyn police are horrible with respect to allowing cars free reign to do whatever dangerous thing they want. Also, why are motorists rarely/never charged in these deaths? What are the DA's afraid of? Cars kill many bicyclists every year, but bikes (almost) never harm/kill pedestrians. If one is concerned about being mowed down by a bike, please look around you and be aware when you step into the street. Of the pedestrians I have hit, or almost hit, every single one was doing something illegal (jaywalking, etc...) AND not paying attention. If you do not walk with your head pointed at your feet (as many New Yorkers do) there is very little/no danger from bikers.

Matthew

Fri, 19 May 2006 12:46:20 -0500

To participate, the bike rider had to agree to stop for all traffic lights. There was no "running red lights and mowing down pedestrians." You should look at overall stats bikes vs. cars mowing down pedestrians. In 2004, 179 ped fatalities (NYPD stats, up from 178 in 2003), not one caused by bike riders. Injury numbers are much more dramatic. It's a matter of mass and speed, people. Even if there are a bunch of disrespectful bike riders who charge through crosswalks, they don't kill you if they hit you.

Kojak

Fri, 19 May 2006 12:40:26 -0500

People still skateboard?

thieves

Fri, 19 May 2006 12:37:23 -0500

Nobody steals your taxi or subway car when you get to your destination.

Nathan

Fri, 19 May 2006 12:22:45 -0500

"I've taken taxis from the E Village/LES to Grand Army Plaza and vice versa, and it never takes longer than 15 minutes." Was that during rush hour on a rainy weekday morning? Or at 2 a.m. on a weekend?

philipp

Fri, 19 May 2006 12:22:15 -0500

OF COURSE the bike beat everyone else. i almost always bike up to washington heights from anywhere in the city and beat my partner who takes the subway often all the way from w.4 on the A or the bus from morningside heights. when i used to take the A all the way to chambers to work, it usually took at least 45 minutes to an hour from door to door. by bike it takes 40 mins ALWAYS (except during very adverse weather conditions)! BIKES RULE!!!!!!!!

your sister's gay boyfriend

Fri, 19 May 2006 12:21:11 -0500

What's the over-under on someone accusing the bicyclist of running red lights and mowing down pedestrians? Also, it should be noted that a bicycle isn't entirely free. You have to make the initial investment of buying/stealing a bike and a lock, and spend a little to maintain it. Cheaper over the long haul, yes. Free, no.

Samantha T

Fri, 19 May 2006 12:16:14 -0500

A bike may be the fastest way to go, but it also exposes you to a hell of a lot more risk than a cab or the subway, helmet or not. I stopped riding my bike in Brooklyn a year ago after a number of near-misses.

jesus christ

Fri, 19 May 2006 12:12:19 -0500

I raced my friend from Grand army plaza to city hall and she beat me by subway to my bike by 2 minutes but then I realized that I had walked her to the subway entrance so if we had left brooklyn Botanic at the same time I'm pretty sure I would have beat her, so 2-5 minutes differential between the subway and a bike sounds right. The bad part about all this is my Yuppie friends do not believe me when I tell them a bike is faster than a car. It's like they feel the need to justify their stupid automobile purchase.

Ace

Fri, 19 May 2006 12:07:30 -0500

I agree, the subway rider and cab took way too long esp the cab.

Nonbiker

Fri, 19 May 2006 12:00:02 -0500

The taxi took 40 minutes? Was 25 minutes of that spent waiting for one? Because I've taken taxis from the E Village/LES to Grand Army Plaza and vice versa, and it never takes longer than 15 minutes. The subway ride shouldn't have taken that long either. Sounds like people who don't know what they're doing were dumped at G.A.P. and floundered around instead of taking the most direct route.

eeeeeeeee

Fri, 19 May 2006 11:50:30 -0500

I remember this from last year, and somebody's comment about the comically oversized MetroCard. I'm a loser.

krunkymunky

Fri, 19 May 2006 11:33:51 -0500

Actually, skateboard is arguably the fastest way around town. At last year's Broadway Bomb I went from 120th St to Battery Park in ~35 minutes and I wasn't even in the top 5. Plus, you never have to mess with locking your bike up.