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Today was Transportation Alternatives' Battle for the Fastest Commute! where a bike rider, subway rider, and cab rider are pitted against each other to see who can get to a destination fastest. This year, the race started at 8:25AM at Fix Cafe on North 11th Street and Bedford in Williamsburg and ended at Bellevue Hospital at East 26th Street and First Avenue in Manhattan.
And results? Lucie Olewinski, the bicyclist, was the fastest, making it to Bellevue in 15 minutes. Subway rider Philip Pond made it there in 19 minutes while it took cab rider James Vincente 23 minutes. Olewinski's win is not surprising, but we're stunned that Pond was able to get to the finish line so fast - he must have caught a flier at the Bedford L. Interestingly, Hopstop says it would take 27 minutes by subway and walking while Google Maps says it would take 14 minutes by car.
Olewinski, a nurse practitioner who commutes to her night shifts at Bellevue by bike, told TA her "victory proves to would-be bike commuters that getting to work by bike is fast and easy" and also encourages others to "take advantage of the good summer weather and give bike commuting a spin." There are currently over 120,000 people who commute by bike - here are some maps for cycling in the city.
It's Bike Month in NYC - there are tons of events still! And here are results from Transportation Alternatives' commuter races in 2006 and 2005.
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sweet, biker rider beats all!
Did the bike rider obey all traffic laws?
I'm sure that when it was safe to go through lights she did. I mean safe, not kind of safe. That's part of riding a bike in the city.
After a long day at work I don't think I could have the energy to ride a bike.
The year a bike doesn't win when TA runs the contest is the year I eat my hat.
www.forgotten-ny.com
Steve - After a long day at work, I find that I look forward to my bike ride. Riding *gives* me energy.
yeah. Bike riding gives me energy like crazy!!!! After I bike for half an hour I wanna punch old ladies in the face.
I've not been able to decide yet how accurate HopStop's times are, but I can say that Google Maps presumes (as do others of its kind) that traffic and stoplights don't exist, and that one is always able to drive at the speed limit. Obviously, in NYC, that is a near-impossibility.
That may explain the disparity on that front...
this is bullshit. why not make the destination on the west side? i can promise you that subway would win if it were 26th and 8th.
this is basically "how quickly can you cross the williamsburg bridge?"..and im not surprised bicycle won.
nick-i can promise you you're wrong. i live on on north 5th in williamsburg. my friend lives on 25th and 8th. i routinely get to his place faster on my bike than someone leaving at the same time and taking the subway. across manhattan on a bike (especially downtown) is nothing.
Totally fixed contest that chooses the route optimal for biking. Stupidly biasd but no surprise coming from TA. The biker must have ran every red light she could, was there a count of how many pedestrian she endangered?
Next time have an impartial party please choose the route, and it should be longer.
Bikers SUCK!
Hey "Dude"
How can you say bikers suck? That's ridiculous. Obviously some bikers suck (but so do some *understatement* motorists, some pedestrians, some bus drivers, and LOTS of cabbies).
Anyhow...When I moved from East Harlem to the Northwest Bronx, I moved a bunch of my stuff by bike. Over 100 blocks North and all the way crosstown. Just for fun, I raced my wife while she took the subway. I won easily. Next time we tried it with her driving. I won again. How was I able to beat her on these longer trips without blowing red lights? The bike paths along the perimeter of Northern Manhattan don't have any red lights.
The only one that didn't end up smelling like day old wet towel is the cab rider. Plus what's 8 minutes when you don't have to run a red light on a bike or run over by the train?
Cab rider, if you smell like a wet towel after riding a bicycle a few miles, you might have a personal hygiene problems. But really, it doesn't matter...it's your money, take a cab if you like.
I'm just saying, cyclists don't automatically smell bad. Riding a bike is not that difficult and unless you're really pushing yourself there's no reason to break a sweat. And if you're clean before you ride, sweating won't make you stink.
I commute year round from Greenpoint to Chelsea - and, at least during rush hours, have yet to be beaten by subway or car...
Keeps you fit and energized as added bonus.
I commute year round from Greenpoint to Chelsea - and, at least during rush hours, have yet to be beaten by subway or car...
Keeps you fit and energized as added bonus.
I commute year round from Greenpoint to Chelsea - and, at least during rush hours, have yet to be beaten by subway or car...
Keeps you fit and energized as added bonus.
That is an impressive time by the bicyclist.
However, for this kind of measure to mean anything, they should run several if not many of these races with randomly selected start and end points.
15 minutes from Wmsburg to Bellevue is what I would expect from a reasonably fit cyclist who knows her route. I commute from Sunset Park to Gramercy several mornings a week. It takes me 35 minutes. Bicycle commuting rules -- you really can't beat it as a way to stay fit, it's practically free (less cost of bike and repairs), and gives unparalleled personal mobility.
They change the starting and ending points every year. One year recently it was Grand Army Plaza to Columbus Circle, and the bike still won.
I bike to to work everyday and the few times I've had to take the subway, it's always taken my longer. Driving? I can't even imagine. I did have the experience of driving my boss's car for a pickup in Bay Ridge. Going from Cobble Hill to there and back, with traffic, took me more than an hour and a half. I've biked basically the same route and done it in about an hour. I'm a very defensive cyclist as well, always giving peds and cars the right of way (even if they don't have it), so it's possible it could be done even faster.
Am I the only person who finds it intensely horrible biking over the Billybufg bridge. It just keeps going up and up and up and up. I think the bridge alone would take me fifteen minutes and I bike over the Brooklyn Bridge daily with no problem. This is biased because this chick totally has super powers.
G