TWO wheels proved better than more when cycling campaigners pitted the humble bike in a rush hour race against the car, the bus and the train.
Four commuters headed from Heaton Chapel, Stockport, to Manchester city centre to test which mode of transport was the cheapest, the easiest and the fastest.
The cyclist finished first, followed by the train passenger. The motorist was third and the bus passenger rolled up last.
The contest, organised by the pro-congestion charge Greater Manchester Cycling Campaign, was designed to prove that the bike can beat all comers.
Doug Briggs, from the campaign, said: "Today has shown that two wheels are good, four wheels are dubious.
"We need to regard using the car for short journeys as socially unacceptable."
Towns and cities from Manchester to Munich are promoting sustainable transport this week as part of European Mobility Week.
Each commuter who took part in the challenge followed the quickest legal route to the city centre which, at a distance of five miles from Heaton Chapel, is said to be the average distance people travel to work.
The cyclist and the motorist were followed by "official observers" to make sure they did not flout the rules of the road.
The cyclist completed the journey to the town hall in 20 minutes and the train user arrived in 35 minutes. The motorist took 43 minutes and the bus passenger 52 minutes.
Urban designer Charlie Baker, 44, the cyclist who won the race, said: "It wasn't that bad. The traffic was at a stand-still."
Olly Glover, 23, the campaign's secretary, who travelled by train, said: "It wasn't as fast as the bike, but it's better than travelling by car. The bike is my first choice when I travel, followed by the train."
The campaign says the cost of making that journey by bike is 38.5p day, the bus 90p with a travel card, the train £1.70 and the car from £2.32 plus parking.
Highways engineer David Mason, 58, who travelled by car, said: "It was slow, but uneventful. Parking was difficult and expensive."
Environmental consultant Richard Venes, 58, who arrived last on the 192 bus from Heaton Chapel, said: "There were lots of bus lanes, but the main problem was stopping to let people on and off."
What do you think? Have your say.
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ebble, manchester (16/09/2008 at 10:46)
In my opinion GMCC people are not to be trusted about their cycling claims. They appear to be mainly a bunch of publically employed eco-type people who love spending our money on endless meetings and consultations. They are the type of person who will benefit from the congestion charge, as more of them will be hired to do non-jobs with the money it brings in. I subscribe to their email group, and I suggest others do too to find out just what type of person runs the GMCC. A very high proportion of them seem to work in academia on Oxford Rd.
Birmingham , Leeds and other cities must be licking their commercial lips at the prospect of a cynical, money grabbing, posh eco-type supported Manchester congestion charge.
Mark,Radcliffe. (16/09/2008 at 11:26)
citycentre, manchester (16/09/2008 at 11:30)
or do they not include travel from a house to the bus stop/ train station?
also the statement "was designed to prove that the bike can beat all comers.
" makes it sound like an unfair test to me.
how much was the cyclist carrying? it dosnt look like he has much, and most people cycling to work would need a change of clothes at least
Oliver Glover (16/09/2008 at 11:34)
If ebble disagrees with some of us on the congestion charge, that's fine, we welcome the debate. What bemuses me is why, instead of having a mature debate about the TIF bid and the congestion charge, ebble just goes into mindless and factually incorrect "let's slag off people with a different opinion" mode. Very juvenile and disappointing.
In response to the points made:
1. The GMCC has many different types of member: some work for public sector companies, others do not. Some own cars, others do not. Some cycle every day, others less often.
The only thing which GMCC members have in common is a belief in the value of the bicycle as a good method of transport. Many also recognise that, for people who do not cycle at the moment, it is the speed and volume of motorised traffic which is the main deterrent.
A grand total of 2 of the most active membership (I'd call 20 out of the 200 members "most active") works for academia.
2. The GMCC is funded entirely by very low membership fees (<£10 per year), and does not receive ANY other money from any other source. So ebble is talking utter nonsense in the statement that GMCC "love[s] spending our money on endless meetings and consultations", as no-one's money except GMCC members' is spent on anything we do.
3. We welcome anyone to subscribe to our mailing list.
For anyone wishing to learn more about GMCC, rather than this jaundiced, untrue and libellous portrayal, feel free to visit our website: www.gmcc.org.uk.
4. Whatever the assertion (unproven by any facts or statistics) of this post of a commute along the A56, our exercise demonstrated that the bicycle is substantially quicker than the car, and that congestion was the main reason for why the car was beaten even by the train, with 10 minutes walking at each end.
The exercise clearly demonstrates that congestion is a problem; if it was not, the car should surely have won hands down.
Olly Glover,
Greater Manchester Cycling Campaign.
City Darren, Ashton U Lyne (16/09/2008 at 11:39)
Polky (16/09/2008 at 11:47)
I also suggest that they start from somewhere like Middleton and see who wins... From Middleton my prediction would be:-
1st - car. There's no congestion on Rochdale road, just traffic lights, which *should* stop the cyclist as well.
2nd - Bus, for the same reason as above.
3rd - Cyclist. There are cycle lanes most of the way and it could be touch and go wth the bus for speed.
4th - Train. They would have to walk a mile and a half up the road to Mills Hill and then wait for a train.
Jay B, oldham (16/09/2008 at 11:53)
how can we be mad enough to put ourselves in £3bn worth of debt as well?
well done to the cyclist though!
but has the time it took to have a shower afterwards been taken into consideration? or was he expected to stay sweatty all day after his commute?
curiousyellow, Rusholme (16/09/2008 at 11:57)
the beer baron (16/09/2008 at 12:03)
JTC Formerley JimC (16/09/2008 at 12:03)
Black Flag (16/09/2008 at 12:09)
If I was going to cycle somewhere and have a shower when I got there, I wouldn't bother showering before I set off, so the time spent showering at the end would be saved by not showering at the beginning.
chris (16/09/2008 at 12:10)
moron
Mark,Radcliffe. (16/09/2008 at 12:17)
citycentre, manchester (16/09/2008 at 12:18)
you dont read this site much do you, the comments here are pretty mild compared to those usually generated by cyclic stories. drive them into the the gutter from the victoria pendleton one sticking in my mind.
polky; if there is no congestion on rochadle rd the bus would beat the bike easily (at least to shudehill) i occasionaly cycle from blackley firestation to town in the evenings, and usually lose the bus before we get to collyhurst; be an even easier win going in the opposite direction
aas thats in the evening i cycle faster than i do going to work as well.
carrrying a laptop and briefcase would be easy on a bike with a rear rack as the bags would clip to it no problem, although ot would slow him down a fair bit
CityCntr (16/09/2008 at 12:23)
City Darren, Ashton U Lyne
You are lucky that your employer provides showers, these are not comonplace in city centre office accomodation. Perhaps planning permission for new and refurbished offices should only be granted where showering facilities are included in the plans?
Daniel Cadden (16/09/2008 at 12:31)
The last business trip I took, I travelled by bicycle and train from Manchester to London carrying my Laptop and everything else I needed for a two night stay in two panniers on the back of my bicycle. I still travelled 4 miles to Manchester Picadilly in less than 20 minutes and travelled a similar distance between the hotel I stayed in and venue for the days undertakings in London each day.
I've undertaken much longer journeys where trains have been cancelled.
Cycling is a practical form of transport and all the critics on here who must be sniffing too much petrol should stop overlooking it.
GMCC is an organisation run by volunteers in it's own time. It has no hidden agenda. It exists to improve the lot of cyclists and encourage cycling.
Daniel Cadden (16/09/2008 at 12:35)
It wouldn't start.
we deserve better (16/09/2008 at 12:36)
2nd = Train
3rd = Car
4th = Bus
So a £1.2billion debt so the above might read
1st = Cycle
2nd = Train
3rd = Bus
4th = Car
Isn’t that the point they’re trying to make?
Two words spring to mind…ridiculous charade
Uncle Buck, Burnage (16/09/2008 at 12:39)
There you have it - more propaganda! The route was no doubt chosen to be the most favourable towards the cyclist. From Heaton Chapel the logical, most direct route would, for the most part, be the A6. A lot of the driver's time will have been lost in Levenshulme, where the council has narrowed it from two lanes to one.
And of course, more time lost to the cyclist in the city centre, but we don't all work there. I work in Longsight, just inside the inner charging ring. Let's have a re-match with a 5 mile 'race' that ends there. I suspect the result would be very different!
ebble, manchester (16/09/2008 at 12:44)
I experience no real problems on the odd occasions I car commute on the A56. There are a couple of places where the trafic is slow but nothing that could be called serious congestion. What congestion there ever is occurs outside the M60, not in the proposed congestion zone.
I'm a very keen cyclist and use my bike much more than my car, but I'd advise anyone to be wary of the claims of any pro-cycling group. Cycle commuting does attract a fairly high proportion of educated, so-called 'liberal' professionals, and many of these people have strong enviromental views and are prone to believe in all sorts of things like the global warming scare. Many of these cyclists have a political agenda that goes far beyond cyling - they can be evangelical and bossy about all sorts of things like pollution, vegetarianism, socialist politics, the aforementioned global warming scare and all sorts of 'right on' causes. Take a look at the Critical
Mass riders in Manchester to see some of the usual suspects - nose rings and CND badges will not be hard to spot.
Take what such people say with a pinch of salt, and vote NO to the congestion charge.
Mr Manchester (16/09/2008 at 12:48)
The horse and trap has also been forgotten.
Ace Shakepseare, manchester (16/09/2008 at 12:54)
Rammylad (16/09/2008 at 13:09)
Funny how that the MEN keeps printing £3bn of investment in PT and now the people posting on here are now reporting £3bn investment in pt. Kind of proves the point I am making to the PCC.
My argument has sound foundation.
Craig Rayner (16/09/2008 at 13:19)
No doubt people will pick at the costs but the car isnt as expensive as it is made out to be.
Mary Clare (16/09/2008 at 14:05)