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Commuter Race
So you had a good journey to work today?
Arrived in time to grab 10 minutes with a
coffee and croissant. Well done, except
your journey time into central London was
twice as long as the UK commuter average.
That’s 56 minutes vs 25 minutes. Takes
the edge off that espresso, doesn’t it?
Can it be done any faster? Surely not in a
car. Ken Livingstone’s Transport for London
(TfL) has revealed that average central
London traffic speeds are down again -
from 12.3mph in 1979 to 10mph in 2000.
With public transport plodding along as
usual, the only alternative is to go on two
wheels. Those average traffic speeds
quoted by TfL never include motorcycles
and scooters, mainly because they’re trying
to justify congestion charging. The
message is only powerful when we believe
that central London shuffles along no faster
than a horse and cart.
Don’t forget the bicycle either. Even public
transport’s biggest flag waver, Transport for
London, has discovered that for journeys
within central London, nothing beats a bike.
This is where we put all the options to the
test. While stuck in traffic or waiting for a
delayed train, you’ve often wondered where
a ghost you would be had it taken another
form of transport. This is that dream
realised.
The Race
9.00am. Streatham Hill.
Lined up in front of a suburban block of
flats are five south Londoners (one
honorary), all aiming to get where they
work in Shoreditch in the shortest time
possible. They can take any route and use
any deviousness (although law-breaking isn’
t condoned). The finish point is the
Shepherdess Café on City Road. Pay
attention. GO!
Bicycle
Name: Nick Gibbs. Work: journalist. Riding:
Ridgeback Metro.
I played it straight and headed down red
routes to London Bridge, it’s faster that
way; cycle routes are so convoluted. There
was the usual snarl of traffic through
Brixton but on a bike I was glad; I’m not a
regular pedaller and the chance of a
breather was welcome. I’ll admit to jumping
a couple of red lights but only when it was
very safe, left turns for example. Elephant
and Castle was typically nerve-wracking on
a bike and past London Bridge, Moorgate
was clogged. But the only thing really
hampering my speed was a lack of
stamina. Third was great, but you’d
probably have to add shower time.
Position: Third. Finish time: 29.22sec.
Miles: 6.9. Ave speed: 14.7mph
Courier
Name: Richard Berry; Work: Courier with
Addison and Lee; Riding: Kawasaki GT550 R
“I tried cutting through Camberwell to get
over London Bridge, but they had blocked
off East Street because of roadworks. I
ended up having to backtrack and pick up
the Old Kent Road. Once I got past that I
was flying again, but at London Bridge the
lady [on the scooter] was a few hundred
yards ahead of me. As soon they find out
at work I got caught out by a moped, I’m in
for a right ribbing. Excuse? They won’t wear
that, with 12 years’ experience? You must
joking.”
Position: First equal. Finish time 25.47
mins. Miles. 8.2 Ave speed 19.5mph
Scooter
Name: Sylvia Farago. Work: Picture
researcher. Riding: Vespa ET4
“It was a really casual scooter in. I felt like
I didn’t need to make an effort to drive fast
because I’d knew I’d get there on time
anyway. I was taking it easy, using the
main route through Brixton, Elephant and
Castle and London Bridge. I skipped
around stopped traffic but I wasn’t burning
it. If traffic is moving I tend not to skip
around the outside, because people can
quickly pull out without looking. I saw
Richard just after London Bridge. After that
he overtook me, but I would draw level at
traffic lights.”
Position: First equal. Time: 25.47mins.
Miles 7.0: Ave speed 16.7mph
Car
Name Guy Bird. Works: Editor of a company
car magazine. Driving: Skoda Fabia 2.0
“It was particularly rubbish today. Probably
10 minutes longer than it should have
been. There are foolish times to drive in
and school run time between half eight and
half nine is particularly daft. It just went
wrong at the start. Immediately when I
came down to Half Moon Lane in Herne Hill
it was stationary traffic both ways and I was
stuck there for 15 minutes without reason,
which was just infuriating. Once I got
through that bit it was plain sailing, going
through my normal sneaky routes up to
Elephant and Castle. Blackfriars Bridge was
even pretty quiet. Without that bit at the
start it would have been 35-40 minutes."
Position: Last, Time: 49.37mins. Miles:
10.1. Ave speed 12.3mph
Public Transport
Name: Nick Carney. Works: Ad sales
manager. Riding: Connex South Central,
Northern Line
“I was fortunate. It all hinged on getting
the delayed fast train from Tulse Hill. It was
due to come in at 9.06, but it came in a
quarter past when I arrived. I had a seat, it
wasn’t particularly busy. Just one stop,
Peckham Rye I think it was, and straight
through into London Bridge. The Northern
Line was the usual nightmare, but it wasn’t
actually slow. Two stops later I got off at
Old Street and walked up.
Position: Fourth. Time: 48.63mins. Miles:
9.6. Ave speed. 11.8mph
1=Courier Time: 25.47mins. Miles.
8.2. Ave speed: 19.5mph
1= Scooter Time: 25.47mins. Miles.
7.0. Ave speed: 16.7mph
3 Bicycle Time: 29.22mins. Miles: 6.9.
Ave speed: 14.7mph
4 Train Time: 48.63mins. Miles: 9.6.
Ave speed: 11.8mph
5 Car Time: 49.37mins. Miles:
10.1. Ave speed: 12.3mph
Average journey time for central London
workers: 56 minutes
Average traffic speeds around central
London: 10mph
Post-race analysis:
Surprise result for the scooter, but Sylvia’s
straightforward route was one in the eye for
the rat-runners. Both our sneaky route
experts, courier Richard and Guy in the car,
came unstuck. Nick Carney turned a
familiar bugbear, a delayed train, to his
advantage, while the bicycle proved ever-
reliable. You just knew the two-wheelers
were going to clean up, but it’s still
satisfying to prove it.
Arrived in time to grab 10 minutes with a
coffee and croissant. Well done, except
your journey time into central London was
twice as long as the UK commuter average.
That’s 56 minutes vs 25 minutes. Takes
the edge off that espresso, doesn’t it?
Can it be done any faster? Surely not in a
car. Ken Livingstone’s Transport for London
(TfL) has revealed that average central
London traffic speeds are down again -
from 12.3mph in 1979 to 10mph in 2000.
With public transport plodding along as
usual, the only alternative is to go on two
wheels. Those average traffic speeds
quoted by TfL never include motorcycles
and scooters, mainly because they’re trying
to justify congestion charging. The
message is only powerful when we believe
that central London shuffles along no faster
than a horse and cart.
Don’t forget the bicycle either. Even public
transport’s biggest flag waver, Transport for
London, has discovered that for journeys
within central London, nothing beats a bike.
This is where we put all the options to the
test. While stuck in traffic or waiting for a
delayed train, you’ve often wondered where
a ghost you would be had it taken another
form of transport. This is that dream
realised.
The Race
9.00am. Streatham Hill.
Lined up in front of a suburban block of
flats are five south Londoners (one
honorary), all aiming to get where they
work in Shoreditch in the shortest time
possible. They can take any route and use
any deviousness (although law-breaking isn’
t condoned). The finish point is the
Shepherdess Café on City Road. Pay
attention. GO!
Bicycle
Name: Nick Gibbs. Work: journalist. Riding:
Ridgeback Metro.
I played it straight and headed down red
routes to London Bridge, it’s faster that
way; cycle routes are so convoluted. There
was the usual snarl of traffic through
Brixton but on a bike I was glad; I’m not a
regular pedaller and the chance of a
breather was welcome. I’ll admit to jumping
a couple of red lights but only when it was
very safe, left turns for example. Elephant
and Castle was typically nerve-wracking on
a bike and past London Bridge, Moorgate
was clogged. But the only thing really
hampering my speed was a lack of
stamina. Third was great, but you’d
probably have to add shower time.
Position: Third. Finish time: 29.22sec.
Miles: 6.9. Ave speed: 14.7mph
Courier
Name: Richard Berry; Work: Courier with
Addison and Lee; Riding: Kawasaki GT550 R
“I tried cutting through Camberwell to get
over London Bridge, but they had blocked
off East Street because of roadworks. I
ended up having to backtrack and pick up
the Old Kent Road. Once I got past that I
was flying again, but at London Bridge the
lady [on the scooter] was a few hundred
yards ahead of me. As soon they find out
at work I got caught out by a moped, I’m in
for a right ribbing. Excuse? They won’t wear
that, with 12 years’ experience? You must
joking.”
Position: First equal. Finish time 25.47
mins. Miles. 8.2 Ave speed 19.5mph
Scooter
Name: Sylvia Farago. Work: Picture
researcher. Riding: Vespa ET4
“It was a really casual scooter in. I felt like
I didn’t need to make an effort to drive fast
because I’d knew I’d get there on time
anyway. I was taking it easy, using the
main route through Brixton, Elephant and
Castle and London Bridge. I skipped
around stopped traffic but I wasn’t burning
it. If traffic is moving I tend not to skip
around the outside, because people can
quickly pull out without looking. I saw
Richard just after London Bridge. After that
he overtook me, but I would draw level at
traffic lights.”
Position: First equal. Time: 25.47mins.
Miles 7.0: Ave speed 16.7mph
Car
Name Guy Bird. Works: Editor of a company
car magazine. Driving: Skoda Fabia 2.0
“It was particularly rubbish today. Probably
10 minutes longer than it should have
been. There are foolish times to drive in
and school run time between half eight and
half nine is particularly daft. It just went
wrong at the start. Immediately when I
came down to Half Moon Lane in Herne Hill
it was stationary traffic both ways and I was
stuck there for 15 minutes without reason,
which was just infuriating. Once I got
through that bit it was plain sailing, going
through my normal sneaky routes up to
Elephant and Castle. Blackfriars Bridge was
even pretty quiet. Without that bit at the
start it would have been 35-40 minutes."
Position: Last, Time: 49.37mins. Miles:
10.1. Ave speed 12.3mph
Public Transport
Name: Nick Carney. Works: Ad sales
manager. Riding: Connex South Central,
Northern Line
“I was fortunate. It all hinged on getting
the delayed fast train from Tulse Hill. It was
due to come in at 9.06, but it came in a
quarter past when I arrived. I had a seat, it
wasn’t particularly busy. Just one stop,
Peckham Rye I think it was, and straight
through into London Bridge. The Northern
Line was the usual nightmare, but it wasn’t
actually slow. Two stops later I got off at
Old Street and walked up.
Position: Fourth. Time: 48.63mins. Miles:
9.6. Ave speed. 11.8mph
1=Courier Time: 25.47mins. Miles.
8.2. Ave speed: 19.5mph
1= Scooter Time: 25.47mins. Miles.
7.0. Ave speed: 16.7mph
3 Bicycle Time: 29.22mins. Miles: 6.9.
Ave speed: 14.7mph
4 Train Time: 48.63mins. Miles: 9.6.
Ave speed: 11.8mph
5 Car Time: 49.37mins. Miles:
10.1. Ave speed: 12.3mph
Average journey time for central London
workers: 56 minutes
Average traffic speeds around central
London: 10mph
Post-race analysis:
Surprise result for the scooter, but Sylvia’s
straightforward route was one in the eye for
the rat-runners. Both our sneaky route
experts, courier Richard and Guy in the car,
came unstuck. Nick Carney turned a
familiar bugbear, a delayed train, to his
advantage, while the bicycle proved ever-
reliable. You just knew the two-wheelers
were going to clean up, but it’s still
satisfying to prove it.