Bike vs train vs car mega commuting race: who will win our long-range multimodal time trial to the road.cc office?

If you’ve watched TV in the last couple of decades, chances are you’ve seen three grumpy blokes race across a city using different forms of transport. Most of these so called races, though, have been conducted by car shows, and perhaps don't present cycling as the efficient, fun and environmentally-friendly form of transport that it is. Especially for getting to work and back when the traffic is dreadful. 

So, to provide some much-needed balance in the car-centric world of commuting races on TV and across the internet, we sent another three grumpy blokes out for the road.cc ultimate commuting race challenge to see if car really is king (or if it's actually a bike, or catching the train). Even if the car is faster, is it really better for getting yourself to work?

In the UK, there's no hiding from the fact that the commute is absolutely dominated by the car. According to official Department for Transport statistics for 2022, 68% of journeys to work were completed in a car. Walking and public transport made up much of the rest, and less than 5% of people choose to commute by bike/other modes.

With fuel prices never knowingly low, congestion at an all-time high and public transport seeing decades of underfunding and privatisation, it might seem baffling to regular cycle commuters why the vast majority are still shunning the bike; but of course, there are a numerous different factors at play here. A recent National Travel Attitudes Survey found that seven out of 10 people say they never ride a bike, and the main thing that would encourage more of them to ride is safer roads. 

For this feature and accompanying video, the aim is to show that cycle commuting can be quick, efficient and fun, even if we are well aware that where we're based in the UK, cycling-specific infrastructure and safe cycle routes are indeed lacking compared to nations such as the Netherlands. While we (hopefully) catch up with nations that are more advanced when it comes to active travel, we can at least try to demonstrate that cycling is quicker and cheaper than driving... 

The contestants

Commuting races carried out by other esteemed publications always seem to focus on short trips, but as we're so confident that bike wins when it comes to getting across the city, we wanted to see if it's still faster over a longer journey between two bustling urban areas. 

Our commuters will all start in the same location just under the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol, and end their journey at the road.cc office in Bath just over 20km (roughly 12 miles) away. The driver and cyclist will take almost exactly the same route, and of course, all competitors have to stick to the rules of the road at all times. 

Jamie hates sitting in traffic, so will be taking on the journey entirely by bike. He reckons not only will it be quicker, but riding to work and back means he doesn't have to fit a training session in when he gets home.

I'm obviously a big fan of bike commuting too, and actually used to commute between Bristol and Bath regularly by bike when I lived in the South West. Now though, with a young family and dodgy joints to contend with, 40-odd kilometres every day in all weathers is perhaps a bit demanding. Therefore, I'll be riding from our start point to the train station, hopping on a train for around 15 minutes, and doing the last mile to the office by bike. 

Andrew also has a young family and regularly needs to carry equipment, so all things considered, decides to commute by car usually. His mornings are time-crunched and well, old habits just die hard. 

The winner, of course, is the person sat at their desk first... 

The race

Ironically, our race started a little later than planned because of... traffic! We wanted to start at a peak morning commuting time to replicated peoples' actual experience of travelling to work, but Andrew our car driver experienced heavy delays getting to the start point of the race. With most people in work by the time we set off, it was already advantage car... 

Even so, Jamie and I unsurprisingly made much faster progress than Andrew through Bristol city centre. Data from sources such as the TomTom traffic index regularly show Bristol to be one of the slowest places to drive during peak hours, where you can expect to average 21km/h if you're lucky.

Even on my trusty Bickerton folding bike I topped that speed going downhill to the station, so it was very much advantage bike(s) for the first three miles. 

As Jamie hit the dual carriageway I hit Bristol Temple Meads, and a whole load of unexpected delays.

The train that was due to leave six minutes after I arrived at the station (perfect timing) was delayed, and I had to go to a different platform and catch a slower, local train. While this wouldn't have happened every day, it perhaps demonstrated the limitations of being at the mercy of train operators to get to work on time. 

Andrew actually had a remarkably good run considering he was commuting between two very busy cities, hitting no major roadworks, accidents or hold-ups. Still, though, regular traffic conditions meant that Jamie and I made up very good time using bus lanes and cycle lanes to jump the car queues where we could. 

The results

Well it was close, but the bike still won! And if we'd have left an hour earlier, it's highly likely the car journey would have taken a lot longer. 

Jamie put the hammer down and completed the journey at an average speed well in excess of 30km/h, including traffic light stops, while for Andrew the usual delays either end of a smooth dual carriageway run meant he still came up short. The bike>train>bike journey was obviously affected by delays at the station, but again, it shows that using public transport can be less reliable than travelling fully under your own steam. 

Let's address some caveats and disclaimers: to make bike vs car as fair as possible, Jamie and Andrew completed an almost identical route, which included a section of dual carriageway. If this wasn't a 'race' and a genuine commute we'd consider riding every day, we'd look for a route that was much more bike-friendly, and it just so happens there is a very popular traffic-free shared use path between the cities of Bristol and Bath. This would have added distance and time to Jamie's journey, and it wouldn't have been appropriate to go fast on some sections of it, but it would have been a much more enjoyable and safe route for commuting.

We also concede that Jamie is a competitive cyclist who was riding a race bike in full Lycra, so completed the journey a fair bit quicker than most bike commuters would have done. He was carrying just a small backpack with spare clothes in it which is all he needed for the day, but in reality most commuters would probably need to carry more stuff, and use a bike better suited to year-round commuting. 

Still, the idea was to show that even over a long commute a bike can still be quicker, and it was on this occasion. 

So, is cycling best for commuting?  

As we've already addressed, commuting by bike every day - especially over long distances - isn't going to be practical or particularly safe for everyone. If you aren't lucky enough to live somewhere with safe cycling routes to and from your place of work, this could be a major discouraging factor as research has often shown.

You may also need to carry heavy equipment for work that even panniers or a cargo bike would struggle to handle. There are ways around this - such as taking in most of what you need at the start of the week in the car, cycle commuting the rest of the week and driving home on Friday - but this requires careful planning and wash/changing facilities at your place of work. As we've demonstrated, though, if you are willing and able to cycle to work over longer distances then it could even be quicker, not to mention all the health and environmental wins. 

For short distances in congested urban areas, it's a no-brainer to cycle or walk instead of drive wherever possible. Not only will it simply be quicker, but there are proven health benefits, it's better for the environment and you'll save a considerable amount of money over time.

Let us know if you expected this result down in the comments below, plus how you get to work and why.

The video included in this feature contains product placement from Magicshine, however the article has been produced fully independently