Image credit David Crosling/Herald Sun
Road closures, rail disruptions and bus replacement services have become all too common for commuters in Melbourne's west in recent weeks.
Which begs the question, if efficiency is the aim, then which mode of transport should be your game?
This week the Herald Sun's Commuter Challenge explored this dilemma by pitting five commuters against one another in a race through the peak-hour chaos.
The field was made up of a car driver, a motorcyclist, a runner, a public transport user, and our very own Rider Services manager Ethan Kusch on his bicycle.
The competitors gathered at the starting point in Yarraville Station on the morning of Wednesday 28 June and set off for the finish line in Southbank.
Public transport proved the slowest mode of transport on the day, involving a bus to North Melbourne and then a City Loop train to Flinders Street, taking one hour and four minutes.
The runner was able to take a more direct route along Footscray Road and then Southbank Promenade, clocking a finish time of 44 minutes.
The driver faired a little better, rolling into Southbank after 40 minutes and a significant delay taking the West Gate Bridge.
The motorcyclist was able to navigate trucks, cars and roadworks along Footscray Road and through Docklands to complete the trip in 27 minutes.
But topping them all was the tried-and-true bicycle, carrying Ethan and his hardworking legs to the finish line in just 24 minutes with an average speed of 23 km/h.
Ethan Kusch with his fast red bicycle (Credit: David Crosling/Herald Sun)
"It was a smooth ride in, there are good separated paths along the whole route so there were barely any cars to contend with," says Ethan. "More importantly, I got a workout in and didn't have to sit in traffic, so I got to work feeling great. I was also pretty chuffed to beat the motorbike if I'm honest."
While the Herald Sun's experiment provides interesting insights into the conundrum faced by commuters in Melbourne's west, that two wheels won on the day won't come as a surprise to those acquainted with expediency of bike travel in urban areas.
A 2007 Top Gear episode tasked its hosts with a similar race across London (though that one included a powerboat) and the bike beat out the watercraft, public transport and a Mercedes-Benz GL500.
In 2019, when rail disruptions caused commuter chaos for travellers in Melbourne's south-east, bikes beat those taking replacement buses by more than two hours as part of Bicycle Network's own commuter race.
These kinds of experiments show that riding a bike to work can not only help people meet their recommended 60 minutes of daily exercise to reduce their risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity, but save them many minutes along the way.