Source
r/motorcycles•
hibryan

Time saved on commuting on a motorcycle?

I've tried searching for information about how much commuting time biking saves but I haven't been able to dig up much data.

There's one Reddit post that discusses this, but the images links are broken and there's not a lot of info there. Likewise, there haven't been articles on the internet that I was able to find on this issue.

For me, I'm really interested in the data since I spend a lot of time driving my car to work in traffic (80% of time spent in freeway). If a motorcycle will help cut that time in half and let me have more time to enjoy my life, I would love the shit out of it. However, if it shaves only 10% off my commute, well maybe it's not worth the trouble.

So, for you Redditors who switched from a car to motorcycle… How much time did that free up from your commute?

Posted Jul 2, 2015, 6:09 AM UTC

927
xpurplexamyx99 Yamaha SR 125•

Taking the train:
Leave home at 7:50, catch (busy, horrid smelling) train at 8:08, arrive in London at a variable time between 8:40 and 9:15 depending how badly the trains are delayed, transfer to the underground for another 15 minute trip to get to the office.
Total time: 55mins - 1hr 40
Cost: £225/month
Stress rating: 6/10

Driving:
Leave home at 8am, immediately get stuck in traffic at a crawl for rest of journey. Air conditioning is nice. Arrive at the parking lot 9:05am
Daily cost: 32 miles @ 22 UK mpg, and £1.18/l for gas - £7.80 for fuel + £22.00 for parking/day
Total time: 1hr 5m of stress
Total Cost: £29.80 per day, or £625/month
Stress rating: 10/10

Bike:
Ready to leave my house at 7:30am, usually 7:45 before bike is warmed up and I'm geared up, ride through all the traffic feeling smug, arrive at the office 8:30am
Total time inc getting ready to ride: 1hr
Daily cost: 32 miles @ 80 UK mpg and £1.18/l for gas - £2.15 for fuel + £2.70 for parking/day
Total cost: £4.85 per day, or £101/month
Stress rating: 1/10 (the 1 only stems from german car drivers attempting to murder me)
Arriving not pissed off at humanity, and feeling really good about life: priceless

8
here_involuntarily•

Oh the joys of British public transport. I just got a bike and have commuted on it for the last week. My journey looks similar:

Bus: Get up: 6.15 Leave house: 7.10 Get to bus stop: 7.20 Get on bus: It's supposed to be 7.25 but it's never on time, so usually 7.35. Get off bus: 8.15, but anytime between 8.10 and 8.40 Walk to work: 8.30 (or even 9 with bad traffic).

Leave work: 4.30 Get to bus stop: 4.45 Get on bus: supposed to be 4.50 but usually 5. Get off bus: 5.50, sometimes after 6. Get home: 6.

Bike: Get up: 6.15 Leave house: 7.00 (get ready at work) Park outside work at 7.35 Sit at my desk, after changing by 7.45.

That means I can leave at 3.45 so I get home at 4.30.

It's given me an hour and a half, saves me £80 a month and means I don't have to spend an hour stood on a crowded bus with my head in someone's armpit. It's amazing.

2
deiam2007 Suzuki Boulevard C50•

My commute isn't too long (~25 k mostly highway), but it takes me longer than driving to ride, because I need to gear up, gear down and change into my work clothes. It's totally worth it, I love riding every day, but not because it's a time saver. Of course my commute isn't during heavy traffic times, nor do I live where lane splitting is legal, so my contribution may be useless.

3
IllIII•

If can split lanes, can save a lot of time if slow traffic. If live where splitting isn't legal, wont save that much. Then again, I've been bike only for too many years, so can't fairly compare.

The real gain, is you'll love your commute. Time drags when you're resentfully doing something you can't stand, like driving a car in traffic.

3
hibryanOP•

I've read a lot about people loving their ride and overall having a better quality of life thanks to it.

I already get plenty of thrills in my life, so that hasn't been a good sell for me... but I really am getting sick of taking an hour(+) just to drive 24 miles. Commute included, my working day is almost 10 hours. I barely have time to go to the gym and/or pursue other hobbies.

This thread has been really helpful though, as it's given me information that I haven't seen anywhere else.

So, thanks guys. I think it's time I get a bike.

2
DuhWhatSoCal '05 FZ1 | '13 FZ6R | '97 CBR600 F3•

I already get plenty of thrills in my life....

For me, commuting on a bike is definitely not about any thrills. It is all about pleasure and enjoyment. I do save a few minutes, but my commute is short, and gearing up and de-gearing make it a wash time-wise. And if your goal is to save time to pursue other hobbies, if you're like me, the only other hobby you will pursue is riding your motorcycle when you have no where in particular to go.

1
xdrewmox2002 VFR800 [red], 2001 DRZ400E, 2000 KTM 200 MXC•

If you are getting 24 miles in an hour it's not really stop and go traffic is it? If you can lane split I wouldn't ride faster than 25 -30 mph anyways, so you wouldn't save much time. Yea you could ride faster between cars, but it gets a lot more stressful to do that as you are now watching every car and expecting it to launch out into your space in front of you.

1
hibryanOP•

No, it's not necessarily stop and go traffic; it's just very congested. 10-25mph is average on the freeway during peak commuting hours on highway 101 (Bay Area).

I initially thought that lane splitting would be why a motorcycle would save so much time but some Redditors pointed out that driving a motorcycle allows you use of the HOV lane, which is a godsend.

I am very interested though in how much time lane splitting really saves since, as you pointed out, you don't go very fast while doing it (unless you have a death wish).

2
xdrewmox2002 VFR800 [red], 2001 DRZ400E, 2000 KTM 200 MXC•

Well between HOV and Lane splitting it will save more time. The biggest thing is reducing stress when it is stop and go, and if there is an accident you will always be able to get through it without any problems at all.

I think HOV and carpool lanes are stupid to have in the first place, but that's just me. I would rather have all lanes always open so the average speed of all cars is higher, to help reduce congestion.

1
kabish'05 VStar 1100 Custom | SoCal•

If you live someplace that lane splitting is allowed and you have constant heavy traffic then sure it will be quicker. However if you can't split or if traffic is not stop and go a lot you may not notice a difference. I've had many of bikes pass me splitting over 40mph, 7 miles down the road and I'm pulling up next to them at a light.

3
drumstyx06 Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic LT | 99 Katana 750 | 2x 78 CB750K•

It's marginally faster if you can't split, and on a short ride, gearing up takes longer than the difference. Anything 30+ minutes though, and you're probably faster to ride if you can at least bend the rules a little.

2
ATGATT_CircleJerkYZF-R1•

Pretty much this.

You lose time on short trips, gain a bit from like 30-90 minute trips, and then lose progressively more the longer the trip gets beyond that because the limited size of the tank just owns you (as seen on Top Gear).

0
[deleted]•

[deleted]

1
Balder666GSX-R 600 | GSX-R 1000•

So, for you Redditors who switched from a car to motorcycle… How much time did that free up from your commute?

Car in traffic: Usually 1 hour, but with accidents or very heavy traffic it can take upwards of 2 hours.

Motorcycle in traffic: 30 minutes.

Car without traffic: 25ish minutes.

Motorcycle without traffic: 20ish min.

I live on the outskirts of the city and while most of the commute is on dual lane roads there is a part on the end which is only 1 lane each direction that takes 10-15min in traffic, with a bike I can just pass them on the left. If your commute is 80% highway you won't save much time.

2
allasonderTriumph •

The best gain is that your commute is much more enjoyable! That alone would be worth it for me. (I do miss the heaters lately though)

I go about 30kms each way everyday and the trip always takes around 30 minutes. In the same traffic in a car it takes at least 50min with no incidents. Every day I'm lane splitting.

If there is a major incident somewhere causing extra backlog it can mean 1.5 hours + to get home, but hardly adds anything to the bike ride. A couple of weeks ago there was a big incident that caused 4km of build up, it only added an extra 12minutes to my commute though.

2
NewAccount4Friday•

Theoretically it's faster since I can split lanes, but I often find myself taking the long way home. This usually adds at least another 30 min.

1
CrayolaS7'05 CBR600RR•

Depends, on surface streets where you are allowed to lane split it is MUCH faster, about twice as quick in my experience.

1
Dev_WldFyreFL '02 ZX-6R•

Depends on how you ride.

1
Rheemninja 300•

If i'm working in the city (Melbourne) its about a 25km commute. Without Traffic it takes 30 minutes, on my bike it takes between 35 and 45, Car takes between 50 and 95 depending on traffic.

Public transport is about an 70 minutes once you add on getting to and from the station.

Splitting/filtering isn't legal here but everyone does it anyway.

1
BoogerTom2002 R1150r, 2003 R1100s•

I don't lane split, so I am generally at the mercy of traffic except to the extent that I can out-accelerate anyone. However, I am able to take advantage of HOV (carpool) lanes which 9 times out of ten flow faster than regular traffic. There are zero days when taking the car is faster.

The downside/upside is my bike route home often is 25% longer because I tend to...wander.

1
twoslow•

http://www.gizmag.com/motorcycles-reduce-congestion/21420/

"if 10 percent of all private cars were replaced by motorcycles in the traffic flow of the test area, total time losses for all vehicles decreased by 40 percent"

My commute is about 20 miles in Orange County, CA. Lane sharing is legal so in the morning on the bike it's about 25 minutes (door to door). In the car it's about 40 minutes. In the afternoon on the bike it's about 40 minutes, in the car it's 60-75 minutes.

I will also say there was a time frame where commuting killed my spirit to ride. AFter rolling off 200 miles a week commuting, I didn't have much desire to get on my bike for pleasure. But I've gotten over that hump and now it doesn't bother me.

1
llDemonllWR250X; FZ-07•

When there's no traffic or the carpool lane isn't moving significantly faster, there is virtually no savings.

17 mile commute to work, 15 miles of freeway. Car time: ~25 minutes. Bike time: ~22 minutes probably. I have no traffic, steady speed limit moving nearly full time

Home, is about 35-40 minutes in a car, maybe 25-30 minutes on the bike. I don't know because usually I drive home and get off the freeway about halfway home and drive along the water because I enjoy it, and that ride takes 45 minutes.

In the rare events I split, since it's not legal in WA, it saves 3-4 minutes at the largest intersection that I split at because I can get through it in one light cycle instead of 2-3, sometimes 4.

Basically, unless you're commuting in heavy traffic and are comfortable lane splitting, it's not going to save you any more time than it would being a carpool

1
cptzanzibar2012 Suzuki DL1000 Adv.•

Takes me longer to get back and forth to work because I take the scenic route. But if I take the route I use with my car, it takes the exact same amount of time.

This really isnt difficult. What will you be doing on your bike more quickly than in a car? Speed limits are the same, traffic is the same, lights and signs are the same. Unless you can lane split slow traffic, theres no logical reason to think riding your bike will get you there more quickly.

That said, I much more enjoy my ride to and from work on my bike, so its all worth it.

1
mustanggt90210•

My 22 mile commute is a 45 minute trip by truck, 30 minutes by bike. That being said, it takes me an extra 5-10 minutes to gear up and warm the bike up.

But hitting some apexes and 3.5 second 0-60 jaunts are the best way to wake up

1
ApapaboScrambler, 955i, 675R, Scarabeo 200•

To be honest, with my commute it saves maybe 40% of the time I would otherwise spend in the car, mostly because of filtering to the stop light (I don't really like filtering in motion).

1
Specken_zee_DoitchDuc M696 ABS•

I save at least 45 minutes every workday since this is SoCal. I only live 5 miles away.

1
the_mullet_fondler09 Street Triple R | K3 GSXR-600 (Track) | SF Bay Area•

Bay area native, so I'll give you some perspective. Any public transport option across the bay (i'm east bay and work in SF) takes me about 1-1.5h depending on how good the timing is.

Driving takes about 1-1.5h also, and have to find parking (impossible).

Bike takes me 25 minutes, 30 door to door after changing. 1) can take bus/carpool lane across fastrak plaza, 2) HOV down the 80, and 3) lanesplit across the bridge and through any construction downtown. Saves me about 1 -1.5h per day.

1
HashPappies06 Husky SM610 (SoCal)•

At my last job, the total distance was only about 12 miles from home to work. Majority of the distance was on the freeway. I had to be at work at 7:00 AM and if I drove, I had to leave at 6:15 the latest and risk being late. On the bike, I could leave at 6:30 and be early.

At my current job, it's also about 12 miles away. It's all surface streets from home to work, no freeways at all. I have to be at work by 9:00 am. If I drive, I have to leave at 8:35 latest to be on time. On my bike, it's about the same. I'm able to push it to 8:40 if I drag start off at about three lights so I can pass the next right when it's on yellow about to turn red and then crank it a bit on this long straight where there's sometimes a cop. Not worth it to lay in bed for an extra five minutes to risk a ticket or accident though.

1