Bicyclist Wins Bicycle Coalition’s Commuter Race

The bicyclist commuter won the Bicycle Coalition’s Commuter Race Wednesday morning.  A bicyclist made the 8:00 am, 3-mile commute from South Philly’s Mifflin Square to City Hall in 18 minutes, 35 seconds.  A Zipcar made the trip in 24:50, and a SEPTA rider arrived in 25:15.

The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia has held a commuter race for the past seven years.  The race examines the relative usefulness of these three popular modes of transportation for shorter-distance urban commuting.  The bicyclist has won the past six races.

“Our race demonstrates that a bike is not only more fun, cheaper and healthier than any other commute, but that it can also be the fastest,” said Alex Doty, Executive Director of the Bicycle Coalition.  “If you live less than 4 miles from work, you are wasting time in traffic if you don’t use a bike.”

The bicycling commuter was Pat Cunnane, President of Advanced Sports International.  Jill Minick, a Bicycle Coalition employee, biked with Mr. Cunnane and confirmed that the pair followed all traffic laws.  The driver was Zipcar general manager Peter Bruvik.  The SEPTA rider was Cy Maramangalam, also a Bicycle Coalition employee.  The public transit route involved a bus to the Broad Street line, then the subway north to City Hall.

The results confirm the findings of a study conducted in 2008 by the Center City District with the Bicycle Coalition’s collaboration.  That examination found that bicycling was a faster mode of east-west transport during rush hour in Center City than walking, driving, or taking the bus.  Results of that study are available on the Center City District’s website.

The Commuter Race is one of a series of events celebrating Bike Month in the Philadelphia area.  Additional details about Bike Month events are available on the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia’s events page.

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