Cycling is the fastest way to commute in Cardiff, according to a study carried out by a cycling campaign.
Cardiff Cycle City, whose aim is to promote cycling in the Welsh capital, carried out its commute challenge with four teams of three people who each travelled by car, public transport and bike.
Each team made their way to Cardiff Castle from different areas across the city or just outside it - with one of the teams setting off from Penarth railway station. For each team, cycling was the fastest mode of transport by at least 10 minutes.
Chair of Cardiff Cycle City, Chris Roberts, said: “The results of the Commuter Challenge clearly show that the bike is the best way to get around Cardiff, especially at peak times."
“Lots of people assume that cars are always quicker but that simply isn’t the case in many urban areas."
“The sheer volume of traffic on our roads inevitably means lots of delays at junctions and traffic lights, and when you add in the time it takes to park and then walk to your final destination, the bike is often the quickest option.”
Chris noted that as the challenge took place during the school holidays, this had an affect on the level of traffic on the road and how long it took for the cyclists to get from A to B.
The people who took part in the challenge were either volunteers associated with Cardiff Cycle City or friends of volunteers.
In most cases, public transport came out as being faster than, or equally as fast as using the car.
Here is a closer look at the results of each team in the challenge:
The west Cardiff team, starting from Farm Foods on Cowbridge Road West in Ely
- Bus: 47 minutes
- Car: 29 minutes
- Cycle: 16 minutes
The north west Cardiff team, starting from Llandaff railway station
- Train: 22 minutes
- Car: 24 minutes
- Cycle: 16 minutes
The north east Cardiff team, starting from Heath High Level railway station
- Train: 23 minutes
- Car: 23 minutes
- Cycle: 13 minutes
The southern team, starting from Penarth railway station
- Train: 28 minutes
- Car: 35 minutes
- Cycle: 19 minutes
Chris added: “Of course we understand that not everyone can or wants to cycle – though we’re hoping that the challenge will inspire more people to give it a try."
“But if more people who could, chose to ride a bike rather than drive a car, it would leave the roads clearer for those who have to drive.”
Getting people to travel by cycling or public transport instead of using their car remains a challenge for Cardiff Council.
The difficulties of rail travel in Wales have been well documented over the years.
Bus companies changed and got rid of a number of their services last year and the city’s abused OVO bike share scheme has been removed.
However, a number of measures are being put in place to try and encourage people to change the way they visit and move around the city.
Work continues to complete the development of six cycleways across Cardiff and the city council’s cabinet gave its support in March for a plan that will look to develop new bus lanes, new bus stops, parking restrictions and improvements to key junctions.
There is also still work going on to investigate a potential congestion charge for Cardiff.
When the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) asked Cardiff Council for an update in April on a potential congestion charge, it said early consultation work had taken place with key stakeholders and that feedback from this was being assessed.
The city council also said it was speaking with the Welsh Government about funding for the next stage of the proposal, which would be to complete a full business case on possible options for a road user charge before moving to a full public consultation.
In its most recent update the council said it was aiming at taking a final decision on implementing a scheme by 2026.
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