What is the average speed of a bicycle in London? And what is the average speed of a car in London?
"The average speed in London is 9mph - slower than in the horse and cart era"
Source: BBC News
Further surveys of car average speeds correlate the facts that after waiting at traffic lights, queuing at junctions, and traffic jam delays are taken in to account, despite the expense & advanced technology of modern cars, the average speed in real terms is very, very low.
Road racing cyclists intent on setting fastest race times as shown here, can achieve average speeds of 30 mph sustained over distances of 25 and 50 miles. Considering that is the average speed overall, including any gradients and wind factors, for pure human power, 30 mph is seriously impressive!
The road racing is just an example, to demonstrate the kind of average speeds cycles can achieve. But it's not realistically comparable with urban commuting.
My Average Speed
On a daily cycling commute to & from work in London, my priorities rank safety above speed or journey time. Yet with little exertion, not trying too hard, I still rate better than the 9 mph car average. Here are my typical statistics:
- My average traveling speed (as in; the speed I often cycle at on flat tarmac with no positive or negative wind assistance) is: 20 mph
- My average speed (as in; total time spent riding, divided by distance covered - includes stopping for traffic lights etc, slowing down & accelerating, and cautiously filtering passed queues of traffic jams) is: 13 mph
Distance = Speed x Time
In an urban environment, where pedestrians, parked cars, junctions, and all traffic are compressively close together, cycling is unsuspectingly fast. However, this is both good and bad.
Yes the mechanical advantage of a bicycle allows a human to move say 8 times faster than that same human just walking.
- at 10 mph, I cover 4 meters every second
- at 20 mph, I cover 9 meters every second!
- at 30 mph, I cover 13 meters every second!!!
I have to remind myself sometimes of how many meters I travel for each tick, tock that passes. Because, if some lame-brain in this distance should swing a car-door open, or a walk out in to the road, I literally would have 1 second until collision impact.
Which is why you'll find me riding well away from the door zone of parked cars, and avoiding the kerb edge of the road where pedestrians like to launch from.