There's no way a city bus travels an average speed of 30mph. I would be lucky to travel at an average of 30mph driving a car in most cities, and I don't stop every 3 blocks for 30 seconds to pick people up.
Of course, you also have to take into account the cost of the bus, whether you have a bus pass/travelcard, proximity of stops at either end to required start point and destination, and whether or not you can stop on the way (if you're walking) and get a Starbucks.
For all these reasons, plus the usual carbon footprint and travelcard, I don't take the bus anywhere unless it's more than an hour's walk. (Before I moved to Edinburgh I hated, hated hated hated, walking. Selling one's car does fantastic things to the mindset.)
I bike or take the bus or train for anything more than a mile. Walking is very boring. (I have never owned a car either.)
BTW, Chicagoans are lucky to have estimated arrival times for every bus stop in the city (http://ctabustracker.com/). It is very accurate and makes deciding between walking and waiting for the bus an easy decision. (Usually I commit to taking the bus and just sit in my apartment until a few minutes before it is scheduled to arrive. It's wonderful.)
Agreed. Also just remembered that Google Maps has public transit route-finding in major cities. I'm not sure if this is based on scheduled times or actual times (as reported by services like NextMUNI), but it's a fantastic service.
They travel at 30mph often, but not over very long distances. Imagine your stereotypical cab driver, with excessive acceleration and lane changes, and insert a stop every two blocks to add/drop passengers.
Actual average speed depends a lot on the number of passengers. At rush hours, if you're walking at a fast pace you can outrace a bus. Only so much the driver can do when 20-30 people get on the bus at a stop.
I feel like I keep a fairly brisk pace when I walk the mile and a half to work, and it takes me 45 minutes. I feel like I'd have to jog to break that pace.
It takes me 20-30 minutes to make the same trip on the subway, 20-25 minutes by bike, and less than ten minutes if my wife drops me off via car.
Assuming reasonably flat ground, it's not hard to walk a mile in well under 20 minutes. Bicycling around 15 mph ain't too hard, either -- which would get you 1.5 miles in 10 minutes.
why walk when you could use wheels to go fast! i bike or blade everywhere! (and i mean literally use wheels as in exertion. it's so much more fun than sitting on a machine.)
buses suck. they are biker killers. i always thought this was a shame since public transportation and self transportation are on the same environmental team. i've had buses seriously try to run me over (turn right even though i'm sitting in the bus lane making eye contat with the bus driver who is yelling at me, honking and not slowing the turn). to say nothing of the accidents that have put my friends in the hospital (bus smoosh).
> buses suck. they are biker killers. i always thought this was a shame since public transportation and self transportation are on the same environmental team.
