Cleanest commute in winner’s cycle again

Andrew Garib, METRO New York | PDF | New York. Driving is slow, taking the train is better, but biking is best, according to the organizers of a rush-hour race Thursday from Brooklyn’s Fort Greene to Union Square which pedal power won handily.

Transportation Alternatives said bicyclist Jamie Favaro won the 4.5-mile race (about the average for a New York commute) in 17 minutes, while a train commuter took 22 minutes and a driver 29. A biker also won last year’s race.

"New Yorkers care a lot about money and the environment, but they care more than anything about time," said rep Wiley Norvell. "What we want to show is that bicycling is often the fastest way to get through New York City."

Norvell, who bikes to work every day, said bicycling not only saves time and your health, but.is also "a critical component of any sustainable city." While the driver created six pounds of carbon emissions during the race and the transit commuter one pound, the bike trip was carbon-neutral, he said. Biking to work is "the most powerful environmental act any American can make," Norvell said.

The group’s goal is to have half a million New Yorkers biking to work within a decade. End.