Study proves bikes cut rush hour congestion

A STUDY into motorway traffic flow has found that commuters who travel by motorcycle during rush hour help to ease flow and congestion.

Conducted by Belgian transport specialists, TML, the study focussed on a 10-mile stretch of road starting from Leuven into the capital, Brussels. Using sophisticated sensors and a traffic modeling system, this allowed TML to predict the effect on traffic if one in ten commuters switched from a car to a motorcycle.

The research saw that the remaining 90 per cent of car drivers had their journey time decrease by up to eight minutes during the peak time of rush hour. The time wasted per vehicle occupant because of congestions or ‘lost vehicle hours’ was cut down to 706 hours from 1,925 hours in single morning in rush hour.

The understanding behind the findings illustrated that as the traffic came to a standstill bikes are able to filter through stationery vehicles and in effect take up no room on the road, easing traffic flow and reducing congestion.

A previous study found that drivers can waste up to 58 hours weeks of their lives in traffic. Read our top tips for gaining time by motorcycle commuting.