Commuters prove who's fastest in annual transit race

Perhaps it's always a race to get to work in the morning, but for 10 organizations in Metro Vancouver, today's commute was a literal race.

As part of the annual Rush Hour Challenge, each organization hasa team with one person on bike, one person using transit, and one person driving. They started from locations across Metro Vancouver with the goal ofarrivingfirst at the intersection of Georgia Street and Granville Street in downtown Vancouver.

Traffic congestion is a major problem in the Lower Mainland. Vancouver city council recently approved a $3.3 million traffic congestion plan to improve traffic conditions, improve road safety and co-ordinate street use.

The city is prioritizing walking, cycling and transit as part of the plan.

Some of the participating organizations include the City of Vancouver, the City of New Westminster, VanCity, and TransLink.

Of the 10 teams, six of the people biking and four of the people taking transit arrived first.

One teamfrom the City of New Westminster, Mayor Jonathan Cot on transit and Councillors Patrick Johnstone on bike and Lorrie Williams in acar, all left New Westminster City Hall this morning.

"I probably haven't driven my car in over 15 years," Cot said, who handily won the competition arriving first by SkyTrain within half an hour. Johnstone came in second around 15 minutes late, beating his colleague,Lorrie Williams in car, by close to 30minutes.

"We're just trying to demonstrate that different modes of transportation can be a viable alternative for residents."

This event is put on by HUB, a non-profit that promotes cycling in the city. The challenge is a lead-up to Bike to Work Week, which begins on May 29 and runs till June 4.

With files from The Early Edition