Motorists have drive to win the battle of the commuters

CYCLISTS will tell you that they are fastest when it comes to getting through rush-hour traffic.

But after a cross-city challenge from Bruntsfield to Queen Margaret University, it was the car that eventually emerged as the narrow victor in a "battle of the commuters".

The challenge saw four teams of staff members from the university setting off from the Bruntsfield Hotel at 8.15am yesterday morning.

Tasked with tackling the commute to the university's campus at Craighall, East Lothian, the teams were told to take the quickest route possible with their respective modes of transport – either by car, train, cycle or bus.

And after driving through the morning rush hour, staff members John and Judi O'Rourke, who work in the university's estates and facilities department, emerged victorious by a couple of seconds over cyclists Frederike Van Wijck and Andrew Grainger.

Mrs O'Rourke, who works as a space planning officer at the campus, said: "We're happy to have just sneaked past the bikes to win the race.

"I think if we'd started from Haymarket, though, the train would have definitely come first.

"We said at the start that the people on the bus would lose and it's no surprise that they did. You have to change two or three times to get here, so it takes forever."

The O'Rourkes recorded a time of 23 minutes to complete the course, taking a route through Newington Road, Cameron Toll, The Wisp and the A1.

They arrived at the campus just seconds ahead of the two cyclists, who passed through Blackford Road, the Grange, Dalkeith Road and Newcraighall before taking the A1 cycle route direct to the campus.

Both finished 11 minutes before integrated healthcare research staff Leila Mackie and Rosie Beck, who travelled by foot to Haymarket station before taking a train.

Ms Mackie, who works as a research assistant, said: "The train journey itself is pretty much direct to the university campus but we lost a good ten or 15 minutes just getting to the station."

Finishing last was academic practice lecturer Iddo Oberski who had to change buses three times during a 56-minute trek across the Capital.

The challenge was designed as part of QMU's green week, which has been set up to encourage students and staff to lead "sustainable lifestyles" and travel on public transport.

Gill Kelly, the university's green travel coordinator said: "A lot of people would have thought the car would win, but it's interesting to see that it only just beat the cyclists by a matter of seconds.

"Travelling by train is one of the most direct routes to the university, although it eventually came third in the challenge. As for the bus, it's perhaps unsurprising that it was in last place, as most people will have to change at least twice to get to the campus. However, it still represents the cheapest way to travel."