bus walk chartYou look at your watch. You look at the bus schedule. You look down the street. The bus that will take you half way across downtown should arrive in another 15 minutes. So do you wait for it, or start walking? 

The answer might depend on the weather and what shoes you wore, or maybe you’re looking for a mathematically-defensible solution. If the latter’s the case, we at Sightline can help! Operating under the premise that there’s no query too small to calculate and then graph, we bring you “Walk or Bus?” from Visualmotive.

This cool little chart requires that you know or guess at how far you’re traveling, then lets you figure out which mode of transportation will be faster depending on when the bus is coming.

  • Our work is made possible by the generosity of people like you!

    Thanks to Jennifer Durning & Geoff Tennican for supporting a sustainable Northwest.

  • Say you’re taking a 1 mile trip. If the bus is within 15 minutes away, wait for it—unless you’re a super speedy walker (the analysis assumes you walk a 20 minute mile, and that the bus is traveling 15 mph). Beyond that, walking will get you to your destination faster.

    For other efficiency-boosting strategies (mostly of the technology type), check out the website lifehacker, where we found the bus/walk chart.

    And if you’re in the Seattle metro area and want to know if your bus is actually on schedule, you can check out this Metro site and find out.