June 28, 2007 Traffic congestion has to be one of the world’s greatest time-wasters and spending long hours at the wheel just trying to get to and from work is not only unproductive, it’s also very stressful. Now new research from the U.K. suggests that the best way to beat this problem (short of working from home) is to switch from four wheels to two. Analysis conducted by the RAC Foundation has shown that commuters could shave up to three hours off their weekly commutes by choosing a motorcycle or scooter over the car, with the biggest savings to be gained in Central London and the East of England.

The RAC Foundation's analysis of government statistics shows that in almost every region of the UK, two-wheel commuters are spending less time travelling to and from work than workers traveling by car, bus or coach.

UK workers have the longest commutes in Europe, with one quarter of the working population commuting for over two hours each day, and the problem is growing. The UK has already seen a 0.8% increase in congestion in the first quarter of 2007, compared to 2006, costing the economy around £74,000 every hour.

Time saving per trip is significant in the most congested areas with commuters in Central London standing to gain a massive 21 minutes per trip by making the switch.

Changing vehicles is not the only solution and as such the RAC Foundation is also encouraging commuters to tackle congestion by being more flexible about when they travel and changing the route they take to avoid congestion hotspots.

The analysis is designed to back the U.K. Motorcycle Industry Association’s "Now’s The Time" campaign which is encouraging commuters to get their motorcycle licence before a predicted backlog when the U.K. motorcycle test changes to meet new EU requirements in October 2008. A new website has been set up as part of this campaign.

Research suggests that switching to motorcycle or scooter commuting could be the solution for the one third of drivers who say they would like to spend less time travelling for work. While sixty four per cent of motorcycle and scooter trips are made for work, education or training, overall just one per cent U.K of commuters are traveling on two wheels, meaning a slight increase in scooter commuters could impact significantly on city congestion.

The problem is a worldwide one. According to a report from Forbes.com more than 10 million workers were travelling more than 60 minutes each way in 2006 and around 3.3 million were traveling 90 minutes or more.

A number of studies put Los Angeles at the top of the list for commuting woes, but this is set to change by 2030 with commuting times in cities including New York, Boston and Chicago predicted to be worse that L.A.

The further challenge is of course to ensure that motorcyclists are given the training and infrastructure to be able to travel safely and for other road users to be accommodating and alert to their presence.

Note: The image shows the Fhybrid front-wheel driven hydrogen-powered scooter. Visit the image gallery for a list of trip time saving per UK region.