Bikes, metro, and rollerblades beat JetBlue in LA’s “Carmageddon” challenge

With a stretch of Los Angeles’ 405 freeway closed this weekend, JetBlue thought they’d get a PR win by offering cheap $4 flights between Burbank and Long Beach airports. But the news was overshadowed by their defeat in a nationally-followed race between four modes of transportation: bike, metro + foot, rollerblade, and plane + taxi. The challenge? Get from an address in Burbank to one in Long Beach as quickly as possible.

The results?

• 1 hour 34 minutes by bike (LA bike crew Wolfpack Hustle)
• 1 hour 44 minutes by metro and foot (Gary Kavanagh)
• 2 hours 40 minutes by rollerblade (Jenni Armstrong)
• 2 hours 44 minutes by plane and taxi (JetBlue passengers Joe Anthony and Ezra Horne)

A plane beaten by a rollerblader? Huge JetBlue PR fail. What’s even more embarrassing is that JetBlue was trying so hard—their CEO was on the flight, welcoming passengers on board. (JetBlue is reportedly demanding a rematch.) Next time, skip the plane, and try a greener and heathier alternative.

Read more:

• Gary Rides Bikes: #FlightVsBike #FlightVsMetro #BikeVsMetro #SkateVsMetro, A Huge Success!
• Slate: Carmageddon Challenge: The Bikes Won! (previously: Carmageddon Challenge)
• LA Streetsblog: Your Twitter Coverage of Today’s Wolfpack v Jet Blue v Metro Race from Burbank to Long Beach

(Image credits: Wolfpack Hustle bike photo by Waltarr, Red Line metro photo by Burns!, rollerblade photo by Oh-Barcelona.com, and JetBlue plane photo by Matt Hintsa. All images used under Creative Commons licensing. Thank you!)