What is considered walking and biking distance to you?
August 15, 2025
How far away does a shop need to be for you to decide to bike instead of walk, or drive instead of bike?
35 comments
Obviously it depends on how much time I have and whether I’m drinking but I tend to walk if it’s under 20 minutes and bike if I can do it in under 50 minutes. I’ll e-bike if I have my 5 year old with me, often use my regular bicycle if I don’t. We have excellent public transport for anything more than that. I have a license and occasionally hire a car but I don’t own one.
You forgot public transportation: I might take the bus, tram or the underground / metro.
Driving? I, for example, don’t drive.
15 minutes I’d walk. Half an hour I would cycle. More than that I would take public transport because I don’t drive.
30 minutes walking time is considered walking distance I’d say. Idk about bikes cos I can’t ride a bike
I’ll walk for about twenty minutes and drive otherwise. Cycling to the shops isn’t practical for me as I don’t have a bike basket.
30 minutes of walking is fine, anything longer than that I’d take a bus. (But also, honestly, if the bus leaves often and I already have a monthly pass I’ll probably take the bus for anything that’s 3 bus stops away…)
I usually go to the grocery shop that is about 300~400m from me by bike, but it’s mostly to make it easier to carry the stuff back on the bike. In general if the weather is fine, I’ll bike up to 15km from home, otherwise I’ll take public transport.
I don’t have a driver’s license so driving isn’t an option and I really dislike local transport in my city. For example, my work is 4km away, 18min by bike or almost 40min if I have to walk + take public transport.
Depends on the temperature and the incline.
So in Athens I would say 1km walking distance.
Bicycle is also non existent due to the conditions… 😒
If I can be there within 15 minutes, I walk; unless a bus stop is right there and convenient. I don’t like biking that much because my city is hilly.
I have a card that says I effectively pre-paid for all trips on public transport in the country, and by Jove if I don’t make it worthwile!
I dont really have numbers for that, it depends on the situation, usually the longest I walk is 15 minutes to get to the trainstation.
But if i just have to drop something off for a few seconds I just go by car.
Distance is irrelevant for me when biking – there are many other factors, like if there is designated bike path or not, the weather, possibility to have a shower after biking, etc.
Anything below 1 kilometer is a walking distance. Between 1 to 3 kilometers it also depends. For anything longer than 3 kilometers I tend to drive, or better taking public transport.
I often walk 30 minutes to a distant grocery store instead of the one that’s 5 minutes away in order to achieve my 6.000 step-a-day-minimum goal.
Walking distance, for shopping trips: 0-2 km
Walking distance, for fun: 0-10 km
City bike distance, for shopping trips: 0-20 km
City bike distance, for fun trips: 0-60 km
Racing bike distance: over 20, up to 160 km (per day)
Depends on my mood and how much I’m bringing back, really. I’ll walk an hour to a pet shop if I’m just getting a new cat toy, but if I’m buying any kind of beverages I’ll stay within 10 minutes of walking. On my bike, I’ve gone to the Netherlands (about an hour, too) to shop around for different things. I avoid driving like the plague, I’m a menace behind a steering wheel.
Cycling is a hobby of mine, and I also do long walks, and I most often drive to the grocery store, even the closest one, partially because there’s something about my car that makes starting it more difficult if you skip days of using it.
Sometimes I choose to ride my bike to a grocery store 4 km away, or walk to the one 1.5 km away, when I feel like it’s the day’s only motivation for doing anything physical.
There’s a mall 15 km away and I have ridden there when my car was being fixed, on a couple of occasions. With my background in cycling it didn’t feel long, but it was a kind of a combination of 1.5 hours of exercise plus the actual visit.
I’ll walk if my destination is 15-20 minutes away by foot. I don’t run errands with my bicycle because I live in Brussels and I don’t want to get my bicycle stolen. If I’m going to someone’s house or some other place where I know my bicycle can be left safely somewhere indoors, then I’ll take my bicycle for a good 45 minutes to an hour if I must, because I find it so much more comfortable than public transport. If I’m going somewhere outside a city, it’s by car.
This is not counting strolls and bicycle tours for leisure, I can go much longer then
I do not have a bike or a car, so for me it is walking, bus or taxi, (no other public transport where I live). walking distance is up to 45 minutes one way, if there are a pause between the trips, if not, around 30 minutes.
30 mins of walk is a walkable distance. Anything above that I would use a car or public transport.
I dislike biking as a mean of transport for many reasons – I live in a very hilly area, getting anywhere gets you all sweaty, it’s not a good choice in bad weather or when it’s raining, there’s usually no room to store the bike wherever I go etc.
Obviously it depends. I aim for 20k steps a day and regularly do 10+ mile walks, but that’s mostly for leisure and fitness. If I’m actually going somewhere, any more than 2 or 3 miles would probably be too much.
I used to commute about 15 miles each way on a bike, and that was fine. It was quicker than the bus door to door. I’d probably be okay up to 25 odd miles.
I don’t drive. 10-15 mins I’d walk or take public transport, but it depends on the weather. 15-25 mins I’d bike or take public transport. Anything more I’d take public transport..
depends. I gotta be somewhere and its not for leasure? 15 Minutes by foot. Leasure, weather is fine? 30 minutes.
Bike: basically the same. But honestly most of the time i take my motorbike instead.
Oh yeah, and then there is public transport for every single of these cased. Takes a bit longer than car, but about half/forth than walking. Perks of a big city hehe
For me its about time not distance. 30min walk or 30min bike. Above that its public transport or car, depending on how much stuff im hauling around.
If its nice weather and a chill occasion, i dont mind walking for an hour. 🤷
Under like 30-40 minutes I’ll walk. I hate biking in the city so I only ever do it in the middle of the night when I can bike on the sidewalk without bothering people (technically that’s illegal). If it’s more than a 30 minute walk I’d typically go by public transport instead of by car. In the city going by car is just annoying as fuck. So much traffic and I’m reliant on street parking while living basically in the middle of the city center. If I have a good parking spot I’m not giving it up for anything.
I hate public transport, if it’s within an hour by foot and won’t be bringing back anything heavy, I’ll walk.
Biking here is outright dangerous so no chance I’d go anywhere by bike.
If it’s more than 5kms away I bike. If more than 10 I will drive. I might drive even if the shop is closer if I have a lot of things to buy and need to carry a lot (I also do the shopping for my mom).
Biking distance <20km
Walking distance <5km
But that depends, if it’s a weekend and you have no time limit then both could be longer.
It depends on how much hassle is to take a bike out. If i’d live in apartment and had to take bike through several doors, stairs or elevators and so on, the ride have to be at least 15 minutes long.
In the house, where I can have a bike readily available outside of the house, I take it even if the ride is 500meters, if it’s convenient.
walking and biking ~15 to 30min, if i could use a bike i might just default to public transport. driving only if it’s not feasible to reach by train, bus or tram. now driving more than 2h is just agony (Europe, Germany)
If unlocking, cycling there, and locking my bike takes more time than walking, I walk. That’s around 5 minutes walking.
Up to 1h walking is my walking distance.
Up to 30min biking is my biking distance.
More than that I either drive.
Depends also what I buy, if something is heavy I’ll drive.
Austria:
I live in Vienna and for inner-city travel I do mostly walk or ride the bike. My job is 4km away from my home, a nice little ride in the morning and afternoon. I use public transport for longer distances or at bad weather. I use my car within the city only when I have to transport something.
The decision what to use is not by time, but by traffic. In rush hour times due to the very good bike lanes, I am much faster than a car also on longer distances.
Depends on the shop. I can walk an hour to a shop if I want to walk anyway. Sometimes I choose the supermarket that’s farther away because I want to take a walk. That’s usually 45 minutes roundtrip. If I want to check out some store on the weekend, I have no problem walking an hour but for daily groceries etc I’d choose something near. During Covid I often took the bike to work which was around 8km (so 16km in total).
I don’t have a car and I never saw biking as an alternative choice because the distance was too far to walk. If it’s too far to walk or I am too lazy, I take the tram for a few stops.
Disclaimer: I live in a big city. So walking is fine up to 30mins if I’ve the time for it, I’m not heavily loaded, and it’s not too hot. Otherwise it’s biking if I’m sober, it’s not too hot and I’m not heavily loaded, or public transport in any other situation. Taxi if in a rush.
Car drives are reserved for going places not accessible by public transport. Like a camping area
Up to 30 mins walking is fine.
Up to 30 mins cycling is fine.
More than that is public transport or car.
10-15km on good weather is tolerable biking distance.
5-6km is tolerable walking distance on good weather.
Naturally bad weather heavily shrinks those numbers and I rather take a bus or a train.
And well if I happen to be on extra grumpy or tired mood, I choose public transport.
35 comments
Obviously it depends on how much time I have and whether I’m drinking but I tend to walk if it’s under 20 minutes and bike if I can do it in under 50 minutes. I’ll e-bike if I have my 5 year old with me, often use my regular bicycle if I don’t. We have excellent public transport for anything more than that. I have a license and occasionally hire a car but I don’t own one.
You forgot public transportation: I might take the bus, tram or the underground / metro.
Driving? I, for example, don’t drive.
15 minutes I’d walk. Half an hour I would cycle. More than that I would take public transport because I don’t drive.
30 minutes walking time is considered walking distance I’d say. Idk about bikes cos I can’t ride a bike
I’ll walk for about twenty minutes and drive otherwise. Cycling to the shops isn’t practical for me as I don’t have a bike basket.
30 minutes of walking is fine, anything longer than that I’d take a bus. (But also, honestly, if the bus leaves often and I already have a monthly pass I’ll probably take the bus for anything that’s 3 bus stops away…)
I usually go to the grocery shop that is about 300~400m from me by bike, but it’s mostly to make it easier to carry the stuff back on the bike. In general if the weather is fine, I’ll bike up to 15km from home, otherwise I’ll take public transport.
I don’t have a driver’s license so driving isn’t an option and I really dislike local transport in my city. For example, my work is 4km away, 18min by bike or almost 40min if I have to walk + take public transport.
Depends on the temperature and the incline.
So in Athens I would say 1km walking distance.
Bicycle is also non existent due to the conditions… 😒
If I can be there within 15 minutes, I walk; unless a bus stop is right there and convenient. I don’t like biking that much because my city is hilly.
I have a card that says I effectively pre-paid for all trips on public transport in the country, and by Jove if I don’t make it worthwile!
I dont really have numbers for that, it depends on the situation, usually the longest I walk is 15 minutes to get to the trainstation.
But if i just have to drop something off for a few seconds I just go by car.
Distance is irrelevant for me when biking – there are many other factors, like if there is designated bike path or not, the weather, possibility to have a shower after biking, etc.
Anything below 1 kilometer is a walking distance. Between 1 to 3 kilometers it also depends. For anything longer than 3 kilometers I tend to drive, or better taking public transport.
I often walk 30 minutes to a distant grocery store instead of the one that’s 5 minutes away in order to achieve my 6.000 step-a-day-minimum goal.
Walking distance, for shopping trips: 0-2 km
Walking distance, for fun: 0-10 km
City bike distance, for shopping trips: 0-20 km
City bike distance, for fun trips: 0-60 km
Racing bike distance: over 20, up to 160 km (per day)
Depends on my mood and how much I’m bringing back, really. I’ll walk an hour to a pet shop if I’m just getting a new cat toy, but if I’m buying any kind of beverages I’ll stay within 10 minutes of walking. On my bike, I’ve gone to the Netherlands (about an hour, too) to shop around for different things. I avoid driving like the plague, I’m a menace behind a steering wheel.
Cycling is a hobby of mine, and I also do long walks, and I most often drive to the grocery store, even the closest one, partially because there’s something about my car that makes starting it more difficult if you skip days of using it.
Sometimes I choose to ride my bike to a grocery store 4 km away, or walk to the one 1.5 km away, when I feel like it’s the day’s only motivation for doing anything physical.
There’s a mall 15 km away and I have ridden there when my car was being fixed, on a couple of occasions. With my background in cycling it didn’t feel long, but it was a kind of a combination of 1.5 hours of exercise plus the actual visit.
I’ll walk if my destination is 15-20 minutes away by foot. I don’t run errands with my bicycle because I live in Brussels and I don’t want to get my bicycle stolen. If I’m going to someone’s house or some other place where I know my bicycle can be left safely somewhere indoors, then I’ll take my bicycle for a good 45 minutes to an hour if I must, because I find it so much more comfortable than public transport. If I’m going somewhere outside a city, it’s by car.
This is not counting strolls and bicycle tours for leisure, I can go much longer then
I do not have a bike or a car, so for me it is walking, bus or taxi, (no other public transport where I live). walking distance is up to 45 minutes one way, if there are a pause between the trips, if not, around 30 minutes.
30 mins of walk is a walkable distance. Anything above that I would use a car or public transport.
I dislike biking as a mean of transport for many reasons – I live in a very hilly area, getting anywhere gets you all sweaty, it’s not a good choice in bad weather or when it’s raining, there’s usually no room to store the bike wherever I go etc.
Obviously it depends. I aim for 20k steps a day and regularly do 10+ mile walks, but that’s mostly for leisure and fitness. If I’m actually going somewhere, any more than 2 or 3 miles would probably be too much.
I used to commute about 15 miles each way on a bike, and that was fine. It was quicker than the bus door to door. I’d probably be okay up to 25 odd miles.
I don’t drive. 10-15 mins I’d walk or take public transport, but it depends on the weather. 15-25 mins I’d bike or take public transport. Anything more I’d take public transport..
depends. I gotta be somewhere and its not for leasure? 15 Minutes by foot. Leasure, weather is fine? 30 minutes.
Bike: basically the same. But honestly most of the time i take my motorbike instead.
Oh yeah, and then there is public transport for every single of these cased. Takes a bit longer than car, but about half/forth than walking. Perks of a big city hehe
For me its about time not distance. 30min walk or 30min bike. Above that its public transport or car, depending on how much stuff im hauling around.
If its nice weather and a chill occasion, i dont mind walking for an hour. 🤷
Under like 30-40 minutes I’ll walk. I hate biking in the city so I only ever do it in the middle of the night when I can bike on the sidewalk without bothering people (technically that’s illegal). If it’s more than a 30 minute walk I’d typically go by public transport instead of by car. In the city going by car is just annoying as fuck. So much traffic and I’m reliant on street parking while living basically in the middle of the city center. If I have a good parking spot I’m not giving it up for anything.
I hate public transport, if it’s within an hour by foot and won’t be bringing back anything heavy, I’ll walk.
Biking here is outright dangerous so no chance I’d go anywhere by bike.
If it’s more than 5kms away I bike. If more than 10 I will drive. I might drive even if the shop is closer if I have a lot of things to buy and need to carry a lot (I also do the shopping for my mom).
Biking distance <20km
Walking distance <5km
But that depends, if it’s a weekend and you have no time limit then both could be longer.
It depends on how much hassle is to take a bike out. If i’d live in apartment and had to take bike through several doors, stairs or elevators and so on, the ride have to be at least 15 minutes long.
In the house, where I can have a bike readily available outside of the house, I take it even if the ride is 500meters, if it’s convenient.
walking and biking ~15 to 30min, if i could use a bike i might just default to public transport. driving only if it’s not feasible to reach by train, bus or tram. now driving more than 2h is just agony (Europe, Germany)
If unlocking, cycling there, and locking my bike takes more time than walking, I walk. That’s around 5 minutes walking.
Up to 1h walking is my walking distance.
Up to 30min biking is my biking distance.
More than that I either drive.
Depends also what I buy, if something is heavy I’ll drive.
Austria:
I live in Vienna and for inner-city travel I do mostly walk or ride the bike. My job is 4km away from my home, a nice little ride in the morning and afternoon. I use public transport for longer distances or at bad weather. I use my car within the city only when I have to transport something.
The decision what to use is not by time, but by traffic. In rush hour times due to the very good bike lanes, I am much faster than a car also on longer distances.
Depends on the shop. I can walk an hour to a shop if I want to walk anyway. Sometimes I choose the supermarket that’s farther away because I want to take a walk. That’s usually 45 minutes roundtrip. If I want to check out some store on the weekend, I have no problem walking an hour but for daily groceries etc I’d choose something near. During Covid I often took the bike to work which was around 8km (so 16km in total).
I don’t have a car and I never saw biking as an alternative choice because the distance was too far to walk. If it’s too far to walk or I am too lazy, I take the tram for a few stops.
Disclaimer: I live in a big city. So walking is fine up to 30mins if I’ve the time for it, I’m not heavily loaded, and it’s not too hot. Otherwise it’s biking if I’m sober, it’s not too hot and I’m not heavily loaded, or public transport in any other situation. Taxi if in a rush.
Car drives are reserved for going places not accessible by public transport. Like a camping area
Up to 30 mins walking is fine.
Up to 30 mins cycling is fine.
More than that is public transport or car.
10-15km on good weather is tolerable biking distance.
5-6km is tolerable walking distance on good weather.
Naturally bad weather heavily shrinks those numbers and I rather take a bus or a train.
And well if I happen to be on extra grumpy or tired mood, I choose public transport.