FIVE Swindon volunteers are under starter’s orders to compete in the town’s wacky commuter race on Tuesday.

A runner, cyclist, car driver, bus passenger and taxi driver will set off at 8am from the North Swindon Orbital during the morning rush hour and head for Swindon’s railway station.

It is the brainchild of Swindon Travel Choices, which is looking to explore advantages and disadvantages of different forms of transport available to the town’s commuters.

Despite the friendly nature of the competitors, all are in it to win it. The winner will receive a prize and there will be breakfast for all.

“I’m really excited by the prospect of the race and looking forward to seeing who wins,” said Claire Fleming, the travel plan officer at Travel Choices.

“It is about 3.2 miles as the crow flies but that will become longer depending on which route each person takes.”

The race will be starting from outside the ASDA at 8am and the race will be started by the deputy mayor Teresa Page.

In addition to the entrants listed below Doug Kirby will be taking public bus routes to get to the station but he was not available yesterday.

  • See Wednesday’s Adver for the results

Intrepid entrants get on the starting blocks

BIKE: Amy Martin, 24, West Swindon, Sustrans worker.

The route I am taking is a mix of roads and cycle paths so I won’t have to deal with too much heavy traffic. Because I work for Sustrans I do a lot of cycling but certainly not to race. I was confident of winning before the race but I’m not so sure now I’ve met the other competitors

CAR: Chris Pailor, 50, Pinehurst, facilities manager at Swindon College

I’ll largely be sticking to the main roads. The key for me will be keeping the car going at a steady pace rather than stopping and starting. It depends entirely on traffic as to whether I win. If I can avoid congestion then I stand a good chance

TAXI: Sarah Do, 39, Rodbourne, driver for V Cars
Unfortunately, the car driver has chosen the most direct route but I’ve got the advantage of being able to use the bus lanes. We get a lot of people who travel to work by taxi every morning. I think they find it convenient and because we can go through bus lanes it is often quicker than going by car

RUNNING: Darran Reynolds, 31, Gorse Hill, Digital Commercial Manager at the Swindon Advertiser
I do a lot of running so I think I’ll be able to do it in a decent time. The main advantage over the others is that I can go directly from door-to-door. I don’t have to worry about parking or locking up my bike.