Suppose you need to cover a fairly long distance (e.g. 30 km) in a moderately difficult hiking terrain (no climbing), in 1 day. You can either go alone or with someone, or with a group.
I think (from experience) that alone is always faster. Is it right, and if yes, why? What are the factors that make me waste time? How much time should I expect to waste? Let's eliminate physical fitness differences for the sake of argument.
If the answer is no (i.e. group hiking time is the same or better than alone time): How can I achieve the fastest group hiking time -- which typical time wasters to avoid, and how?