Possibly, but this isn't really the tradeoff. It is using energy when you have time to reap the benefits when you actually need the quick travel. 20km is going to take hours to walk in one trip.
Now I'm imagining an alternate history/sci-fi planet where a neolithic society manages to effectively harness swamp gas (and eventually develop anaerobic digesters to produce it) as an energy source, instead of relying on timber/biomass.