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Post by overgroundcommuter on May 16, 2024 23:25:13 GMT
I had a girlfriend who lived near Canada Water station, so we went to Bermondsey station first when they were running the shuttle service before it joined up with the existing Jubilee Line at Green Park. It was such a contrast to how that area felt cut off, despite being in Zone 2 and close to Tower Bridge that suddenly you could travel from Bermondsey or Canada Water into Central London in such a fast time. Before that I'd meet her at Paddington after she'd see family in Wales and then had to use the H&C to Whitechapel and then the ELL to Rotherhithe which took an eternity.
It all felt so modern and the carriages were empty! I still enjoy the JLE stations to this day which have held up well
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Post by overgroundcommuter on May 14, 2024 15:44:20 GMT
SE151 on the 227.
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Post by overgroundcommuter on May 9, 2024 16:17:53 GMT
202 to Catford.
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Post by overgroundcommuter on May 8, 2024 14:56:42 GMT
SE100 still hasn't got any destination blinds for the P4.
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Post by overgroundcommuter on May 7, 2024 22:27:00 GMT
A mix of strike action and roadworks in Forest Hill and Sydenham led to the following.
194's to Penge Crooked Billet with the odd one running through to Lower Sydenham.
197's to Penge Crooked Billet and Norwood Junction.
185s to Forest Hill. Buses would then run light along Dartmouth Road, Kirkdale and Sydenham Hill, then start from Lordship Lane/Wood Vale.
176s to Sydenham.
While waiting for a 176 in Penge at 5.30pm, the first bus picked up passengers at 5.52pm. 52 minutes after one of the other passengers waited for the bus. The next bus after mine was due in 29 minutes from the Pawleyne Arms.
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Post by overgroundcommuter on Apr 27, 2024 1:31:49 GMT
Closing out 33 years of operation out of Catford garage, the last Stagecoach bus on the P4 tonight will be TL 107, worked by 36373 LX59EDK. 0100 departure from Brixton. And credit to Stagecoach for marking the occasion on the windscreen of 36373.
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Post by overgroundcommuter on Apr 26, 2024 20:43:22 GMT
I wish Go Ahead luck with the P4. I had a 14 minute wait in Dulwich for one today and overheard a few folks complaining about the route, later that day I spoke to a man near Brockley who complained about the buses taking forever to come when the countdown says they’re near, ‘newer buses’ with one door (as mentioned by vjaska and others) and overall how poor he finds the route. I’m sure Stagecoach tried their best with such a difficult route and hopefully the takeover doesn’t throw the service off for him and others even more I live on the P4 route and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that GAL will try and do a better job with the route, but it won't be easy thanks to the continual issues with the South Circular. At one time I'd avoid the 185 and wait for the P4 to Lewisham as it's usually faster, but in recent years thanks to the Dulwich Village LTN, I stick to the 185 unless the P4 is literally about to arrive.
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Post by overgroundcommuter on Apr 20, 2024 23:23:27 GMT
The 40 can be amended, as it has been in the past north of the Elephant, but the section between Dulwich Library and Camberwell Green has to stay as it is because the volume of buses is needed in combination with the 176 and 185 at peak times between Goose Green and Denmark Hill Station. I lived south of the Library for a long time and have never seen a full 176 or 185 there so the 40’s capacity isn’t really needed, even if inexplicable gaps in the three high frequency services there are a source of annoyance. The 63 isn’t likely to be extended to Brockley Rise, unless the Mayor promises it. There is no case for it especially as the P12 provides a link from Honor Oak. You'd be surprised at the loads on the 176 and 185 south of Dulwich Library off peak. Even today (Saturday) while I waited for a bus on Lordship Lane towards Forest Hill, there was a packed 185 to Lewisham on a Saturday afternoon and the afternoon school run is always full to capacity due to the increase in local schools in the East Dulwich area. Those routes go past Charter East Dulwich, Harris Primary East Dulwich of which are new schools built in the last decade along with St Anthony's Primary near Dulwich Library and the Upland Road stop is used by pupils of Goodrich Primary. Sundays are also very popular for both of those routes. It's common to be on a full 176 or 185 towards Victoria or Tottenham Court Road and is even worse when the Overground isn't operating from Sydenham and Forest Hill as passengers use those routes into central London instead. The 40 drops to an every 15 minute service as well. As for the P12/63 issue. The P12 turns into Brenchley Gardens from Forest Hill Road and doesn't serve the retail and residential area to which a 63 extension would benefit passengers to reach the nearest Overground station at Honor Oak Park rather than having to go to Peckham Rye station on the 63/363 which has 4tph rather than the 8tph Honor Oak Park has.
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Post by overgroundcommuter on Apr 20, 2024 23:13:41 GMT
The 176 and 197 has always been a bugbear of mine and I've suggested previously that one of them be rerouted via Lower Sydenham and Perry Vale. I have relatives who used to live just off Lawrie Park Road and they had two routes at the end of the road neither of which served the local shops or went anywhere near Sainsburys, in fact it was easier to do their shopping in Penge or Forest Hill. Likewise staff and visitors to St Christopher's Hospice often had a more difficult journey than they should from Lower Sydenham and it's a very awkward change of buses. This part of London has a fairly dense network of Sainsbury’s - I don’t think anyone would struggle to reach one nearby on local buses, though I appreciate the SavaCentre is much bigger than any of the others! When the Sainsbury's in Forest Hill was closed for refurbishment last summer, they put a map sending customers to the Dulwich Superstore on Dog Kennel Hill which has two direct bus routes between the two, rather than Bell Green which only has an every 20 minute direct service on the 356.
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Post by overgroundcommuter on Apr 19, 2024 23:14:34 GMT
Personally I'd run Eltham to Streatham via Crystal Palace and Lower Sydenham to Catford as it's more likely to be reliable that way than via Dulwich and Forest Hill.
However if it does operate via Dulwich, I can see the bus stops between Tulse Hill and Catford being like this.
Tulse Hill Station/Tulse Hill Hotel West Dulwich Station Southwark Sports Ground for Dulwich Park. (Lordship Lane Estate maybe to help with the P13 as those stops are the busiest on Dulwich Common) Lordship Lane/Wood Vale for interchange with Routes 176, 185, 197, 363, N63, P4. (Horniman Museum a possibility if it means more footfall for the museum) Forest Hill Station/London Road Kilmorie Road for Jenner Health Centre Catford and Catford Bridge Stations Catford Road/Lewisham Town Hall.
The suggestions for stops in brackets are unlikely as you need to avoid as many bus stops as possible.
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Post by overgroundcommuter on Apr 17, 2024 22:57:28 GMT
If anything, the 194 needs to be reintroduced back to Forest Hill, replacing the 356 between Bell Green and Upper Sydenham as the frequency of the 356 isn't a viable alternative to getting the 176/197 and then changing to the 202 at Cobbs Corner or walking down to Sydenham Road for the 194/450. When I've been to that Sainsbury's and see a 356, I'll run to the bus stop as I don't fancy waiting 20 mins for the next direct bus to FH. The 356 does get busy between Bell Green and Forest Hill, it could do with a 15 min service rather than 20 which may be a cheaper solution than extending the 194. The 356 is certainly a strange route. It doesn’t appear that there is a through bus service between Forest Hill and Beckenham at present. I would quite like to see the 352 extended to Forest Hill. And when the 352 was a Metrobus rather than LT/TfL service, it ran from Horniman Museum, later Upper Sydenham to Bromley North via Beckenham. When the 352 became a TfL route, some bright spark decided that they'd introduce the 356, giving Forest Hill residents the opportunity to travel to Elmers End and Shirley, via Penge with some of the route duplicated by the 176 and 197 rather than Beckenham and Bromley which requires changing at either Catford or Penge.
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Post by overgroundcommuter on Apr 17, 2024 22:08:46 GMT
If anything, the 194 needs to be reintroduced back to Forest Hill, replacing the 356 between Bell Green and Upper Sydenham as the frequency of the 356 isn't a viable alternative to getting the 176/197 and then changing to the 202 at Cobbs Corner or walking down to Sydenham Road for the 194/450. When I've been to that Sainsbury's and see a 356, I'll run to the bus stop as I don't fancy waiting 20 mins for the next direct bus to FH.
The 356 does get busy between Bell Green and Forest Hill, it could do with a 15 min service rather than 20 which may be a cheaper solution than extending the 194.
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Post by overgroundcommuter on Apr 17, 2024 14:43:05 GMT
Some of you may remember the 115 in the 90s was extended to Forest Hill, which was the first attempt of connecting Forest Hill and the eastern end of Lordship Lane to Streatham. It only lasted two years and was cut back to Dulwich College. I remember using it a couple of times and was lightly used.
However one of the positives of the P13 is that it generated passenger usage from the Lordship Lane end of Dulwich Common to Tulse Hill and Streatham which the 115 didn't, thanks to having more connections on the route, plus serving roads that weren't served previously or are too far to walk to the main road to get the main routes. You only have to see how many passengers wait at the Grove Tavern stop on Lordship Lane to see just how well used it is towards Streatham.
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Post by overgroundcommuter on Apr 5, 2024 17:47:36 GMT
Since Wednesday 3rd until Wednesday 10th April.
High Street, Penge is closed for emergency gas works.
Routes 176 and 197 are diverted from Sydenham Station/Cobbs Corner along Sydenham Road, Newlands Park, Lennard Road, Parish Lane and Green Lane to line of route.
Route 227 is on diversion via Westwood Hill, then as 176 and 197 to line of route.
Route 354 turns right from Elmers End Road into Croydon Road where the bus terminates at the Pawleyne Arms then runs light to Crooked Billet stand. The return journey to Bromley North according to TfL runs light from Crooked Billet to Elmers End Road before going into service.
I didn't see if in practice if 354s are picking up passengers towards Bromley at Pawleyne Arms.
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Post by overgroundcommuter on Apr 1, 2024 16:10:08 GMT
197 to Penge from Peckham.
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