Reliability of P13 bus?

[trinity]

My son wants to travel to school on his own and the P13 bus (going towards Streatham) would do the trick. However he has tried it 3 times now and only once did it get him to school on time.

Once the bus didn't turn up and when the next one did (20 mins later) it was too full to get on. The third time we tried, the bus arrived on time but was too full to get on. (We are trying to catch it on Underill Road). The bus is too infrequent (every 20 mins or so between 7 and 8 in the morning) to wait for the next one.

Does anyone use the bus at that time of the morning with any success?

[EMR]

I used to get it to school when it still went to Surrey Quays. It gets badly delayed at the point of going through Peckham, and I think there is a bus diversion off Rye Lane at the moment so that may be why. The P13 and the P12 generally take longer too because they venture down residential/back roads where they can get stuck if there's any meeting and clearance.

In the end I gave up with buses and got the train to school. Even if they do get delayed it's usually not for more than ten minutes or so, and they're not much more expensive than the bus. Plus you know when it's coming thanks to the information boards.

[anapau]

I used to get it to Aske's in new cross and my sister still gets it every morning. It is often late, and yes at the moment it is on diversion through peckham which delays it. I was often late to school, but only because I never got it together to catch the earlier bus, which would've got me there in good time even if it was 15 minutes late - make sure you allow for that!

[aspidistra]

Have you thought about cycling? (depending on destination, obviously)

It may be possible to devise routes that are off-road, along quiet roads, on designated cycle paths on pavements, etc.

It would probably get him there a lot faster.

I think there's a group locally involved in devising safe journeys to school by walking and cycling.

(The P4 bus also suffers from the same problems.)

[Medley]

All the P buses seem an absolute nightmare to me.

I'd second the cycling idea, depending on distance and his keenness etc.

[victor]

Is he travelling to Kingsdale or Duwich College, etc?

My daughter bus-hops with her friends - 185 or 176 to the Harvester and then the P4 or 363 or some other combination.

When she got the P13, it was fine getting on around 7.40 by East Dulwich station, but was very very full by Underhill. He's probably better doing the bus-hopping route!

[trinity]

Unfortunately we are too far away from Lordship Lane for the 185 or 176 to work.

We tried the 363 then P4 once to go along Dulwich Common but the P4 was also very late and we only just squeezed on!

I think biking will be the way to go but how do you carry a saxophone on a bike?

[victor]

Can you get a specialist rucksack? My friend's son has one for his trumpet.

Or get up for an earlier bus?:)

[Ridgley]

Very poor the P13 you are better off hiring a snail

[James Barber]

Southwark offers free cycle training and will practice a cycle route with some one to get to school or work.

Carrying a saxophone. either rucksack as suggested OR get a pannier rack and pannier. London Recumbents based in Dulwich Park would give some good advice or Herne Hill Cycles.

[HonaloochieB]

A giant hovering snail like I've seen in Viz - with death rays in its antennae, that'd do for me.

[Medley]

Ridgley Wrote:

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> Very poor the P13 you are better off hiring a

> snail

Loving this comment.

Southwark cycle training for adults worked brilliantly for me - and I'm relatively confident, cycling twice a day every weekday in London for 5 years now. Did the training about 2 years ago and got so much out of it. Can't recommend it enough.

For bike shops, I heartily recommend and have no ties at all with the well-named Bicycle Magic, Greatorex Street, Whitechapel.

Hop over to Honor Oak Park and get the Overground up there.

[dully]

wow, bicycle magic in whitechapel used to be my preferred bike shop. It is a very fabulous shop.

[dully]

The P13 and all the P buses are rubbish. Too crowded in rush hours and too unreliable to use for appointments.

[Medley]

dully Wrote:

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> The P13 and all the P buses are rubbish. Too

> crowded in rush hours and too unreliable to use

> for appointments.

Aye. Too unreliable for life really. I got the Pwhateveritis from Brenchley Gardens to Surrey Quays once. It was the longest trip of my life. New Year's Eve. I set off in 2010 and nearly arrived in 2011.

[Otto]

Pannier and rack is the answer as James suggested. My boys and I manage to cram in violins, karate kit, pe kit, swim bags etc or some combination of the above most days into panniers...

[Bic Basher]

Until Rye Lane re-opens, the P13 is diverted along Lyndhurst Way and Peckham High Street, not serving Peckham Rye station nor Hanover Park.

Despite the bus running along the whole of Queens Road towards New Cross, it's still very unreliable during the peaks especially and should be at least 4 buses an hour during those periods, alas it was reduced to 3 when the contract moved from London Central to Abellio London.

[Jeremy]

Don't even think about letting your kid take a saxophone to school in anything but a hard case. It will, without doubt, get broken.

[anapau]

yeah a sax would fit in a pannier no problem. Just wish I could find a way to cycle with my cello!

[trinity]

Just tried the sax in its hard case in my pannier. It does fit - just. But it does make the bike a good 10 inches wider and very side heavy. Would need to carry schoolbag in other pannier to even up the weight and even then it still might be a little unstable.

The sax case does have D-rings to attach rucksack straps to, so might do try that also.

I did see someone cycling through Herne Hill with a cello on their back but it did look hard work.

[Renata Hamvas]

I' m meeting Val Shawcross this afternoon at Honor Oak Station to investigate the bus service at the afternoon peak. I shall raise the comments about the P13 with her.

Renata

[trinity]

Thank you Renata. It is the morning service between 7 and 8 that has been causing us problems. A bus that runs only every 20 and is unreliable can't really be used to get to a destination by a certain time.

[Renata Hamvas]

I have raised it with Val Shawcross and she is raising an enquiry about the frequency of this Bus route during morning rush hour. I will post on here again when I receive a response.

Renata

[dully]

why limit yourself? the service over the entire course of the day is poor. People who live in areas dependent on it just take up a bike or car. The last bus of the day just does not show up. The whole bus route is so bad that there must be some clause of sorting out a public service that doesn't do much of a service.

[aspidistra]

dully, there is a difference between "counsellor" and "councillor".

"Why limit yourself" in your understanding of the English language?