37 Bus Route - good and bad comments please

[civilservant]

I would use this route much more if it were reliable.

On weekdays, the service from Herne Hill to East Dulwich seems variable - some days I get a bus from the stop outside the station immediately, on others I have to wait ages. My last experience of using it on a weekend recently was of waiting over half an hour, during which two 37s went past empty. Then two 37s arrived together.

[Sue]

Agree with much of the above, very useful service but not frequent enough so that when it does eventually turn up it is often very crowded.

I do think it is bound to be slow at some of the places it passes through due to them being usually rammed with traffic.

[Tanza]

Echoing the comments already made - this is a fantastically useful route but there simply aren't enough 37 buses so my heart always sinks at the prospect of a long wait at Herne Hill, particularly after work.

[The Minkey]

Really useful route. Erratic service.

[genwilliams]

A 24hr service would be good too! Many's the time I've had to take a long trudge home from Brixton after a night out, due to lack of any other viable option.

[edanna]

Also, as with some other new bus models, you can't fit a Phil and Ted's buggy down the aisle because of the position of the vertical bar. I think you're supposed to get on at the back door but the drivers don't always point this out.

[siousxiesue]

Don't know if it's been mentioned already-lots of occasions these buses run in pairs, and I've seen them leave Peckham garage within minutes of each other. That can't be right, especially when there are 'inspectors' in the bus garages supposedly monitoring what's going out when?

[prickle]

Agree with most above.

The only route to go west out of ED. Find it useful but would like more reliability and frequency.

Edited to add: its also the only bus to go east out of ED to Peckham.

[DulwichFox]

37 Route used to go all the way to Richmond.

Was a great bus ride when I was a kid. First with my parents then with my Red Rover

when I was a bit older.

You have to change buses now at Clapham Junction. :(

I must admit that as I sit in the Bishop Pub, Looking out the window (As I do) the 37 bus

seems very frequent in both directions. This is after 21.00. Perhaps they are more frequent at night than they

are during the day.

[PhilPhilPhil]

Do any of the 37 stops between Peckham Rye and Herne Hill have indicators to say when the next one is due? I think one or two of those along the route would make a big difference given the infrequency of the service and lack of alternatives. I dont use the 37 much now but in the past I hated waiting for it and having no idea if it would be quicker to walk.

[zeban]

A countdown you mean? the one on East Dulwich road just before tesco does. Unfortunately when you see the next one is in 20 mins but you have to go to Clapham it's not really viable to walk.

[hibbs]

I love the 37 bus!

[aspidistra]

I've virtually given up on this bus. I have waited for almost an hour for one on a Saturday afternoon. Weekdays, if I need to get to Brixton and beyond in the morning (7-9am) I find it's quicker to go to Camberwell Green and get a bus from there, which is fairly ridiculous. I have turned down client work on several occasions because the client is located on this route (37 bus + Battersea Bridge Rd traffic lunacy = better off watching paint dry). Of course I could cycle the route, but not very feasible when loaded down with lots of heavy electronic equipment etc.

In general, routes across south London - as opposed to in and out of the centre - tend to be badly served. Why should it be so difficult to get from ED to Brixton or Streatham or Clapham or Crystal Palace? The distances are nothing.

(And while we're on poor services, can I mention the 363 from Peckham via south side of ED to Crystal Palace, where the service has gone really downhill in recent months. The display says '19 minutes', then '16 minutes', then the bus disappears altogether from the display, presumably turned around in Peckham. A wait of 30-40 minutes southbound from ED LL-Wood Vale junction is not unusual.)

[PhilPhilPhil]

It's not an ideal alternative but if I was faced with a 19 minute wait (possibly longer) for a 363 to Crystal Palace I think I'd get the 176 or 197 to Sydenham and then walk through the park. I've done that a few times and it's a nice walk but of course not so great if you're weighed down with equipment or just not feeling very energetic.

[bil]

Ditto with above comments; the service is too infrequent (as indeed are many of the bus services in ED) I often have to wait 15-20 minutes for a bus. It makes it difficult to connect with train times.

[aquarius moon]

DulwichFox Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> 37 Route used to go all the way to Richmond.

>

> Was a great bus ride when I was a kid. First

> with my parents then with my Red Rover

> when I was a bit older.

>

> You have to change buses now at Clapham

> Junction. :(

>

> I must admit that as I sit in the Bishop Pub,

> Looking out the window (As I do) the 37 bus

> seems very frequent in both directions. This is

> after 21.00. Perhaps they are more frequent at

> night than they

> are during the day.

That's because the time passes twice as quickly, when you are sitting in a pub!!

[Spinky]

The route is fantastic, a great link across south London. I use the 37 to either go to Herne Hill or Brixton every day - the mornings are generally ok and you don't normally have to wait more than 5-10 minutes (although there does always seem to be a "Not In Service" bus at about 7.15 which is just a tease!).

The evenings however are absolutely awful - whether at Brixton or Herne Hill you normally have to wait at least 15 minutes any time after 6pm. Later on in the evening and you can be waiting half an hour, and as previous posts have said you regularly see two together.

I love the idea of a bendy bus - it does take forever to load everyone on at the moment, particularly after a 20 minute wait. Also a bendy may be able to go under the bridge at Village Way and cut off the corner around North Dulwich Station meaning an even faster journey time!

The only other feedback I'd have about the route is that it feels like there are too many stops!! On the rare occasion I've got the 37 from as far as Clapham Junction, I've always felt like there are an awful lot around Clapham Common and on other parts of the route they are pretty clustered together.

I'm certain that many more people would regularly use this route if they knew they could rely on it.

[Burbage]

Much the same as everyone else, really.

As a route, it's great. As a service, it's lousy.

[Senor Chevalier]

Not much to add James - the response is already overwhelmingly consistent.

I once came out of the Ritzy, walked up the road and stepped straight on to the 37 being driven by a particularly assertive driver. Home within 10 minutes which was awesome, though I guess would probably have felt less sweet had the service not been as erratic as it normally is.

You asked for good and bad and that's the only argument I can think of for not increasing the frequency / reliability of the service - pretty weak.

[DulwichFox]

genwilliams Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> A 24hr service would be good too! Many's the time

> I've had to take a long trudge home from Brixton

> after a night out, due to lack of any other viable

> option.

Like I said before I have watched the 37 bus from the Bishop Pub.

I noticed last night they did seem to be a bit sparse.

Even so.....

When one did go past towards Peckham at about 22.00 there were just 4 people on it.

Buses going towards Brixton/Clapham at that time were empty.

Hardly worth putting on extra buses.

Seems to me people here expect a bus just for them, just when they need it.

[James Barber]

Hi genwilliams,

no.37 does run 24/7: timetable

with buses running every half hour from 1am to 4.30am and slightly more frequently either side. it doesn't help that so few bus stops habe countdown so you're never sure it its running properly. Hardy person who waits at 02.30 for a no.37 bus.

[Alex K]

More frequent, please; and I still regret the decision to route the bus away from East Dulwich station.

[Adam999]

I like the suggestion of an express 37 bus which only stops at a few points on the route.

Currently it really is an infuriating service - my worst experience was waiting just under 50 minutes for three of them to arrive together (2 almost empty). The common practice of (the same number) buses travelling in convoys must be stopped as it benefits no one. Perhaps the service should be free when this happens. The 37 is by far the worst offender of the SE London buses.

[73jem]

while evaluating this route, does anyone know, or could I ask James to find out, please, why the shelter and annunciator for the 37 bus outside Lloyds Bank in Brixton have been removed? At least one used to be able to judge whether to make for the P4 to North Dulwich station, or at worst wait under cover knowing when the bus was likely to appear.

[ortuke]

I'm sure it's been said but...great route but just not enough of the buses. I always seem to have to wait 20 minutes regardless of time of day. Increase the number of buses on this route please!