A campaign for better connectivity between West Dulwich, Dulwich Village and Herne Hill.
We need change
The problem today
The P4 is the only bus serving Dulwich Village and it is the third worst bus service in Southwark.
You can’t go from West Dulwich to Dulwich Village by public transport.
The Dulwich area has several train stations, but no service linking the neighbourhoods with each other. Similarly, there is no single bus service linking the neighbourhoods.
There is no step free access at West Dulwich and North Dulwich Stations.
There are solutions:
Reroute the 201 bus.
Improve the quality of the service of the P4.
Raise the issue of accessibility and the need for a genuine public transport alternative in Dulwich.
Why re-route the 201?
The 201 bus currently operates every 12 minutes from Morden to Mitcham, Streatham, Tulse Hill and reaches Croxted Road via the South Circular.It turns left and runs with very few passengers to Herne Hill (duplicating the no 3 bus) and parks up at Herne Hill by Brockwell Park.Our proposal is that the 201 could continue along the South Circular, past Alleyn's Oakfield School, West Dulwich Station and Dulwich College and then left into College Road (following the P4 route) to serve the Park, Bell House and Dulwich Picture Gallery, then through the Village serving both state and independent schools, onto North Dulwich Station and then left into Half Moon Lane, shadowing the 37 route to Herne Hill.We are hoping to convince TfL to implement this solution.
The current and proposed 201 route:
Benefits
This would connect Dulwich Village to Herne Hill station (which has lifts) as well as Streatham Hill, Tulse Hill, West Dulwich and North Dulwich.
Being connected with Herne Hill would make a big difference as it is the closest step free access station to Dulwich. No new bus lines need to be created, just a rerouting of an existing one.
No new bus stops need to be created as the ones already used by the P4 and 37 can be used for this service.
Only one extra bus per hour would be required to maintain the 12 minute cadence on the proposed, slightly longer route.
It would not be a loss to the residents of Croxted Road as they are already connected to Herne Hill by the no 3 bus. The 201 bus runs almost empty between West Dulwich and Herne Hill.
Why does the P4 need improving?
The P4 is the only bus serving Dulwich Village.The P4 is a very poor service: it’s the fourth most delayed bus in Southwark and the fourth worst for long delays of 10-20 minutes1.This past year the P4 has failed to meet TFL’s own minimum standards for delays 70% of the time2. It has worsened over the last year. In a recent Reddit survey attracting over 400 comments, the P4 was voted the Worst bus in London3.Yet the P4 bus is the only link Dulwich residents have to a station with a lift: Brixton tube station.Users need to wait 15-20 minutes for the P4 bus.It then takes 20-25 minutes to take them to Brixton. That is 35-40 minutes just to reach a step free access station.
Who is affected?
Residents, but particularly those that are elderly, wheelchair users and young families with buggies. 39% of Dulwich are families with children4, 15% are over 65 and 11% have a disability5.
Businesses and shops. Footfall is down in Dulwich Village and we currently have 5 empty shops.
Schools and Sports Clubs. We have approximately 15,000 school children in Dulwich.
Dulwich Picture Gallery and Bell House.
Parks.
Visitors.
TfL knows this, in their own studies, they rate Dulwich Village's Public Transport Accessibility Level as Poor to Very Poor (scores of 1 and 2).
Pictured below: TfL's Public Transport Accessibility Level map.
Supporters
Dulwich Picture Gallery
Friends of Dulwich Park
West Dulwich Action Group
Norwood Forum
Dulwich Residents' Association
Burbage Road Residents' Association
Station to Station - West Norwood & Tulse Hill BID
Who we are
This is a grassroots initiative. We are a small group of four Dulwich residents without any party affiliation, who seek to improve the connections between Dulwich Village and the wider London.You can reach us at [email protected].
Sign the petition
Do you support our campaign for a bus service which connects all the communities in the area within broader Dulwich, to cover Dulwich Village, Herne Hill, West Dulwich and East Dulwich?
We need your help to convince TfL!
Your data will not be shared with anyone and will not be shown publicly. We will only contact you if we have updates about this campaign.