Dear Andrew
343 Bus
I was grateful for your time in meeting me recently to discuss the performance and problems of the 343 bus route.
As you will remember from our meeting with a local resident representative, there are particular complaints about the service around Southampton Way because it is the sole service which runs close to their home. Being unable to easily access other routes they are particularly affected by overcrowding on the service.
As a consequence of the intensity of complaints about overcrowding I undertook to carry out a house to house survey in the streets around Southampton Way – although I appreciate that the bus serves a much longer route. I have also now spoken with the ward Councilors who are ALL also very anxious to see some improvement on this service.
The survey
I wrote to nearly 500 homes in the area immediately around Southampton way. 96 residents responded to the 343 bus survey which was sent as a direct mail to 484 houses on Southampton Way and the roads leading off Southampton Way. This is a 20% response rate.
96 % of responders want more buses serving the 343 bus route. (2% said no, 2% were unsure).
On a daily basis 36.8% said they were unable to get on a 343 bus because of overcrowding. 31.6% found this sometimes to be the case and 27.4% said this happened two or three times a week. Only 4.2% said that they had never found the bus to be overcrowded.
When on the bus, most people found that on a daily basis they would have to stand - 38.5%.
Most people identified the morning and evening rush hours as the busiest times.
Passengers made many heartfelt comments on the survey forms to support their accounts. Most focus on the overcrowding but you can see from those selected below that other stress points emerge – children’s behaviour, driver training and the general management of the route.
I have reported some of these below and would be grateful if you could consider these wider, quality of journey issues when carrying out your passenger loading study later in the year. It is quite probable that the pressures of passenger numbers and demand are adding to the difficulties faced by the drivers to the extent that they are behaving in a way indicative of the stress which they face.
Passenger Quotes
Mostly they come in twos and even three, four and five together. I get on at Wells Way and often have to wait for 2 or 3 buses as they are already full! Often I count 30 people standing!
They are already getting full when they reach Southampton Way. It is not unusual for the buses to not even stop as they are so overcrowded.Another complaint I have is that the bus drivers frequently change their final destination during the journey with no warning, and so often end up having to change buses at elephant and castle to get to London Bridge.
I have often waited for 20 minutes and between 8am and 9am, which is why I've given up with the service. If the bus came every 3 - 5 mins I would be much more inclined to use public transport more often and would feel safer.
There are occasions when you wait at least 20/15 minutes and then two turn up together. This will happen two or three times a week.
I live on Rainbow Street. The 343 is, as you point out, our only bus service. It's frustrating to have to change at Elephant & Castle to get to somewhere as close as Waterloo, plus Aldwych, Holborn and Tottenham Court Road, areas to which I travel frequently , as there's no direct bus to any of these places. Camberwell Green is served by several, and Elephant & Castle by more still: 1, 68, 168, 171, 188. […] Finally, and perhaps most pressingly, from Cottage Green there is no bus to any of the supermarkets around the area. I walk to Tesco or Ada on Old Kent Road, or walk to Camberwell Green to get a bus to Sainsbury's at Denmark Hill. Obviously a taxi back is the only option. I think the solution to this is not to increase the frequency of the 343, but to instead provide a bus route that serves these places I've mentioned. It shouldn't be beyond the bounds of possibility to run a bus from here to Waterloo and to at least one supermarket in the area. One possibility would be rerouting the 171 to follow the 343 between Elephant and Peckham, which would provide the direct links to Waterloo, Aldwych and Holborn, and a direct service to New Cross . Another would be to run a bus from Old Kent Road (Tesco) along St George's Way and Wells Way, Southampton Way, Peckham Road, Camberwell ChurchStreet, Camberwell Green and (ideally) on to Denmark hill (Sainsbury's).
I am convinced that the number of school children that use the route to get to school is really causing problems. Whenever I get on the bus the top deck is 50-75% majority filled with kids.
The attitude of the drivers in general is quite appalling. There are a few nice helpful ones but most of them are rude, uninterested in your perfectly reasonable question, drive badly (fast, stopping suddenly) and have been known to miss stops (perhaps they are relief drivers and don't know the route, they are overworked and are tired, they are listening to music or are on their mobile phone). […] I don't know if the drivers get a
really bad deal but they seem to hate their job!! It is a disgrace and a good job that most of the 343 route is not by tourists.
Three of the 343 can arrive together or you can wait in the most extreme case for one hour. No timetable in my opinion is followed.
I have noticed that the drivers of the 343 are often quite abrupt drivers. Lots of speeding, dangerous breaking. I witnessed people falling over and hurting themselves. A gentler approach would be nice.
Due to redevelopment in that area maybe another bus route from Commercial Way via Southampton Way and Wells Way would be much more effective and give us a choice/ other option to use the number of people in north Peckham has increased but number of buses or frequency has not.
Ha! I often wait half an hour for a bus I can get on - the most frequently they tend to come in the morning is every 15 mins - but you can't get on it. Also whenever leaving Elephant and Castle as is always a lot of people waiting for the 343 and there is a mad rush for the bus, which often results in pushing.
I have now opted to travel with my car.
I think the bus service in London is very good, there seems to be plenty of buses and how they maneuvered the narrow streets and speed along quickly is remarkable.·
It doesn't go where many people want to go! […] there is no bus link to anywhere west of London Bridge. We need a bus that links directly to the West End.
The 343 service is an absolute disgrace. For people reliant entirely on one bus service the 343 is just not good enough. The people of Peckham are always angry and most of that anger I lay squarely at the door of the 343 service. Peckham has undergone massive redevelopment with new housing being erected seemingly every week. There has obviously been a huge increase in the number of residents in the area yet the 343 continues to operate the same frequency of bus service.
Why change drivers at Newington Causeway as opposed to London Bridge where they start/ terminate.
Even before I leave the house I start worrying about whether or not the bus will arrive and get me to Elephant & Castle early enough to catch other buses to get me into work on time.
