Which areas would you consider living?

[Comefromaway]

If you were a young female on a very tight budget and needed to commute both to Latimer Road & The Strand area of the West End (the latter working into the evening). Preferably commuting by tube and cycle rather than bus.

Dd is looking for a room in a shared house.

Check the bus routes from each

My first thought would be somewhere near Clapham Junction - direct buses from there: 295 to Latimer Road and 87 to Strand

Bus routes are no good as she will find it harder to take a folding cycle on the bus and due to timings she will need to cycle between Latimer and Strand some days (bus & tube won't get her from one to the other fast enough).

Sorry - I completely misread the post!

Will she really need a folding bike when Boris and other hire bikes are so plentiful? Or go by tube between the two (bus or walk from wherever she is near Latimer Road to Shepherds Bush, the Central Line change to Bakerloo to Embankment for Strand.

But if she really prefers tube, then Hammersmith or out toward Acton and Ealing (as near to the District Line as possible). Chiswick is more expensive, but very nice

Will she really need a folding bike when Boris and other hire bikes are so plentiful?

I'd recommend her own bike. Even a brompton would be lighter than the Santander cycles. They're absolute beasts, plus you have to change bikes if you exceed half an hour cycle, which she very well may do.

I'd look around Ealing, Hanwell, Queen's Park, Kilburn. There are some good deals that can be found, particularly if she could deal with a single bed.

I would beware that the cycle routes aren't always particularly nice, however, particularly as K&C borough blocked the creation of a number of cycle routes a few years ago.

She's already got the bike. Time will be of the essence. She will leave Latimer Road at 5.30pm (or however long it takes her to get out of the building which is actually on Latimer Road unlike the station) and she has to be near The Strand (a street nearby) by 6.30pm. It's tight timing we know. The tube takes 50 mins according to TFL journey planner but that assumes there are no delays. The cycle takes 30 mins.

She's already got the bike. Time will be of the essence. She will leave Latimer Road at 5.30pm (or however long it takes her to get out of the building which is actually on Latimer Road unlike the station) and she has to be near The Strand (a street nearby) by 6.30pm. It's tight timing we know. The tube takes 50 mins according to TFL journey planner but that assumes there are no delays. The cycle takes 30 mins.

Worth checking this @Comefromaway
I'm not an expert in West London, but that tube journey sounds too long to me. It might be quicker to walk or cycle to Wood Lane/ Shepherds Bush (Central line) and travel to Holborn (or Embankment depending on where on the Strand she needs to go) and cycling from there. The tube part of that journey is probably 20-25 minutes so it would only be the journey to and from the station that would swing it.

It only looks a short distance from Latimer Road (the road not the station) to White City/Wood Lane tube but the train line blocks the walking/cycling route so you have to go back on yourself in a big circle in order to get there. Apparently it takes about 20 mins to walk there, cycling would cut that time down to about 6-8 minutes.

We have also heard the central line with no air con is hell in rush hour.

Are you sure, I would think it would take at least 40 mins to cycle and the tube is around 40 mins too. Quickest option is probably cycling to the tube station. Traffic is terrible in London and bikes do have to obey the road rules like traffic lights!

Google maps says 35 mins but that still gives her a bit of leeway. She is going to do a couple of trial runs on various routes.

I think she should try cycling to Latimer Road tube, change at St Pancras and get off at Holborn rather than the hell of Covent Garden.

We have also heard the central line with no air con is hell in rush hour.

It is, as is most of London to be honest!

If Wood Lane is inaccessible I would still investigate the possibility of going via Shepherds Bush, which is definitely accessible.