Worcester Park to Kingston morning rush hour – Bus 213 commute for Year 7

[HannahF78]

Hi everyone,
My child has received an offer from KGS, and we’re planning to look for a place to live around Kingston. We’ve seen a nice house in Worcester Park, but Google Maps shows that the journey to school during the morning rush hour (via bus 213) could take up to an hour door to door.
I was wondering if any parents who live in the Worcester Park direction and travel to Kingston for school could kindly share their experience. Is the traffic really that congested in the morning? Is the 213 bus usually very crowded with schoolchildren and commuters? And do you feel that an hour-long commute is too much for a Year 7 student?
Many thanks in advance — I’d really appreciate any insights.

Just to add, I’d also like to ask whether the journey home after school — including from KGS and from its sports ground at Ditton Fields — back to Worcester Park is similarly congested. I understand that the latter journey may take over an hour.Many thanks again for any insights.

It's a bit busy but it's not an insane commute for SW London.

From the sports ground the train might be easier. Can you change at New Malden for Worcester Park,?

The SL7 (Super Loop) bus is much quicker than the 213 so loads of school kids catch that early to go to Kingston, it doesn’t stop at intermediate stops just new malden and then Kingston. Goes from Worcester park station.

I live in New Malden and I’d say yes, it can take that long in the rush hour. The 213 also has form for terminating early if there are too many delays. As PP has said, I’d get the SL7 instead given the fewer stops.

Thanks everyone for your messages.
SL7 is indeed a bit faster. Unfortunately, the house I’m interested in is far from the SL7 stop in Worcester Park — about a 20-minute walk — so in total it would still take nearly an hour to get to school, similar to taking the 213.
Cycling could be an option, as it would only take around 21 minutes to get to KGS. However, I’m not sure whether the route from Worcester Park to KGS is suitable and safe for younger cyclists.
Also, if they cycle to school and then need to go to training at Ditton Field after school, would they have to take the coach back to school afterwards in order to collect their bikes and then cycle home?

Yes, that does seem a bit faster than taking the buses, thank you.

I would look for a house on the sw train line to kingston, there are loads of options.

Is there something taking you to WP specifically? The K2 is a direct bus and runs through berrylands which is a nice area to live in. New Malden is also more convenient for KGS

Came on to say this: better to move to New Malden than Worcester Park imho!

My son gets the 213 from New Malden to Tiffin, and every day we watch buses on citymapper get stuck in Worcester Park for increasingly long periods of time as the morning goes on! But, if you travel early enough, it's not so bad - he has to be in early for choir practice some days and on those days the buses race through Worcester Park (around 7.20/30), but as you get nearer 8am they just do not seem to move. Many of his friends travel to/from Worcester Park and some way beyond and seem to manage it. They mostly get the SL7.

It’s mainly because within our budget we can get a bigger house with big garden in WP. Especially this one I’ve seen – I absolutely love it. That said, we’re not set on living in WP – I’ll be carefully thinking about the commute and looking at a few more places before deciding ：）

Thanks so much for sharing all the detail – that’s really helpful! It’s good to hear how the timing can make such a difference, and useful to know that others manage it too.

Thank you for giving me another perspective – I was initially thinking about the bus because it’s much cheaper than the train, but maybe I should also consider houses along the train route.

I’d also suggest new Malden rather than WP. Better train links as is on the Surbiton line as well as the Kingston line.

Consider the weight of the school bag plus sports / music equipment if you are considering cycling. I was surprised how heavy my daughters bag is for year 7.

Thanks everyone. I installed Citymapper this morning and checked the live traffic – it’s actually worse than Google suggests. Considering it would take an extra hour coming back from Ditton Fields as well, I think I’ll probably look for somewhere a bit closer to both.
Really appreciate all your advice – it’s been so helpful. Without you lot I might have gone ahead and bought a house in a rush, then ended up watching my child spend two hours a day commuting.

I'd also look at New Malden which is 2 stops / 6min by train to Kingston and similar house prices. DD only has one friend who lives in Worcester Park and they get driven from and to school by parents every day.

I totally forgot about that, thank you for pointing it out!

depending on your budget, Surbiton might be a good shout. Get over to the property threads as this area has been discussed a lot!