Bus route 19

Donna · January 2011

Later this year, my company might be moving offices from Soho to near Exmouth Market in Farringdon. Looking at the map and TFL, the number 19 bus might be the easiest route in for me. Either that, or walk from King's X or Holborn. I'd quite like to get the bus instead of the tube everyday, but was wondering how regular commuters find it. I'd need to arrive at work by 10am at the latest, but I usually try to get in at aout 9.30am. TFL says it takes 30 mins to get from Finsbury Park to Clerkenwell Road. Is this true at that time of day? What's the bus and the route like during rush hour in the morning? And what's it like coming home at about 6pm? Anyone on here know?

TollingtonTom · January 2011

Mornings are good and the time taken won't be any longer than tube to those destinations and the walk to Exmuouth Market. You are lucky you start so late so you will probably miss the rush hour Coming back is longer, always, and you will find that busses coming north at 5.30ish are often full by the time they get to Islington and you can end up either having a wait, or getting a couple of busses and changing.

Won't you miss the buzz of Soho though?

gardener-joe · January 2011

No 19? A good bus route. I did it the other morning before work, at around 8am, 'cos I left a scarf in Exmouth Market's Cafe Uno, and it took 20 mins - thank God for bus lanes. Or, take no 4 and change at Angel, or walk from there ... 10 mins downhill.

It is also an easy (downhill) walk from Exmouth Market to Russell Square tube, 15 mins, round the back of the Mount Pleasant Post Office Sorting Office, and past the Foundling Hospital.

Look out for performances in Exmouth Market by the fabulous <A HREF="http://www.coll-mus-lon.org.uk" target ="_blank">Collegium Musicum of London Chamber Choir</A> who sometimes perform in the Italian-looking Anglican church there ... oh, and <A HREF="http://www.theurdangacademy.com" target="_blank">Urdang Dance Academy</A> have their premises in the Old Town Hall ... also good eateries all over the place round there, and Sadlers Wells just up the road ... you are lucky to be working in that area.

emine · January 2011

Lucky you. I used to work in Farringdon and it was brilliant. Aaah, Moro, Three Kings, the Friday food market...

I got the 19 every day for a couple of years - mornings were reliable but I'd leave around 40 minutes for the journey to allow for waiting for the driver our end, and Upper St traffic etc. Coming home was usually fine, except for the occasional maddening terminations at Highbury & Islington. Still, it's far better than getting the tube. I miss the 19.

ADGS · January 2011

Can't speak for rush hour, but the frequent uselessness of the 19 in the evenings was one of the factors in making me realise that actually, Clerkenwell and Bloomsbury are a walkable distance from FP.

sincers · January 2011

I've been getting the 19 from FP to the Finsbury Town Hall (where the dance studio is) since 1999. Save for a brief stint in Camden and a period riding a motorbike to work. I never get bored of the route and its good to get on the bus where it starts. It fills up pretty quickly and feel sorry for anyone getting on it up Blackstock Rd or worse, at Highbury. If you get it after about 8.20, you get all the disgusting kids and the roads get a lot busier. On the way back it can be a nightmare, but if there's a long wait at the bus stop, I often walk to Angel, where you can try braving the 4 if you're desperate to get home. Clerkenwell is a great place to work. I love it here. I work just above the Crown Tavern opposite the 3 Kings. In the summer its great having a few pints on the green.

Tallboy · January 2011

My best route to work (just off St John Street, Clerkenwell Road end) is the 4. But sometimes get the 19 and change at Angel. The good thing about the 19 is that it starts it journey at FP, so you are very likely to get a seat. And the 19 is much more regular than the 4.

I get to work for 10am. If I board the bus at 9.30 then I will get to work by 10, but only just. If you're aiming to get to work for 9.30 I imagine the traffic will be worse and passengers noisier (you get to avoid the noisy schoolchildren when you board at 9.30).

You also have the option of getting the 153 from Finsbury Park. It goes on a frustrating rambling route to get to Angel and then down St John Street, so does take longer but is still a back up.

Jenowl · January 2011

The cut-off boarding point for avoiding the masses of school kids is 8am. The worst time is between 0820-0830 when you can't always get a seat even at FP.

Ali · January 2011

Which school are the kids going to ?

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sincers · January 2011

Well I'll be! I'm going to give that a go tonight - not the walking mind. Although at that rate, you appear to have been running. I'm not a fan of the single deckers though. I like being on the top deck so I can see everything. A little bit like a 6 year old, sucking my thumb and swinging my legs under the chair.

Donna · January 2011

Thanks for all the tips, please keep them coming!

wisteria53 · January 2011

When I was a regular on the 4 and 19 to work (these days ride bike going west and avoid City), the offending students were from Highbury Grove and Highbury Fields schools. I did send the occasional email/fax of complaint to the schools when the behaviour got too outrageous. I also sent some commendation letters to the bus companies when the driver was good.

Tallboy · February 2011

Boarded the 19 at precisely 9.30am today. Must have been a while since the previous 19 had left as there were big queues at all the stops - bus full up by the time we got to highbury corner.

Traffic was very smooth. Reached Angel station at 9.50am. Add on another 5 minutes to get to Exmouth Market and that's a typical journey (starting at 9.30 - I'm sure the journey takes longer the earlier you start).

miss annie · February 2011

Yes, that's my typical journey time too. The journey takes about 15 minutes longer if you board between 8.30 and 9 because of the school run traffic as discussed, and also the vans that park on either side of Blackstock Rd and Upper St to make deliveries. On no account should you get the number 4.

Tallboy · February 2011

Why not get the 4?

sincers · February 2011

Its dirty. btw the 153 was torture last night. I won't be doing that again in a hurry.

Tallboy · February 2011

That's been my experience of the 153 too. I take the opposite view to Misscara. I've never found it to be quicker than the 4 or 19. Takes you on a rambling journey through streets full of speed bumps and you often can't get a seat.

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ADGS · February 2011

I do find the 153 quiet - like the 106, perhaps because they both take such counter-intuitive routes. This does make them both a bit queasy if one has been drinking, though.

Jenowl · February 2011

Add the convoluted route and the speed bumps on residential roads, to the speed demon drivers letting loose on the Seven Sisters Road, and the 153 is often the cause of nausea.

The 4 does smell. Also the prevailing design of bus on the 4 route has ridiculously short leg-room - must be a problem for Tallboy. The squashed-together seats mean that passengers are closer to each other, meaning the general smelliness is closer as well.

hoopuk · February 2011

The no.19 school kids are hilarious. I get it every morning and it's a pleasure to use. The evening is horrible though. It's bizarre how TFL cut the frequency down from the afternoon onwards.

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