Hi Ghis

I often use the Charing X/Ladywell route on the way home, although not so much in the morning as I tend to take the 172 all the way to Aldwych. The evening service is usually very reliable and often goes fast to Ladywell from Waterloo East, which makes the journey time even quicker. I can walk home from Ladywell in around 15 minutes or get a P4/122 to Brockley Rise - the bus stop is just a couple of minutes round the corner from the station.

The few times I have used it in the morning, it is crowded (although no more so than HOP), but the direct journey to Charing X has made up for it. I can't comment on the reliability though as I really haven't used it often enough.

As an alternative route it has worked very well for me - I got fed up of the crush at London Bridge, so have been using alternative ways to travel to and from work for some time.

I have also used the train from Crofton Park to travel to City Thameslink and then walk or get a bus to Covent Garden from there. This seems less reliable - I've seen far more cancellations on this route than on the Ladywell one - but when it is running it is very handy.

Hope that helps!