Waterloo to Vauxhall - using Santander bike or scooters

[funnybones76]

I am starting a new job at an office in Vauxhall - it's around 1.2 miles from Waterloo. Rather than commute on a train to Waterloo... then walk to another platform to get a train back out to Vauxhall, and then walk 10 minutes I wondered if it's easier just to walk out of Waterloo and hop on one of those scooters or bikes?

The Lime scooters appear to have a reasonable number outside the station most of the time - and near office location.
The same for the Santander bikes - there is a docking station just next to where the workplace is

Looking on Google maps the route looks fairly straight forward and there are no major junctions or issues I can see. But I wondered if anyone has done similar to this, used these bikes or scooters and if it's practical on a daily basis?

Is there anything I'm not considering that I should be?

Thanks

 

[miklcct]

Can you get off the train at Clapham Junction and change to Vauxhall? This is the most sensible way except in the morning peak when no fast trains stop there.

 

[LayerX]

Can you get off the train at Clapham Junction and change to Vauxhall? This is the most sensible way except in the morning peak when no fast trains stop there.

Unfortunately not. The train is from Farnborough to Waterloo stopping once at Woking.

I was also interested in the bike/scooter option as it avoids further trains and changing platforms etc

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

There is an excellent chap on YouTube, a journalist at the Independent, who does a near weekly video 'How to cycle from x to y' in London on his channel 'London cycle routes'.
In this video he goes from Clapham Jcn to Limehouse, but passing Vauxhall and Waterloo en-route so it gives you a good idea of what the conditions are like.

London Cycle Routes

I'm hoping to get down to London soon with my bike to try out some hais routes.

 

[Via Bank]

Your biggest problem is going to be availability of Santander bikes (particularly eg on tube strike days), but there are enough docks on Cab Road that you should be ok. Failing that, I always start walking towards my destination and then if I pass a dock with a free bike, I hire it for the rest of the way. If you buy a Santander membership (£90/year) and order a key to make unlocking the bikes quicker, it becomes very time/cost effective.

If you want my advice, once you’ve got your bike, go round the back of the station (past the taxi rank) and join Baylis Road (C5) for the nicest route to Vauxhall. York Road is a horror show.

 

[funnybones76]

There is an excellent chap on YouTube, a journalist at the Independent, who does a near weekly video 'How to cycle from x to y' in London on his channel 'London cycle routes'.
In this video he goes from Clapham Jcn to Limehouse, but passing Vauxhall and Waterloo en-route so it gives you a good idea of what the conditions are like.

London Cycle Routes

I'm hoping to get down to London soon with my bike to try out some hais routes.

That is a really cool channel, just subscribed. Very useful to see the actual route too, looks really good and provides a lot of protection from the main roads which is great to see

Your biggest problem is going to be availability of Santander bikes (particularly eg on tube strike days), but there are enough docks on Cab Road that you should be ok. Failing that, I always start walking towards my destination and then if I pass a dock with a free bike, I hire it for the rest of the way. If you buy a Santander membership (£90/year) and order a key to make unlocking the bikes quicker, it becomes very time/cost effective.

If you want my advice, once you’ve got your bike, go round the back of the station (past the taxi rank) and join Baylis Road (C5) for the nicest route to Vauxhall. York Road is a horror show.

Thanks for the tips, didn't know about the keys being an option - sounds like a good time saver. I suppose the good thing is that my destination is walkabout 20ish minutes, or I can hop the train back out to Vauxhall if there were issues with bikes or it was horrendous weather

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

If the job is a long-term assignment, you could of course consider investing in your own folding bicycle. I've just browsed the Brompton catalogue to admire the prices, but there are lots of much cheaper alternatives now. They are easy to take on the train (especially in these less busy times), store at work and you can pootle along in your work clothes without issue. It might be useful at the Farnborough end too, getting to and from the station.

Failing all else there is always the good old 77 bus (Waterloo to Tooting) - depending on which bit of Vauxhall you need to reach - 8/12 min frequency off-peak, more in the peak.