Brockley is well connected, as long as you don't need a car. It has a station on two lines and buses at almost every corner. Full-fibre broadband reaches nine in ten homes. About half of households have no car. More than half of working residents had stopped commuting altogether when the last census was taken.
Rail does most of the work. Brockley Rail Station is on both the mainline railway and the Windrush line. Crofton Park Rail Station covers the south of the area, and Honor Oak Park, Ladywell and St Johns stations are all close by. Even so, at the 2021 census only about 8% of working residents took the train to work and about 9% the bus, across the area's 109 bus stops.
In practice, Brockley mostly works from home. At the 2021 census, about 52% of working residents did, about 12% drove, and about 5% each walked or cycled. About 46% of households have no car, and only around 10% have two or more. Brockley Rail Station has been sending people to work since 1871, and on census day more than half of them stayed put.
For the nearest town centre, the Department for Transport's modelled journey times for the area come to about 10 minutes by car, 16 by public transport, 12 by bike and 21 on foot. A 21-minute walk to a town centre is a good result for anywhere, and the bike is close behind the car.
Everyday errands are close. On the same 2019 Department for Transport model, a GP is about 7 minutes away by car, on foot or by public transport, and a food shop is about a 5-minute walk or 6 minutes' drive. A hospital takes about 13 minutes by car and 21 by public transport, and the nearest centre of employment about 11 minutes by car and 18 by public transport. These are modelled averages for the area. The distances do not change, but bus and train services have changed since 2019, so the public transport times are the least reliable of the set.
The bus service matters more than the number of stops. The 98 stops with timetable data average about 300 scheduled departures each on a weekday and about 15 an hour at peak. Every one of them has a weekend service, so at most stops another bus is never far behind.
For broadband, gigabit-capable connections reach about 91% of premises, ultrafast the same 91%, and superfast every one of them, with no premises below the legal minimum. Mobile coverage is complete, with every network reaching the whole area.
Noise is the downside of living near the tracks. Official mapping treats 65 decibels as the point where noise becomes significant. About 23% of the area's postcodes are near or above that level from roads, and the loudest road band reaches 75 decibels. Rail noise is counted separately, and about 53% of postcodes are near or above 65 decibels from trains, again peaking at 75. If a flat backs onto the line, stand in the garden while a couple of trains pass, because no map can tell you how that sounds through a sash window.
For electric cars, there are 71 public charge points in the area with 73 connectors, none of them rapid. Charging here means plugging in overnight, because there is nowhere to top up quickly while you shop.
Brockley is better connected than most places, as long as you get around by train, bus, bike or broadband. It is less convenient for anyone who drives an electric car or needs to sleep next to the railway.