Express bus scheme the Superloop is making it easier to zip around outer London
It’s a well known fact of London life that it’s super easy to travel into the centre of town but an absolute nightmare to travel around the edge of it – you either have to do pointless zig-zagging into the city and out again via tube and train in another direction or quite literally go round the houses on excessively long and winding bus routes. And with the ULEZ now covering the Greater London boundary, zipping around town by car has become a very expensive option.
That’s where Sadiq Khan’s Superloop comes in. The new scheme, part of a £6 million investment in the outer London bus network, consists of routes with fewer stops that skirt around the edges of the city rather than going deep into it, making journeys between neighbourhoods much quicker.
What are the current Superloop routes?
The routes currently running on the Superloop network are:
- SL1, from North Finchley to Walthamstow Central
- SL2, from Walthamstow Central to North Woolwich
- SL3, from Thamesmead to Bromley
- SL4, from Canary Wharf to Grove Park
- SL5, from Bromley to Croydon
- SL6, from Russell Square to West Croydon
- SL7, from Croydon to Heathrow Airport
- SL8, from Uxbridge to White City
- SL9, from Heathrow Airport to Harrow
- SL10, from Harrow to North Finchley
When will the Superloop 2 routes be launching?
After Sadiq Khan promised an extension to the Superloop in his mayoral election manifesto last year, TfL commissioner Andy Lord has said that he hopes to get the first of the new routes launched by the end of the year, following a round of consultations. Speaking about the Superloop 2, Lord said, “I can’t give you any details at the minute, but we’re very excited about the next routes. I’m hoping that we’ll perhaps be able to get the first one launched by the end of the year.
“The Superloop has seen a huge benefit in terms of the increase in ridership, increasing people’s awareness of our bus services, and we’re really excited about what the next phase can deliver for the city.”
What will the Superloop 2 routes be?
Ten routes for the Superloop 2 have been proposed, including the Bakerloop, which would follow the line of the proposed-but-unfunded Bakerloo line extension from Elephant & Castle to Lewisham. The Bakerloop bus route (complete with a brown colour scheme and matching moquette seating to align it with the tube line), will run from Elephant & Castle to Lewisham, with stops in Burgess Park, Old Kent Road and New Cross Gate, with fewer stops than the number 21 bus that connects Old Kent Road and Lewisham.
Here is the full list of proposed Superloop 2 routes:
- Harrow to Barnet, via Edgware
- Barnet to Stratford, via Enfield and Chingford
- Leytonstone to South Havering, via Gants Hill and Romford
- North Greenwich to Thamesmead, via Woolwich
- Elephant and Castle to Lewisham, via Old Kent Road and New Cross – the Bakerloop
- Streatham to Eltham, via Tulse Hill and Lee
- Richmond to Wimbledon, via Roehampton
- Ealing Broadway to Kingston, via Great West Road and Richmond
- Hounslow to Hammersmith, via Great West Road
- Hendon to Ealing Broadway, via Brent Cross and Hanger Lane
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