The major expansion would see the total number of express bus services in London doubled from ten to 20, reports Noah Vickers, Local Democracy Reporter
Sadiq Khan has unveiled plans for a second Superloop network of express bus services as part of his re-election bid.
If granted a third term at City Hall, the capital’s Labour mayor is proposing to double the number of Superloop services from ten to 20.
The new collection of routes, dubbed ‘Superloop 2’, will include the recently announced ‘Bakerloop’ service, designed to provide an alternative to the unfunded £10billion Bakerloo Line tube extension.
The proposed Superloop 2 routes, all subject to consultation, are:
- Harrow to Barnet, via Edgware
- Barnet to Stratford, via Enfield Town, Chingford and Walthamstow;
- Leytonstone to South Havering, via Gants Hill and Romford;
- North Greenwich to Thamesmead, via Woolwich;
- ‘Bakerloop line’: Elephant and Castle to Lewisham, via Old Kent Road and New Cross;
- 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.
Khan said: “The success of the Superloop is one of my proudest achievements as mayor, connecting Londoners to key locations in outer London and getting more people onto public transport. It has been nothing short of a game changer – making journeys quicker and more convenient.
“The proposed new routes will all be subject to consultation with Londoners, but I’ve asked Transport for London to start looking at how they could best serve key locations – whether popular town centres, other transport hubs or public services like hospitals.”
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When the Superloop was first announced by the mayor last year, backed by £6million of funding, it was attacked by his Tory critics as “nothing more than a repackaging of existing routes and vague promises” and “a microscopic level of investment”.
Conservative mayoral candidate Susan Hall called the ‘Bakerloop’ route the “Blunderloop”, adding: “Instead of delivering the much needed Bakerloo Line extension, Sadiq Khan has decided to settle for a bus.”
Khan said he will “continue to make the case as strongly as ever” to the government to fund the tube extension.
Four of the original ten Superloop routes were ‘re-badged’ existing services, albeit with increased frequencies.
It is not yet clear whether any of the Superloop 2 routes will use existing services, but the mayor’s campaign team pointed out that even the re-badged routes have seen increased ridership. For example, the SL7 – which runs from Heathrow to West Croydon – saw a 56% ridership rise between June and November following its rebrand and frequency boost.
The London mayoral election is on Thursday, 2nd May, along with elections for the London Assembly.
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